MakerDAO - Unlocking compliant cryptocurrency flows

Problem

In 2020, the Maker Foundation decided to move all their financial flows to one platform. Their goal: move to one easy-to-use, elegant invoice solution for all in- and outbound payments.

Solution

Maker Foundation grantees and freelancers issue invoices through Request Finance. This allows Maker to easily make payments and have a complete record of their invoices, saving time and putting them on the cutting edge of payment innovation.

The Maker Foundation believes that the future of finance is decentralized.

They are structured in a way that reflects this conviction, with contributors located across the globe. This allows them to work with the brightest minds, regardless of where they live.
While their native token DAI was designed to facilitate this type of global value transfer, their operational flows needed an upgrade.

To help them succeed, Request provides invoicing and payments software on a platform designed specifically for crypto-friendly businesses. With features that allow them to easily collaborate internally, they can now approve and pay invoices using a defined flow that ensures payments are made on-time.

A complete record of their inbound invoices and outbound payments is accessible from an easy to manage dashboard. With the ability to export the data in their preferred file format, integration with their accounting system is quick and painless.

“Using Request Invoicing has allowed us to better manage our grants program. The ability to collaborate with our internal team has unlocked us to more accurately disburse funds while also maintaining a complete and up-to-date record of pending and completed transactions.” said Torben Jorgensen, Chief Financial Officer at Maker Foundation

100%

When customers make a payment using Request Finance (versus manually entering a payment address), 100% of the funds are distributed to the proper wallet.

Less manual tasks, better UX

When the Maker Foundation was comparing different ways to manage their inbound invoices, they prioritized four criteria:

• Minimize manual tasks to reduce error
• Easy cross-organizational collaboration
• Record keeping compatible with their accounting
• A future proof solution

They evaluated the market and found that Request Finance outperformed the alternative solutions and was consistently reliable, highly usable and had functionality designed to make their financial lives easier.

Community members were delighted to have an invoicing solution that allowed them to “set it and forget it”, with a notification system keeping them updated and features that minimized time spent on managing their billing. These users consistently got paid on-time and to the correct address.

Where Request fits in

1. Invoices issued to the Maker Foundation

Clients, community grantees and freelancers issue invoices to the Maker Foundation using Request Finance, asking to be paid in DAI for their products & services rendered.

2. Maker approves & pays inbound invoices

The operations and finance department at Maker work together to filter legitimate invoices and pay them by the end of each calendar month, using the DAI stablecoin to fulfil the payment.

3. Invoice paid, money received

That's it! Money is automatically received by the issuer and Maker keeps an on-chain record of all payments for accounting & bookkeeping purpose.

120 days

Spent per year on administrative tasks. With Request Finance, these time consuming manual tasks are automated to reduce time-spend and increase data integrity.

Reducing risk of fraud and manual mistakes

Request also helps Maker reduce the risk of fraud + error. How exactly? Using the request for payment mechanism, funds are no longer sent directly to a manually inputted address and are instead automatically routed using Request’s smart payment technology.
When payment is complete, the invoice is automatically reconciled, saving time and ensuring proper bookkeeping.

Businesses spend on average 120 working-days per year on administrative tasks, with accounting and bookkeeping being the most time-consuming. These processes are often manual and are rife with data entry errors. Improper data entry can be at the minimum a nuisance and at worst a danger should an audit occur.

Request Finance eliminates this pitfall and ensures that records are kept complete and accurate at all times. Data integrity can be easily confirmed using our continuous smart audit technology– a process that programmatically ensures that information is 100% consistent, powered by blockchain technology.

Request Finance improved our cross-organization communication by giving us more transparency into payment statuses. On top of that, email updates ensure invoices are automatically followed up – a time saver for us!

Amy Jung, Head of Community Development, Maker Foundation

Decentralized invoicing, today

Request Finance is a key pillar of the DeFi community. A movement that empowers the individual to take control of their finances and financial data. All information is owned by the user and stored on the Ethereum blockchain.

This allows individuals and businesses to break the shackles of corporate entities who force you into closed ecosystems. With Request, third party applications can be given access to relevant data financial data, making it easy to create a financial stack that fits your operations.