The market landscape of taxi services changes rapidly. Especially, since Uber came to the stage and turned the market upside down by popularizing the idea of peer-to-peer (p2p) mobile taxi booking and ridesharing.
This variation of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/sharing-economy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">sharing economy</a> for taxi services has different names (ridesharing, ride-hailing, carpooling, private taxi services) and shapes (booking of cabs, private cars, personal chauffeurs, buses), but the idea is always the same: instead of traditional taxi services with dispatchers, car fleets and hired drivers, apps like Uber offer the format where passengers deal with drivers using the booking service only as a proxy.
Uber had not just disrupted the market. They had kickstarted the emergence of the new ridesharing marketplaces. And even though the concept of apps like Uber is often <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber_protests_and_legal_actions" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">questioned and criticized</a> by traditional taxi services, such apps are now taking over local markets across the world. Even in the US, Uber is facing competition presented by Lyft and - <a href="https://time.com/nextadvisor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">until recently</a> - Sidecar, a company that co-pioneered the mobile ridesharing business.&nbsp;
What does it all mean for app developers, drivers, and taxi services? Let&rsquo;s see how different ridesharing and private taxi services achieved success in their local markets&nbsp;and try to&nbsp;answer this question.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Lyft</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 606px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/180/content_lyft_carpool-screens-1200x909.png" alt="lyft app" />
Source: Forbes
<a href="https://www.lyft.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Lyft</a> started as a US-only peer-to-peer ridesharing service in 2012 and eventually evolved into a hybrid between p2p rideshare and taxi booking formats. As for 2016, it has increased its market coverage significantly by partnering with other market giants from all over the world: Grab (former GrabTaxi, Southern Asia) and Didi Chuxing (China).
Although Lyft is far from Uber&rsquo;s domination in the US, it has become an honorable (however still a distant) No. 2 on the market, having their&nbsp;own peachy market share and continuing to expand.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">myDriver</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 380px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/205/content_mydriver_roll.jpg" alt="mydriver chauffeur and limousine booking app" />
<a href="https://www.mydriver.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">myDriver</a> is a Berlin-based subsidiary from Sixt, a large European multinational car rental company. myDriver was launched in 2013 as an alternative to conventional mobile taxi and ridesharing services. The company&rsquo;s main idea is to provide quality limousine and chauffeur services for both corporate and private clients with competitive fixed rates.
Today, myDriver extends Sixt&rsquo;s services offering Android and iOS users chauffeur, limousine, and private car services, as well as airport and exhibition transfers. For group business trips the company provides business-class vans and SUVs.
The service is operating in the majority of Europe&rsquo;s large cities and keeps expanding to Japan, South Africa, UAE, and other countries around the world.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Didi Chuxing</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 377px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/178/content_didi-app.jpg" alt="Didi taxi booking app" />
<a href="http://www.xiaojukeji.com/index/index" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Didi Chuxing</a> (formerly Didi Kuaidi) is China&rsquo;s largest taxi and vehicle booking company that formed after the merger of two rivals, Didi Dache, and Kuaidi Dache. In May 2016, the company <a href="https://fortune.com/2016/08/04/apple-invest-didi-chuxing-china-uber-merger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">got $1 billion of investments from Apple</a>.
Didi has been building international partnerships with Lyft and India&rsquo;s Ola to strengthen the competition with Uber in the US, India, Southeastern Asia and China until in August 2016. That's when Didi and Uber China announced their <a href="https://yourstory.com/2016/08/uber-china-didi-chuxing-deal/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">merger</a>: Uber basically sold its regional subsidiary to Didi Chuxing. Was it a truce? A surrender? That - as well as how this merger will affect China and another big local market -&nbsp;is yet to be seen.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Grab</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 463px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/181/content_grab-new-app-screenshots.jpg" alt="Grab taxi app" />
Source: Tech in Asia
<a href="https://www.grab.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Grab</a>, formerly known as GrabTaxi, is the largest Southeastern Asia&rsquo;s company providing taxi booking, vehicle booking, and ridesharing mobile services&nbsp;operating in 30 cities throughout Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Grab is operating in Southeastern Asia since 2011 and now, partnering with Didi, Ola, and Lyft, they can expand their reach to more markets.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Ola Cabs</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 404px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/182/content_ola_roll.jpg" alt="Ola cabs" />
<a href="https://www.olacabs.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ola Cabs</a> is the leader in India&rsquo;s taxi booking app market - Uber is only second to it. In 2015, Ola reasserted its domination by <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/02/olaforsure/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">acquiring</a> a taxi aggregator TaxiForSure.
After the Uber-Didi merger in China, Ola <a href="https://yourstory.com/2016/08/uber-didi-merger-ola/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">has reasons to worry</a> about the reignition of their rivalry with Uber in India. It&rsquo;s even possible that this rivalry will end up in another merger. Otherwise, it may become an opportunity for smaller players in India&rsquo;s taxi booking market, who could use this clash of giants to their advantage.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">GoCatch and ingogo</h2>
<a href="https://gocatch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoCatch</a> and <a href="https://www.ingogo.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">ingogo</a> are two small taxi booking apps that emerged on Australia's&nbsp;market as alternatives to Uber X which appeared there earlier. As a selling point, GoCatch uses more affordable pricing and ingogo offer fixed fares to their passengers.
Although the two apps have instantly got their own audience of ride-booking Australians, they couldn&rsquo;t disrupt the local market already occupied by Uber. According to SimilarWeb&rsquo;s research, after some initial growth in Q3 and Q4 2015, both apps saw a decline in active app users over the first two quarters of 2016.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Shark Taxi</h2>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 451px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/183/content_shark_taxi_roll.jpg" alt="Shark taxi ridesharing in ukraine" />
<a href="https://agilie.com/blog/step-by-step-guide-on-taxi-app-development-features-and-business-model" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Developing a taxi app</a>&nbsp;requires analyzing the potential platform basis for its future seamless operation.&nbsp;Agilie crafted Shark Taxi based on&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/mobile-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mobile app development services</a>, like iOS and Android, as well as implemented the app's relevant&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/web-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">web development services</a>. Operating since 2013, Shark Taxi constantly expands its presence on Ukraine&rsquo;s mobile taxi booking/ridesharing market, appearing in more and more cities and metropolitan areas all over the country.
Uber hasn&rsquo;t yet stepped on the markets of most developing countries. In Ukraine, Uber X has been launched just recently - in July 2016, - and it&rsquo;s now operating only in the capital, Kyiv. For Shark Taxi, which has already established itself&nbsp;in other regions, the hype around Uber X&rsquo;s launch became a marketing booster that only increased the number of the app&rsquo;s active users.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Is there still room for new mobile taxi booking and ridesharing apps?</h2>
Yes, there is. And the biggest advantage has the local services operating in the territories still uncharted for Uber and other big companies. The success of apps like Uber has raised people&rsquo;s interest in mobile taxi booking and ridesharing services (and even beyond them, as we can judge by the &ldquo;Uber for X&rdquo; phenomenon), and those who fit the niche before Uber&rsquo;s arrival have more chances to succeed. Otherwise, they might not be so lucky - as we see from the experience of Australian apps GoCatch and ingogo.
The key to achieving success for taxi booking apps that operate on a local level is applying Uber&rsquo;s experience and its way of doing business, at the same time, making their services more affordable to customers.&nbsp;
Specifically, they should focus on three key points.
Placing an order. The benefits of mobile don&rsquo;t go down to the possibility to book a car &ldquo;anywhere, anytime&rdquo;. Mobile technologies allow using a device&rsquo;s GPS capabilities for a faster search for the closest car, the shortest route, and online payment services for paying for a ride in advance. All this helps to eradicate the unnecessary lags in passengers&rsquo; experience.
Payment processing. The integration of mobile payments has become a must in almost any type of apps. However, for taxi apps - especially for those operating in local markets - it&rsquo;s important to support all popular types of payment processing: online payments, plastic card payments, and the old good cash.
Building trust between passengers and drivers. Uber is notable for its approach to partnering with the trustworthy drivers, as well as for its rating systems that allow both passengers and drivers to learn who will they interact with and what riding history these persons&nbsp;have. This is not the flawless way to build trust between passengers and drivers, but it works nonetheless.
Transportation service companies must act now and adopt mobile app technologies. It&rsquo;s a perfect opportunity for them to partner with the established local mobile services or consider developing their own mobile taxi booking app. On the other hand, entrepreneurs should, too, consider fitting this market before other companies will do that. One way or another, it will lead to the enhancement of the taxi services&rsquo; quality and the emergence of new successful marketplaces.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re interested in <a href="step-by-step-guide-on-taxi-app-development-features-and-business-model" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taxi app development</a>, check out our Shark Taxi case study, and <a href="https://agilie.com/contacts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">contact us</a> for further collaboration.

