The various uses of bitcoin technologies have been available across the internet for a while now. While most of these applications are still in concept stages and there are few startups that are actively working on it, Visa, the electronic payments giant seems to have cracked one such application. Visa is currently working on a proof of concept that uses blockchain technology for car lease, rental and so on.
Visa is currently working with DocuSign, a digital signature and authentication service provider to offer the create the proof of concept solution. The new solution aims to reduce or completely eliminate paperwork that customers usually would have to go through during car rental process.
The Visa-DocuSign proof of concept involves registration of each car on the blockchain using a unique digital identity assigned to them. The cars digital identity is then connected to Visa payment channel and also to DocuSign platform. Whenever a customer wants to rent a car, he/she can pick the car of his choice and finish the formalities online while sitting inside the car itself. Users can use the online form, select the type of car, search, compare and choose the type of insurance plan they wish to avail along with other in-car payments like tolls, parking fees etc. The user can enable all these services by authenticating his preferences using his/her DocuSign electronic signature. The information will be updated on the blockchain against the car’s unique identity which can be readily accesses by the company.
While the current proof of concept has been tried on cars, it can be easily repurposed for other applications as well. Some of the other applications mentioned by the company includes buying and renting out houses and more. Even though DocuSign and Visa have created the concept system on blockchain, its use is yet to be tested in real time and observe the user adoption of such services. Only then we can understand the true impact of blockchain technology on car rentals.