Let's check some stories from local markets where taxi booking and ridesharing apps coexist with the industry giant.

Uber seems to have international domination. Or does it? Let's check some stories from local markets where taxi booking and ridesharing apps coexist with the industry giant.

Local Taxi Booking and Ridesharing Apps vs. Uber: Market Landscape and Opportunities

In a <a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/mobile-development">mobile app development</a> industry, design quite often becomes a vague, inexact term. When someone says they want to hire a designer, you never sure if they mean a person who deals with product interfaces, or a professional who outlines the way how a user should act within an app, or they seek a designer just to draw some icons or make up animations.
In fact, <a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/ui-ux-design">product design</a> has a more complex part in app development.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Design is the foundation of your product and the key to achieving your business goals</h2>
The ultimate success for any product - mobile and web apps included - &nbsp;is to achieve the established business goals, which is impossible without a user&rsquo;s engagement with the product. In this situation, the key to achieving user engagement and, ultimately, your business goals is product design.
Product design is a system that connects user interface, user experience, graphics, and motion. Combining all these elements, a product designer creates&nbsp;visual language, a universal communication medium that will - if used right - drive your product&rsquo;s both production and marketing success.
<img style="width: 800px; height: 479px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/173/content_visual_language.png" alt="design visual language" />
The best product design lies within finding the balance between marketing needs and user desires, and, thus, outlines the shortest path to solving user&rsquo;s problem. To achieve this, a product designer must make sure that an app:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">is easy to comprehend and use</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">solves your business objectives and answers target user&rsquo;s needs</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">has a unique visual appearance.</li>
</ul>
Finding this balance and, finally, delivering such a product is a laborious work for the whole development team, that is based on making numerous tough decisions on both small and big ideas.
We at Agilie believe that a truly successful app is the one created with designers&rsquo; participation at all stages - from outlining the initial concept and business plan to marketing and support.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">How exactly design contributes to your app&rsquo;s ultimate success</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">1. Design establishes communication and helps define app&rsquo;s competitive advantages</h3>
From the earliest stages of app development - requirements gathering and project planning, - the client and the design team tightly collaborate in order to crystallize the vision of the final product and find the shortest and the most resource-effective path to implement that vision.
Designers carry out the market analysis and gather data on the target audience and competing products. This information helps the team:
1) ensure user engagement
2) make a product unique and create a new niche on the market.
&ldquo;Design is a collaborative effort between designers, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers&rdquo; - <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/01/what-matters-to-the-worlds-most-important-designers/">says</a> Kim Colin, Industrial Facility co-founder, and we at Agilie are totally up to this idea.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">2. The design makes an app simple and accessible</h3>
Very often, speaking about the importance of simplicity in product design, people point at Apple products as examples. At the first glance, it seems that Apple&rsquo;s solutions have no complexity behind them, but,&nbsp;in fact, they are results of tough and sophisticated decisions.
<img style="width: 800px; height: 479px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/177/content_jony_ive.png" alt="product design simplicity" />
In product design, simplicity isn&rsquo;t just visual minimalism. Simplicity is ensuring that a user understands easily how the app works and gets engaged with it fast. And it&rsquo;s a designer&rsquo;s work to find a key to a product&rsquo;s simplicity by cutting off everything that clutters the user experience.&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">3. Design helps avoid failures</h3>
The design&nbsp;is also an effective risk-control solution. Designers are experts in user behavior within apps and know how a user experience should be built. They also understand the market&rsquo;s competitive environment&nbsp;and can distinguish potentially winning and losing decisions in advance.
Building a user-product interaction step by step and carefully analyzing user feedbacks, designers can adjust the product&nbsp;changing its features according to users' needs and, thus, increasing its desirability.
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">4. Design engages and retains users</h3>
A recent <a href="https://uplandsoftware.com/localytics/resources/blog/mobile-apps-whats-a-good-retention-rate/">report by Localytics shows</a> that due to so-called &ldquo;engagement crisis&rdquo;, 75% of app users across all industries churn within 90 days. The only way to retain users in this situation is enhancing the user engagement with an app. Here are some tools used by designers to engage users.
Onboarding. The first impression is the strongest one. Onboarding screens are designed to explain to users how the app works, motivate them to get started, and show them they are being appreciated.
<img style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/702/content_content_wirex_onboarding.gif" alt="mobile onboarding design" width="800" height="600" />
An onboarding animation for financial app <a href="your-own-cryptocurrency-from-scratch-everything-you-need-to-know-to-create-your-cryptocurrency">Wirex</a>,&nbsp;by <a href="https://dribbble.com/linalysenko">Lina Lysenko</a>, a UI/UX designer and animator at Agilie
Offering a new activity. These activities depend on the type of your app, but you can see the basic examples in almost every app on the market. It can be an offer to interact with related content or to write something in clear fields or to complete another.
Gamification elements. Activities that lead to earning the rewards address to peoples&rsquo; natural competitive spirit and inspire users to come back quite efficiently. A product designer&rsquo;s objective here is to find a way to wake this competitive spirit in their users.
Notifications. While some suggest that notifications will replace user interfaces in the nearest future, even now they are your most trustworthy ally in the user engagement process. Notifications are direct calls to action that exist both inside and outside the app. Designers&rsquo; duty here is to organize notifications to be precise, relevant and perfectly timed.
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">5. Design shapes your product&rsquo;s identity</h3>
When creating an app&rsquo;s unique look, designers are focused on empathy - one of the main triggers of user engagement. They can make your app stand out with only a&nbsp;few subtle details: well-chosen colors and interactions, and catchy icons that will distinct your app from others. Just look at Facebook&rsquo;s &ldquo;likes&rdquo; and Tinder&rsquo;s &ldquo;swipe left&rdquo;: they have already become brands themselves.
Even such a small detail as a mascot can become a face of your app and a brand trigger. For example, think about Snapchat&rsquo;s Ghostface Chillah, Twitter&rsquo;s Larry the Bird, Android&rsquo;s Bugdroid (yep, these are their actual names), and you&rsquo;ll realize you can&rsquo;t imagine these brands without them.
<img src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/674/content_content_gif_2.gif" alt="design saves your resources" width="800" height="600" />
<a href="https://dribbble.com/shots/2259554-Events-App-Create-meeting">Event app concept</a> by the&nbsp;Agilie Design team
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">6. The design saves your resources</h3>
At last, a thoughtful product design will save you time and money during the app development.&nbsp;
The more effort is put into pre-production activities such like market and user research, building up a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_(user_experience)">target user persona</a> and user stories, creating prototypes and gathering feedbacks, the less time your app will need for development, quality assurance, and support activities.&nbsp;
Our lives are shaped by design, though it&rsquo;s not always obvious. The general function of design and the purpose of any app is the same: to simplify peoples&rsquo; life. Thus, all ideas and technologies that you want to stack your app up with must be delivered to users properly - in a usable and intuitive form. And design is a key to finding that form.
by&nbsp;Alexander Demidov, art director at Agilie and Rustam Tagiev, writer

In this article, we will make it clear: what is product design exactly, and why it plays a major role in your app's success.

In today's tech industry, product design has become a victim of misconceptions and wrong interpritations. Many often boil this concept down to interfaces and icons, not realising its complexity and importance for product development. In this article, we will make it clear: what is product design exactly, and why it plays a major role in your app's success.

The Importance of Product Design for Mobile and Web Apps

In December 2015, Apple released a new provider API for Apple Push Notification service (APNs). This API is based on the HTTP/2 network protocol and allows app developers to send remote notifications to their app on iOS, tvOS, and OS X devices, and to Apple Watch via iOS.
We&rsquo;ve analyzed the new provider API, and in this article, we&rsquo;ll present a breakdown of its most important features and the benefits this long-awaited update brings to iOS developers.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Why we needed this APNs API update</h2>
APNs debuted back in iOS 3 era, and has remained largely unchanged throughout all these years, even despite implementing APNs has always been somewhat problematic for the app developers. Here are only some of the issues that were making the work with APNs too time-consuming and complex:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Notifications had to be serialized to a binary format and sent individually using a secure TCP socket.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Sockets required Apple&rsquo;s SSL certificate to be opened in.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">All - Development, AdHoc, App Store, and VoIP apps - had to use different certificates.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">We had to use a separate binary TCP socket API to check for unsubscribed devices in order to avoid sending future notifications to them.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">All errors led to the TCP socket closing.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Error codes were too generalized which made it difficult to identify the exact causes of errors.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A high notification throughput required multiple simultaneous connections to be opened.</li>
</ul>
The new provider API finally fixes all these issues making Apple Push Notifications service much more fast and convenient thanks to HTTP/2 protocol and JSON data interchange format.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">New features</h2>
The HTTP/2 APNs provider API makes our life as developers much easier by the following things:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;A JSON-based request-response protocol</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">APNs now sends 200 Success Response on each notification</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Errors are now getting a JSON-string response with detailed error descriptions</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Message length increased from 2048 bytes to 4096 bytes, which enables to add extra content to notifications (not just text, but also images and GIFs)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Compression allows to reduce the number of simultaneous connections to sustain a notification throughput</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The connection status check with the HTTP/2 PING Frame</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Topics support - you can now identify topics (bundle identifiers) for your notification</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/IDEs/Conceptual/AppDistributionGuide/AddingCapabilities/AddingCapabilities.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40012582-CH26-SW11" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Universal Push Notification Client SSL Certificate</a> for Development, AdHoc, App Store, and VoIP apps</li>
</ul>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 472px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/attachments/2088/content_http_2_-_1_updated.jpg" alt="APNS notifications delivery service" />
The updated push notifications delivery service&nbsp;protocol
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">How the HTTP/2 protocol makes notifications more effective</h2>
The HTTP/2 is basically an extension of the previous HTTP 1.x standards. This means that, although HTTP/2 eradicates the performance limitations of the previous protocols, the core concepts remain the same, and the developers don&rsquo;t need any app-level changes to update the existing notification systems.
Binary framing layer
The performance enhancements of HTTP/2 are possible thanks to the new binary framing layer. It introduces a more effective way how to encapsulate and transmit HTTP messages between the client and server.
<img style="width: 800px; height: 377px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/164/content_http_2_-_2.png" alt="HTTP 2.0 binary framing layer" />
Binary framing layer
The binary framing layer splits all HTTP/2 communication into smaller messages and frame, encoding them in binary format. Yet, the apps will be unaware of those changes - all changes happen on a client-server level: while the HTTP semantics remains the same, only the way how it&rsquo;s being transmitted and encoded is now different.
Also, with the new binary framing mechanism, we can say&nbsp;farewell to parallel TCP connections. Now, splitting streams into many interleaved and prioritized frames makes connections persistent and fast since it requires only one connection per origin.
Data exchange mechanism
The new mechanism of data exchange is based on three components: 1) Streams, 2) Messages, and 3) Frames.&nbsp;
All communication goes through a single TCP connection that can carry any number of streams.
Stream is a two-directional flow of bytes that happens during the connection and transmits messages. Each stream carries messages using a unique identifier and optional priority information.
Message is a logical request or response mapped by a sequence of frames.
Frame is the smallest unit of communication in HTTP/2. Each frame contains a header that identifies the stream the frame belongs to.
Hence, the HTTP/2 protocol communication is realized through the exchange of binary-encoded frames which are mapped to messages. Messages, in their turn, belong to particular streams. All these components are multiplexed within a TCP connection and ensure the best performance the HTTP protocol ever had.
Request and response multiplexing
As mentioned above, the binary framing layer in HTTP/2 enables full request and response multiplexing within a single TCP connection: first, the client and the server breaks an HTTP message down into independent frames, then interleave them, and finally reassemble them on the output.
This improvement alone leads to a number of performance benefits for push notifications, including:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Interleaving multiple requests and/or responses without blocking on any one</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Interweaving the logical streams over a single TCP connection without head-of-line blocking</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Using a single connection to deliver multiple simultaneous requests and responses</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Removing of the unnecessary HTTP/1.x workarounds that we were using to compensate the previous protocol&rsquo;s shortcomings</li>
</ul>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 294px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/166/content_http_2_-_3.png" alt="Parallel streams HTTP 2.0" />
Three parallel streams being transmitted between the client and the server within one connection
Header compression
Each HTTP transfer carries a set of headers with metadata that describe the transferred resource and its properties. In HTTP/1.x, headers were sent as plain text &nbsp;adding a considerable weight. In HTTP/2, request and response header metadata are compressed using the HPACK compression format.&nbsp;
To compress headers, HPACK uses two techniques:
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Encoding the transmitted header fields using a static <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huffman_coding" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Huffman code</a>, which reduces their individual transfer size.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Encoding the transmitted header fields using an indexed list of previously transferred values as a reference for the effective reconstruction of the full header keys and values.</li>
</ol>
<img style="width: 800px; height: 527px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/167/content_http_2_-_4.png" alt="HPACK header compression for HTTP 2" />
HPACK&nbsp;header compression for HTTP/2
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h2>
Before the update, Apple Push Notifications service was limited by the shortcomings of the HTTP/1.1 protocol. The protocol&rsquo;s forcing to use multiple TCP connections to process multiple requests simultaneously had a huge negative impact on the network performance. The old APNs also required different certificates for different app builds throughout the development process course&nbsp;and was making it almost impossible to track the sent notifications.
These and many other issues were unnecessarily time- and resource-consuming for us as app developers.&nbsp; The new APNs provider API employing HTTP/2 protocol solves all major problems the previous API had, allows to eradicate unnecessary workarounds, greatly increases performance, and reduces the overall development time.
&nbsp;
Further reading on APNs and HTTP/2:
What&rsquo;s New In Apple Push Notification Service / WWDC16
<a href="https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/RemoteNotificationsPG/Chapters/Introduction.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Local and Remote Notification Programming Guide / Apple Developer</a>
<a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/02/getting-ready-for-http2/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Getting Ready For HTTP/2: A Guide For Web Designers And Developers / Smashing Magazine</a>
&nbsp;
Also, read about our <a href="expertise/technology/mobile-development" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">iOS</a> and <a href="expertise/technology/mobile-development" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Android</a> app development services.

In December 2015, Apple released a new provider API for Apple Push Notification service (APNs).&nbsp;

APNs provider API is based on the HTTP/2 network protocol and allows app developers to send remote notifications to their app on iOS, tvOS, and OS X devices, and to Apple Watch via iOS. We’ve analyzed the new provider API, and now present a breakdown of its most important features and the befits it provides to iOS developers.

HTTP/2-Based Provider API for APNS: The Most Important Features And Benefits for App Development

When it comes to <a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/ui-ux-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener">creating animated prototypes for websites</a> and <a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/mobile-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mobile apps</a>, our design team normally prefers using tools like <a href="https://www.invisionapp.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">InVision</a> and <a href="https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html?promoid=KLXLW" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Adobe After Effects</a>. Nevertheless, we&rsquo;re always open to experimenting and often try alternative UI prototyping tools, especially when we have to deal with unusual tasks.
This time, we decided to explore <a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/muse/kb/adobe-muse-end-of-service.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Muse</a>, a website building tool from Adobe. Let&rsquo;s see how it worked out.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">The case</h2>
The team needed to present a fully functional landing page for an elite eyewear company&rsquo;s website. The page is a long read featuring several scroll transitions (including parallax scrolling effects), a product catalog, and headlines and photos appearing with &ldquo;fade in&rdquo; and &ldquo;fade in up&rdquo; effects.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Why Muse?</h2>
Adobe After Effects was simply not the right tool for the task. Although animating such a page with After Effects would take comparatively little time, we still wouldn&rsquo;t have got a fully functional website prototype with working transitions and scroll effects.
InVision, in its turn, doesn&rsquo;t support parallax scrolling effects, and our prototype had to rely on these effects heavily.
So, we needed a tool designed specially for creating responsive websites and able to preview prototypes right in the browser.
&ldquo;Create gorgeous HTML5 websites without writing code,&rdquo; the headline on the Adobe Muse&rsquo;s homepage was saying. It seemed to be exactly what we were seeking for.
Muse allows creating text headlines, paragraphs, buttons, input forms, blocks of media content and more right on the fly. Actually, you can build a whole website from scratch using Adobe Muse, but it can deal with a landing page prototype no worse.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Adding content and working with parallax effects</h2>
The landing page mockup was created in <a href="https://www.sketchapp.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sketch</a>. Then, the content was exported as .svg and .png files which are fully compatible with Muse.
Next, we had to add scroll transition effects to the page. In Muse, working with scroll transitions is operated via the &ldquo;Scroll Effects&rdquo; toolbar that contains motion, opacity, slideshow and animation settings.&nbsp;
<img style="width: 260px; height: 336px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/157/content_muse_scroll_effects.jpg" alt="" />
Setting motion speed in the Scroll Effects toolbar in Muse
Here, to create parallax scrolling effects in Adobe Muse, as well as &ldquo;fade in&rdquo; and &ldquo;fade in up&rdquo; effects for appearing elements, we needed only to play with motion and opacity settings: the former allows to set the initial and the final values of the scrolling and fade effects&rsquo; speed, and the latter does the same for the animated elements&rsquo; opacity.
It&rsquo;s pretty simple, but it may take some time to experiment with different values&rsquo; combinations before you get a smooth result.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Adding CSS animation effects&nbsp;to the prototype</h2>
The &ldquo;Scroll Effects&rdquo; tools in Adobe Muse allow to create smooth and beautiful parallax scrolling effects, but we also needed to include several animated headlines to our prototype which wouldn&rsquo;t depend on the scrolling speed.
To do this, we linked jquery and animate.css libraries to the prototype using the <a href="https://wow.js.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">WOW.js plugin</a>. Here&rsquo;s a video that explains how to do it in detail:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vnk_YQv3IPk" width="100%" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" align="middle"></iframe> &nbsp;
<img style="width: 468px; height: 500px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/162/content_muse_html.jpg" alt="" />
Muse allows to assign classes to the created elements and to insert an HTML code right into a page and into the &lt;head&gt; container.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">A few more valuable features</h2>
Adobe Muse also allows to adding anchor tags that allow a user to jump to a specific location on your page. Anchor tags are often used to create a navigation bar for landing pages.
&ldquo;Scroll Effects&rdquo; toolbar is active only when you have a fixed page width. Thus, if you want to make your prototype adaptive and to apply scroll effects to all the elements, you&rsquo;ll need to set and adjust breakpoints. Breakpoints mark the segments of the screen that can change their proportions or disappear completely depending on the screen or the browser&rsquo;s window sizes.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Exporting the prototype as a .html/.css file</h2>
As soon as the prototype was ready, it was time to hand it over to our <a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/technology/web-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">web development</a> team, so they could prepare it for the presentation in the actual web environment.
Adobe Muse can export a prototype as a .html or a .css file, which means that our web developers got a full-fledged website organized as a set of containers. Thus, the developers had only to edit the existing and add new elements.
<img style="width: 493px; height: 500px;" src="https://d12zh9bqbty5wp.cloudfront.net/ckeditor_assets/pictures/163/content_muse_export.jpg" alt="muse file export" />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Final thoughts</h2>
Of course, working on this landing page, we weren&rsquo;t able to explore the full potential of Adobe Muse, so, for now, there will be no ultimate conclusion. We continue testing Muse and have already rated it as an alternative to the usual tools we use for creating prototypes for desktop apps and websites.
The tool is not flawless, though. It really lacks libraries for layers&rsquo; animation, the possibility to work with masks, and the &ldquo;Scroll Effect&rdquo; toolbar is not as intuitive as it can be.
Yet, I&rsquo;d recommend trying Adobe Muse if you want to build a prototype functionally close to an actual website and have no experience of using other similar tools - Muse is quite friendly for the newcomers, yet quite functional to appeal an experienced designer.
Links:
<a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/support/programs/support-options-free-discontinued-apps-services.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responsive&nbsp;web design with Adobe Muse</a>
<a href="https://dribbble.com/agilie" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Our Dribbble page</a>
<a href="https://www.behance.net/agilie" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Our Behance page</a>

Our design team's first look at how to make a working website prototype with Adobe Muse.

Building a working website prototype with Adobe Muse

How to Build a Website Prototype With Adobe Muse

Business owners considering mobile apps development whether for clients or internal company usage may choose among three options of apps &ndash; native, web or hybrid applications. Let us analyze each type, its pros and cons, and decide which of them will be the most suitable option in each case and will meet the requirements in mobile app development.
Native Applications
These apps are developed for a definite platform &amp; are directly installed at a user&rsquo;s smartphone or tablet (filling some storage capacity). Such applications have to be downloaded by a user in an app store of a platform needed.
With native applications companies may create a customized product to provide a user with an app that is easy to use along with the other channels that are being used already. Such continuity is one of the basic advantages of native app development.
Some other benefits of native apps:
<ul>
<li>- Geolocation enables companies to customize their services and personalize loyalty programs. Customers may get notified about physical shops nearby or have a chance to get a regional discount.</li>
<li>- Data of user&rsquo;s activities (or inactivity) can be easily collected and analyzed, and in such a way evaluation of app effectiveness or its options is simplified.</li>
</ul>
And presumptive drawbacks:
<ul>
<li>- Native apps are usually more expensive in developing, especially for companies that need apps on multiple OS platforms</li>
<li>- Native applications are to be approved by each app store, and the process of drawing attention to it might be difficult (unless it is an app for internal company usage)</li>
</ul>
Web Applications
It seems quite clear &ndash; such apps run through a web-browser on a user&rsquo;s device. These applications are actually custom-designed websites that are built in order to look &amp; be used like native apps, though in reality they are not stored on a user's device. They can be compared with the cloud storage and data on a hard drive of the computer. When thoroughly designed (this includes sizing and scrolling), web applications often run as native apps.
Here are some key advantages of web applications:
<ul>
<li>- Web-based apps are easier to control and they can run on any OS platform</li>
<li>- Developers can offer applications without approving them by any app stores</li>
<li>- Faster cycle development using CSS, HTML and JavaScript</li>
</ul>
And some disadvantages:
Web applications do not access a user's device. As a result, this limits some additional app options that might have been useful for customizing an app
<ul>
<li>- They can be used only through the web, which means safety control is vastly decreased</li>
<li>- Searching for an app might be difficult because there are no any cataloged app store with search option in it</li>
</ul>
Hybrid applications
Hybrid app is a middle type between native &amp; web applications. Actually they are made so they look and feel like native applications. They also have to be installed on a user's smartphone and can be found in app stores. The difference is that they necessarily must be hosted within a native app and run through the WebView, so in such a way to get an access to the user's data for wider possibilities.
Additional options of hybrid apps:
<ul>
<li>- Hybrid applications have the best functionality and customization for a user</li>
<li>- Developers are not limited by a single platform, they can build a hybrid application that will work with several platforms (if it runs as a native app)</li>
<li>- Hybrids is a great option for developers that create visually intense applications, for instance, games (they would not perform properly as web apps)</li>
</ul>
Anyway, there are some disadvantages that are worth considering when choosing a hybrid app:
<ul>
<li>- In case of very complicated applications it is better to do them native</li>
<li>- Its development demands additional time &amp; efforts (compared with web apps), in order to make it feel &amp; look for a user like native</li>
<li>- App stores may refuse hybrid apps that do not work smoothly</li>
</ul>
Choosing an appropriate type of a mobile application is a very important stage in its development, that is influenced by several factors, such as technical evaluation by developers, necessity of the access to the data on a device, influence of the Internet speed on an application, etc.
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If you have any questions or would like to contact us about possible request on design or mobile friendly web site development or&nbsp;mobile app&nbsp;development please use&nbsp;<a href="contacts">Contact form</a>.

&nbsp;Let us analyze each application type, its pros, and cons, and decide which of them will be the most suitable option in&nbsp;mobile app development.

Business owners considering mobile apps development may choose among three options of apps – native, web or hybrid applications.

Choosing Between Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid App

&nbsp;
According to Tim Cook, Apple Watch is the most personal device ever made by Apple, and we have to admit he is right. As nothing can be more personalized that a gadget that is worn on a wrist and can be additionally set up according to a user's needs and wishes. Besides that, the smart watch gives new ways of interaction that were not possible or demanded on an iPhone. The key task of the Apple Watch is to be useful, discreet and laconic, as they are meant to be used on the go.
Apple Watch runs on watchOS. It is the operaing system developed especially for this device. It is based on iOS and supports applications that are based on Apple WatchKit. Apple company shares a&nbsp;set of all the necessary instruments for making new apps or updating existing ones with developers.
There are different opinions among developers of such applications. On the one hand, it is a brand-new device and it creates new tasks and opens up new possibilities for new types of apps. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that iOS is quite a reserved system and it has some limitations, which touched Apple watchOS as well. As a result, it may narrow possibilities for developers.
Anyway, more and more companies update their iOS apps and adapt them for Apple watch. Apple Watch apps development becomes more demanded in different sectors of business. Our Agilie team has also started developing apps for watchOS, and recently we have finished working on our Apple Watch application Shot Bucket. It is a Dribbble client that is now available for users in their Apple Watches.
Please visit <a href="https://agilie.com/services">Services</a> page&nbsp;on our website in order to find out more about Apple watch apps development at Agilie.
Subscribe to our blog and please follow us on:
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If you have any questions or would like to contact us about possible request on design or mobile friendly websites/mobile apps development please use&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/contacts">Contact form</a>.

According to Tim Cook, Apple Watch is the most personal device ever made by Apple, and we have to admit he is right.&nbsp;

Apple Watch runs on watchOS. It is the operaing system developed especially for this device. It is based on iOS and supports applications that are based on Apple WatchKit.

Apple Watch App Development

Some years ago mobile internet on the phone has been considered an unnecessary feature, and the most of Internet users were using desktop computers. Now it is left in the past and it is safe to say that it is time for the mobile internet.
Since the start of 2014 when the most of Internet users were choosing mobile access to the world net, it became obvious that in order to make a website effective and attended, an owner has to make it handy and readable both for smartphones/tablets and big screens &ndash; not only PCs but TV-screens with a Smart TV option. Moreover, website optimization for mobile devices becomes a competitive advantage in some business sectors.
In order to help you to decide which type of a site you need and to make it mobile friendly let us have a look at different types of mobile friendly websites &amp; choose the best for you:
Responsive site &ndash; a webpage (URL, HTML, images, etc) remains the same only CSS sets different rules depending on the width of a browser.
Separate mobile site is a website separated from the main one and is focused on smartphones/tablet users. Normally it redirecs mobile users to a special subdomain.
Adaptive website &ndash; it is the most progressive way of creating a website, as its peculiarity is making pages that will be the same readable on devices of any size. Adaptive web design is cheaper for website owners and easier for developers as there is no need to create several website versions for various devices, which would be very ineffective.
Our team creates mobile friendly websites using the solution of <a href="expertise/technology/ui-ux-design">adaptive web design</a> in order to bring users and site owners the best experience and high efficiency.
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<div style="line-height: 20.8px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="line-height: 20.8px;">If you have any questions or would like to contact us about possible request on design or mobile friendly websites/mobile apps development please use&nbsp;<a style="line-height: 20.8px;" href="contacts">Contact form</a>.</div>

Some years ago mobile internet on the phone has been considered an unnecessary feature, and the most of Internet users were using desktop computers.&nbsp;

Adaptive web design is cheaper for website owners and easier for developers.

Common types of mobile friendly websites

The newest release of the WebKit framework in iOS8 provided significant simplification of iOS&nbsp;development process.&nbsp;
The previous version of iOS allowed to useUIWebViews&nbsp;based on UIKit framework.&nbsp;The biggest&nbsp;disadvantage of this implementation&nbsp;related to In-Process loading of web content. Plus&nbsp;UIWebViews didn't contain Javascript&nbsp;Nitro engine optimization, that vastly improved&nbsp;speed of&nbsp;interpreting scripts and led&nbsp;to compilation of JavaScript code into native machine code. One more additional&nbsp;disadvantage of UIWEbView was that many web kit capabilities were not shared with developers. So believe me,&nbsp;Javascript bridging looked like&nbsp;a pain. However, new WebKit framework contains a list of the new features like smooth scrolling, gestures, key-value observing of new WKWebView&rsquo;s properties, native communication.
The first of them was achieved by exploiting Core Animation and hardware acceleration providing 60 fps. As for gestures, now WKWebViews supports track-pad gestures such as swipe to go back and pinch to zoom. Go further, to check exact status of the web view at any given time such properties of WKWebView as progress, title, URL can be observed by KVO. Native JS Bridging becomes possible with the help of new APIs: UserScripts and ScriptMessages. The first allows developer&nbsp;to inject JavaScript code into a webpage and run it on a specific part of a page. The second one&nbsp;enables the native code to receive callbacks (like&nbsp;NSNotification) from the User Scripts injected into the page.
The crucial achievement of WebKit is that every single web content of WKWebView runs in its own process completely isolated from our app. And its processes are handled by the system. It improves responsiveness of App when web pages load a lot of JS objects and run a lot of scripts. It gives an opportunity to put individual web pages for things like background tabs and fully-occluded Windows.
And finally new WKNavigationAction class offers protocol methods which is called multiple times by&nbsp;the loading of a web page. Property navigationType determines the type of action triggering the&nbsp;navigation. We can track&nbsp;the loading process and tweak it according to the needs of Application.
Summary:&nbsp;Modern&nbsp;WebKit framework provides developers with the&nbsp;opportunity to build powerful, modern and responsive&nbsp;apps using web contents.
If you have any specific questions on possible implementation of these features in your product feel free to contact us by this&nbsp;<a style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;" href="contacts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Contact form</a>.

The newest release of the WebKit framework in iOS8 provided significant simplification of&nbsp;iOS&nbsp;development&nbsp;process.

Agilie team is constantly reviewing programming updates from Apple iOS framework. This artlicle relates to the changes on modern WebKit framework. 

Beginner's Guide: Modern Apple WebKit Framework

The rise of crypto wallets represents&ensp;a significant innovation in fintech. Those wallets can be very useful for businesses because, with them, many people can have access to funds depending on roles and permissions.
Depending on the type, cryptocurrency wallets also help in managing digital assets and allow businesses or individuals to control funds without banking, as they retain the full autonomy of&ensp;funds, or even trade assets without manual transfers. In this article, we are going to see what is the difference between a custodial and non-custodial wallet.
<div id="form-description" class="form-description" data-title="Key Takeaways" data-text="The custodial wallet requires identity verification, breaching the user&rsquo;s anonymity, while the non-custodial wallet is pseudonymous. 
Since non-custodial wallets operate independently of centralized exchanges (CEXs), transaction speed depends on blockchain network conditions, leading to delays in crypto operations. 
Although the custodial wallet relies on the Know Your Customer policy, the risks of cyber security attacks arise because of the required identity verification.">
<div class="form-description-title">Key Takeaways</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
The custodial wallet requires identity verification, breaching the user&rsquo;s anonymity, while the non-custodial wallet is pseudonymous.&nbsp;
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Since non-custodial wallets operate independently of centralized exchanges (CEXs), transaction speed depends on blockchain network conditions, leading to delays in crypto operations.&nbsp;
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Although the custodial wallet relies on the Know Your Customer policy, the risks of cyber security attacks arise because of the required identity verification.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Foreword: The Essence of Private Keys</h2>
Hold on! Why is it important to discuss the private key and how it comes with the custodial and non-custodial wallets? Let&rsquo;s define this cryptographic element and analyze its functions and importance for crypto wallets.&nbsp;
The crypto wallet generates a private key, which represents an alphanumeric code consisting of a large string of letters and numbers. The primary functions of a private key include enabling the users to authorize transactions and prove ownership of their assets.
This alphanumeric cipher matters to any crypto wallet type as it generates a digital signature. A private key is used to sign the transaction, which is transmitted to the blockchain, but prior to being added to the block, it requires verification. The computers operating the blockchain check the user&rsquo;s public key to verify the digital signature, and if it is correct the transaction is approved and recorded permanently on the blockchain.&nbsp;
The private and public keys are paired, which ensures the transaction&rsquo;s security due to the resistance to tampering and the impossibility of making any changes on the block. Hence, private keys are central elements of a crypto wallet, so let&rsquo;s discuss their essence in custodial and non-custodial wallets.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">What Is a Custodial Wallet?</h2>
The custodial wallet meaning can be defined as a wallet in which a third party, such as an exchange or bank, holds the private keys of the users. This means that the client is not in full control of their funds, as they rely on the custodian who secures and manages their transactions.&nbsp;
There are the following features of the custodial wallets:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Simplified Usability
</li>
</ul>
The custodial wallets represent an opportunity for beginners to trade their crypto assets without managing private keys.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Options for Account Recovery
</li>
</ul>
If users lose access to their accounts, they will be able to recover their funds as the custodian holds their private keys on the centralized server. The users will only have to verify their identity.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Support Opportunities
</li>
</ul>
A central unity manages the client&rsquo;s wallet, providing them with support like undoing the transaction.
Some of the best custodial wallets to consider are: Coinbase, Gemini, BitMex, BitGo, Binance, and Bitfinex.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">What Is a Non-Custodial Wallet?</h2>
When analyzing the non-custodial vs custodial wallet, the first one provides clients with full ownership of their private keys and funds, respectively. This autonomy defines the non-custodial wallet meaning that no third party will handle the user&rsquo;s funds and operations. This excludes issues like account freezing and withdrawal restrictions. There are the following distinctive features of the non-custodial wallets:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
User&rsquo;s Full Ownership
</li>
</ul>
The non-custodial wallets function within the decentralized ecosystem, meaning that no centralized unity will manage the wallet.
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Direct Blockchain Interaction
</li>
</ul>
A non-custodial wallet does not require an intermediary; transactions occur directly on the blockchain.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Increased Privacy
</li>
</ul>
The users don&rsquo;t have to abide by the Know Your Customer policy and verify their identity in the non-custodial wallet. This crypto wallet type preserves pseudoanonimity.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/blog/digital-wallets-types-ideas-and-future-of-such-products" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1740483774764.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Gain insights into the essence of e-wallets, their benefits, and examples.</a>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Difference Between Custodial and Non-Custodial Wallet</h2>
Based on the aforementioned analysis of two crypto wallet types, their meaning, advantages, and disadvantages, it would be essential to provide a short summative recap, as well as additional details on the differences between the custodial wallet vs non-custodial wallet, focusing on the following metrics.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Security</h3>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Custodial Wallet</h4>
The custodial wallet is less secure than its non-custodial counterpart, considering its vulnerability to cyberattacks. Hackers can attack the centralized servers and obtain access to multiple accounts.
Credential harvesting is a phishing type of cyberattack which aims to steal a user&rsquo;s login and password so that the attacker can access their account. The attackers send the falsified site links, almost identical to the real ones, via SMS or email, so by entering their credentials, the victim provides them with access to their funds.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Non-Custodial Wallet</h4>
The non-custodial wallets depend on the private keys owned by the users, which decreases the risks of theft. Nevertheless, attackers can obtain the key due to malware attacks, which can infect the computer or smartphone as in the case of clipboard hijacking malware attack.&nbsp;
The malware functions, so to say, silently in the device, monitoring the clipboard. When the user copies the wallet address, the malware substitutes it with the attacker&rsquo;s one, so the victim sends them their funds unintentionally.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Ownership of Private Keys</h3>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Custodial Wallet</h4>
In the custodial wallet, it&rsquo;s the custodian&rsquo;s responsibility to hold the user&rsquo;s private keys, which limits the latter&rsquo;s control over their funds. This is one of the most significant disadvantages of the custodial wallets for the following reasons:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Lack of Client&rsquo;s Full Ownership Over Their Finances.
</li>
</ul>
The client has access to accounts but relies heavily on the custodian&rsquo;s controls over the transaction&rsquo;s approval.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Withdrawal and Transaction Restrictions
</li>
</ul>
The custodian can delay or block the transaction based on governmental policies, which can limit the fund movement.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Non-Custodial Wallet</h4>
In the non-custodial wallet, the user holds the private keys by themselves, which is simultaneously convenient and requires a decent level of responsibility not to lose them.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
No KYC Compliance
</li>
</ul>
The non-custodial wallet does not rely on the KYC policy, so the user doesn&rsquo;t have to verify their identity to proceed with the transactions, showing their full ownership over their funds.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Ease of Use&nbsp;</h3>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Custodial Wallet</h4>
Custodial wallets are easier to use as the client does not have to know the precise details of the exchange work. If the user wants to undo the operation, customer support can help with that.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Non-Custodial Wallet</h4>
Non-custodial wallets require decent knowledge about the work of blockchain and smart contracts, as minor mistakes can lead to the loss of funds with no refund option, representing one of the core challenges of this wallet type.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/blog/top-7-crypto-wallet-apps" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1740483930529.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Check out 7 potential crypto wallets you might use.</a>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Choosing the Right&nbsp;Wallet&nbsp;for Your Business Needs</h2>
You might be interested in how to choose the right wallet type per business needs. It's time to discuss the most suitable cases to use custodial and non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Custodial Wallets</h3>
The custodial wallets are a valuable option for businesses that need an insured and regulated service. For instance, Greyscale, a leading crypto asset manager, utilizes Coinbase Custody, which improves its scalability and contributes to success due to alignment with NYC banking laws as the wallet is regulated by NYDFS, one of the most prominent financial regulators in the world.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Non-Custodial Wallets</h3>
The non-custodial wallets are best suited for businesses that manage crypto without third-party integration, and those companies with DeFi projects and NFT platforms. For instance, Open Sea, a web3 marketplace for NFTs, applies Meta Mask, which improves its scalability and success by integrating Layer 2 support like Polygon network for lower fees and faster transactions.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Who We Are</h2>
Agilie is a European IT outsourcing organization that crafts custom digital products for businesses and startups in fintech, real estate, healthcare, and marketing domains. By providing our clients with three outsourcing models, like the dedicated team, staff augmentation, and project-based outsourcing, Agilie elaborates on tech-savvy software relevant to&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fintech</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech/payment-solutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">payment solutions</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech/mobile-banking" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mobile banking</a>.&nbsp;
When it comes to the&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech/blockchain-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockchain software development services</a>, Agilie can help you craft:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Cryptocurrency
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Crypto Wallets
</li>
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Blockchain
</li>
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Smart Contracts
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
NFT
</li>
</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h2>
The article analyzed the features, advantages, disadvantages, and differences of custodial vs non-custodial crypto wallet types. Both introduce unique approaches to handling finances, such as the client&rsquo;s full ownership of the private keys versus the custodian&rsquo;s. Nevertheless, when choosing a wallet type, you have to take into account the elements of security, anonymity, and tech knowledge to make your trade or transactions secure and minimize risks.&nbsp;
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1740484028707.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Are you eager to craft a personalized crypto wallet? Then contact us to get a consultation!</a>

Explore the differences between a custodial wallet vs non-custodial wallet, their features, and use cases.

Explore the differences between a custodial wallet vs non-custodial wallet, their features, and use cases.

Custodial vs Non-custodial Wallet: Explained & Compared | Agilie

Blockchain has become a paradigm shift that changes the operations of different industries. Nevertheless, like any other disruptive technology, a lot of myths and misconceptions have appeared. We should differentiate between fact and fiction to use blockchain technology effectively and responsibly. We can better understand what blockchain is (and isn&rsquo;t), how it functions, and the varied applications it holds besides cryptocurrencies by clarifying these misconceptions.
<div id="form-description" class="form-description" data-title="Key Takeaways" data-text="Blockchain is not just about Bitcoin; it is the technology that can transform different fields. 

Blockchains are strong but not flawless, and being aware of the possible weak sections is a very important thing in keeping the network safe.

Educational investment and partnerships with software development experts are the main factors for businesses that will use blockchain technology.">
<div class="form-description-title">Key Takeaways</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Blockchain is not just about Bitcoin; it is the technology that can transform different fields.&nbsp;
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" aria-level="1">
Blockchains are strong but not flawless, and being aware of the possible weak sections is a very important thing in keeping the network safe.
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Educational investment and partnerships with software development experts are the main factors for businesses that will use blockchain technology.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 dir="ltr" role="presentation">&nbsp;Myth 1: Blockchain and Bitcoin Are the Same</h2>
Among the most common myths about blockchain technology is the confusion between the blockchain and Bitcoin. Blockchain and Bitcoin were created simultaneously, so they are widely believed to be the same thing. However, we must understand that blockchain is a much broader term. It is the technology that created Bitcoin. While Bitcoin is indeed the first and most famous application of this technology, equating the two is like saying that Google is the Internet.
Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger technology (DLT) that records transactions across multiple computers so that the records cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network.
This makes blockchain a naturally secure and transparent method of data and transaction recording.&nbsp;
Bitcoin is a type of digital currency based on blockchain technology and used for secure, anonymous, and decentralized financial transactions. The blockchain of Bitcoin acts as a public ledger for all the transactions in the Bitcoin network, thus, it is possible to transfer digital currency securely without the use of intermediaries like banks or governments.&nbsp;
Blockchain technology can be much broader than purely financial transactions. It can be used in different industries with various aims. Nowadays, many businesses are studying how <a href="https://agilie.com/blog/enterprise-blockchain-development-how-businesses-derive-benefits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enterprise blockchain development</a> can improve their operations.

Here are a few examples:
Healthcare: Blockchain can guarantee the safety of medical records storage and sharing. Thus, they are only available to authorized personnel and patients and lead to quicker diagnosis and treatment.​
Financial Services: Blockchain is a viable solution for international payments, real-time settlements, and improving transaction transparency and security.
Digital Identity:&nbsp; Blockchain can correct identity theft and fraud by adding digital identities that cannot be changed. For example, Estonia's e-Residency program is the first of its kind, a government-issued digital identity that allows entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world to operate and conduct business online in the EU.
Real Estate: Blockchain can simplify property transactions such as sales, leasing, and financing by reducing paperwork and improving transparency.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-delay: 0s;" href="https://agilie.com/blog/the-evolution-of-blockchain-from-bitcoin-to-business-applications" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="height: 344px; width: 778px;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716280829344.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Learn more about the evolution of Blockchain from Bitcoin to business applications.</a>
<h2 dir="ltr">Myth 2: Blockchain Transactions Are Always Anonymous</h2>
A frequent mistake people make about blockchain technology is that it is automatically anonymous to its users. However, the truth is more nuanced. Blockchain transactions are not strictly anonymous but pseudonymous.
Pseudonymity means that a user's identity is not directly tied to their blockchain transactions but rather to a digital pseudonym, typically a public key or a blockchain address. These addresses are like a sequence of letters and numbers, giving privacy but not total anonymity.
In contrast, anonymity would mean that the transactions are entirely disconnected from any identity, even a pseudonym, making them untraceable to the user. Blockchain does not usually provide this level of anonymity because the transaction history of each blockchain address is visible to anyone who accesses the blockchain.
Most blockchains are open ledgers, meaning that all transactions are visible to anyone who wishes to view them. This level of transparency ensures that while users' identities are not directly exposed, their transaction histories and patterns can be analyzed.<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 
<img src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716280901953.png" />
While basic blockchain transactions offer pseudonymity, several enhancements and tools can increase privacy:
1. Mixing Services: Services like CoinJoin allow multiple users to combine their transactions into a single transaction with multiple inputs and outputs. This mixing blurs the traceability of any single coin, making it more difficult to link wallets with identities.
2. Privacy-Focused Cryptocurrencies: Some cryptocurrencies, like Monero and Zcash, are designed specifically to enhance privacy. Monero uses ring signatures and stealth addresses to hide the transactions&rsquo; origins, amounts, and destinations. Zcash allows users to shield transactions completely through its zk-SNARKs technology, which enables transactions to be verified without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount.
3. Use of Multiple Addresses: Users can increase their privacy by using multiple wallets or addresses, dispersing their transactions across several points, which makes it more challenging to link them to a single identity.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-delay: 0s;" href="https://agilie.com/blog/blockchain-tech-trends-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-curve" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="height: 344px; width: 778px;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716280997458.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Explore key blockchain technology trends and stay ahead in its innovation with insights and practical examples.</a>
<h2 dir="ltr">Myth 3: Blockchains Are Unhackable</h2>
The idea that blockchains are completely unhackable is a frequently held misconception that can cause a dangerous level of complacency in security measures. While blockchain technology does offer robust security features, it is not immune to vulnerabilities. Knowing the security features employed and the situations in which breaches happen is very important for anyone who wants to use blockchain for their business.
Blockchain technology secures data through several mechanisms:
Cryptography: Every transaction on a blockchain is secured using cryptographic algorithms, which ensure that data can neither be altered nor read without the appropriate cryptographic key.
Decentralization: By distributing copies of the ledger across a network, blockchain reduces the risk of a single point of failure that could compromise the entire system.
Consensus Protocols: Blockchains use various consensus mechanisms, like Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS), to agree on the validity of transactions. These protocols prevent a malicious actor from changing even a single aspect of the blockchain.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-delay: 0s;" href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech/blockchain-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="height: 344px; width: 778px;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716281102044.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Learn more about our blockchain software development services.</a>
Despite these security measures, there are scenarios where blockchains can and have been compromised.
<h3 dir="ltr">Scenarios Under Which Breaches Have Occurred</h3>
51% Attacks: This type of attack happens when a single entity gains control of more than 50% of the network&rsquo;s mining hash rate or stake, allowing them to manipulate transactions and potentially double-spend coins.&nbsp;
Code Vulnerabilities: <a href="https://agilie.com/blog/secure-smart-contract-design-best-practices-in-solidity-programming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smart contracts</a>, which are self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code, can contain vulnerabilities. One of the most famous incidents is the DAO attack on the Ethereum network. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) smart contract code to siphon off one-third of the DAO&rsquo;s funds.
Phishing and Social Engineering: End-user security is often the weakest link in a blockchain system. Phishing attacks can allow attackers access to blockchain assets, bypassing network security measures, to steal private keys or wallet credentials.
<img src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716281254703.png" />
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h2>
The blockchain technology is often seen as highly popular and muddled at the same time.&nbsp; Falsified myths are only part of the misconceptions that can mislead such a fantastic technology. Similarly, proper professional knowledge and strategy can help blockchain perform to its potential in various fields.&nbsp;<a href="https://agilie.com/blog/your-own-cryptocurrency-from-scratch-everything-you-need-to-know-to-create-your-cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building your own cryptocurrency</a> can be a strategic move for businesses seeking to innovate and tap into new digital markets.
At <a href="https://agilie.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agilie</a>, we understand that dealing with a complex environment is also a significant challenge. This is why we create powerful blockchain systems and wish to educate our clients regarding the breadth of blockchain-utilizing services. Therefore, such solutions can be tailored to your industry's concrete necessities and problems.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-delay: 0s;" href="https://agilie.com/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="height: 344px; width: 778px;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1716281316627.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Contact us to find out how our blockchain development services can help you achieve your goal.</a>

Discover the truths about blockchain technology as we debunk common myths and clarify its applications to empower businesses with informed integration.

Discover the truths about blockchain technology as we debunk common myths and clarify its applications to empower businesses with informed integration.

Blockchain Myths Debunked: Separating Fact from Fiction | Agilie

Learn about the cost of building a banking app based on its features, dev process, UX/UI design, and wireframe.

Learn about the cost of building a banking app based on its features, dev process, UX/UI design, and wireframe.

Banking App Development Cost | Agilie

Analyze the latest fintech software development trends. Clarify what impact the evolving digital technologies have on the industry.&nbsp;

Analyze the latest fintech software development trends. Clarify what impact the evolving digital technologies have on the industry. 

Fintech Software Development Trends in 2025 | Agilie

Explore a step-by-step way of building a property management system from scratch, its features, and challenges.&nbsp;

Explore a step-by-step way of building a property management system from scratch, its features, and challenges.

How to Create a Property Management System | Agilie

Nowadays, blockchain reshapes the functionality of the fintech industry, invoking a significant interest in institutions that work with financial operations directly. We&rsquo;re talking about accounting, which starts integrating blockchain technology to its daily operations.&nbsp;
Accounting is a noticeable area for blockchain innovation due to the significant improvements it can present. Businesses experience growth of interest in secure financial operations. The elimination of a single-point failure and cryptographic encryption can reduce the dependency on the centralized intermediary and protect financial transactions by improving security and economizing protection costs simultaneously. The article analyzes what is blockchain used for in accounting and its benefits.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">How Blockchain Is Transforming Accounting</h2>
As a distributed and public ledger, blockchain benefits versatile fintech and business branches due to its possibility to record transactions that cannot be altered. The impact of blockchain in accounting is significant as it eliminates manipulations with records and minimizes human errors. We&rsquo;re going to focus on fraud prevention and error detection capabilities of blockchain in accounting.&nbsp;
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/blog/the-role-of-cryptography-in-blockchain-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1739370419274.png" width="100%" height="100%" />In this article you can learn how cryptography makes blockchain safe and the consensus mechanisms its work is based on.</a>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Fraud Prevention</h3>
Blockchain undermines the pain point of fraudulent actions through immutability and security.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Immutability
</li>
</ul>
As stated above, the transaction is recorded, while the record is immutable. This is important for accounting to fraud prevention because it makes it difficult for fraudsters to manipulate revenue or conceal expenses.
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Safety
</li>
</ul>
Authorized parties can access a real-time ledger, proving that blockchain can reduce the likelihood of fraudulent reporting. The auditors can cross-check the transactions in real-time, which greatly reduces the risk of any manipulations in the financial statements.
Moreover, with triple-entry accounting, the blockchain makes it hard&ensp;to commit double-entry fraud. Transactions are cryptographically linked and recorded in the distributed&ensp;ledger, making identifying fraudulent actions easier.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Error Detection and Overcoming</h3>
Blockchain helps to identify common human-factor mistakes and helps overcome them via smart contracts and AI integration.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Human Errors within Data Entry
</li>
</ul>
Blockchain helps resolve issues like incorrect figures or duplicate entries. Multiple parties validate the transduction cryptographically prior to recording. Smart contracts will automate the transactions, minimizing human input.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Duplicate Transactions
</li>
</ul>
Blockchain can help prevent accidental duplication of invoices, expenses, or payroll payments based on the correct realization of smart contracts or transaction control systems. The chances of record duplication are reduced as each transaction gets a unique cryptographic signature. Blockchain&rsquo;s task is to ensure a real-time reconciliation by underlining the duplicate entries.&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Transaction Misclassification
</li>
</ul>
Another human error in accounting is assigning the wrong category for revenue, expenses, or&ensp;liabilities, which results in erroneous financial statements. Smart contracts and AI analyze transactions and mark inconsistencies, while the immutable ledger ensures proper classification.
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Key Benefits of Blockchain in Accounting</h2>
Accounting organizations can optimize their record processing, minimize fraud, and economize financial input by integrating blockchain technology. Let&rsquo;s analyze the advantages of blockchain in accounting into the following categories.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Transparency</h3>
The blockchain works on the distributed ledger that instantly&ensp;records any transactions and displays them to authorized users. The immutable ledger eliminates the possibility of changes and is deleted once the finance-relevant operation is recorded. Finally, one of the key benefits blockchain brings to accounting is the absence of dependency on centralized units. All the required stakeholders and auditors are independent in verifying transactions.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Security</h3>
Blockchain and accounting are intertwined based on security intensification. Now, let&rsquo;s analyze how exactly blockchain helps accounting improve the security of its operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Blockchain assists accounting services in preventing and reducing fraudulent activities due to the cryptographic security mechanisms that protect against unauthorized access. Another way of supporting safety in accounting is securing financial data through advanced cryptographic encryption. Blockchain can prevent unauthorized alterations in the transactions via the consensus mechanisms that verify and record those operations.&nbsp;
Finally, as in blockchain, there is no need to rely on a third party; decentralized storage minimizes the risks of cyberattacks. For instance, Deloitte relies on machine learning in blockchain that helps check, mark anomalies, and set a risk rate for the transaction.&nbsp;
Nevertheless, it is important to remember the existing threats of cyber attacks on the users&rsquo; non-custodial wallets, smart contracts, and network nodes. The intermediary can store data in a centralized server, making it vulnerable to a single-point attack, while in the blockchain, decentralized storage eliminates this single-point failure and reinforces tamper resistance, making the records immutable based on the blockchain hashing.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Efficiency</h3>
Blockchain in accounting applies smart contracts that automate financial transactions. Manual intervention and processing are not required. The ledger facilitates real-time financial reporting, so&ensp;there are no delays in data processing. The distributed nature of the ledger allows auditors to determine if the transaction was legitimate. Overall, blockchain improves the efficiency of accounting services by minimizing the need for repeated data entry, which minimizes human errors.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Cost Savings</h3>
Blockchain minimizes overhead and manual transaction processing by excluding the dependency on third parties and eliminating the need to perform manual audits.&nbsp;
Blockchain favorably affects compliance costs by ensuring automatic alignment with accounting regulations. Finally, blockchain minimizes costs associated with error corrections and fraud detection.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">How Can Blockchain Be Used in Accounting?</h2>
Indisputably, the organization specializing in accounting can benefit significantly from integrating a decentralized ledger due to improved security, optimized time, and efficiency in verifying and operating transactions. But what are the practical examples of blockchain in accounting? Let&rsquo;s clarify.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Auditing and Assurance</h3>
Traditional accounting depended on third-party confirmations to check and verify whether the financial record was legitimate. Audits were time-consuming due to manual proceeding and verification. Blockchain functionality is based on the smart contract, which benefits audit compliance. It is possible to pre-program specific financial processes to follow audit rules automatically. Auditors don&rsquo;t have to wait for periodic reports. Instead, they can access data in real time.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Tax Compliance</h3>
Traditional manual tax management faced the challenges of income misreporting or purposeful dedication, which led to tax evasion and non-compliance. Here on, tax audits can be time-consuming to complete.
Integrating blockchain into accounting can eliminate invoice falsification. Smart contracts can automate the process of invoice verification in real-time prior to processing the tax claim. However, the correctness of data depends on the source information checked by the accountants. The immutable ledger ensures no record can be altered, eliminating the manipulation of tax-relevant data. Finally, due to the integration with the API of tax offices, smart contracts can calculate and file tax automatically based on recorded transactions.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Payroll Management</h3>
Payroll management encountered the dilemma of ghost employees who could divert and manipulate funds. Implementing blockchain technology in accounting can eliminate potential fraudulent actions in the following ways. Smart contracts can contribute to payroll automation by the automatic proceedings over the salaries only when the predefined conditions are met. Secondly, in blockchain, the payments will be analyzed only when the ID of the verified worker matches with the work records. The next point is that blockchain ensures the records are tamper-proof, meaning that no insider can manipulate the payroll records.
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Supply Chain Finances</h3>
The accounting organizations faced the problem of delayed payments from suppliers. The issue emerged because of the prolonged manual invoice verification. Moreover, manual reconciliation between vendors and clients delayed accounting processing. As blockchain provides real-time reconciliation, it can be integrated to eliminate the presented problems. This translates to real-time transaction recordings, removing the need to carry out manual reconciliation. One of the examples of blockchain in accounting is EY&rsquo;s blockchain analyzer reconciler applied to reconcile and match transactions. The approval of received items stimulates automated payment processing, which eliminates data manipulations, providing accounting with real-time financial tracking.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Agilie, Your Reliable Partner</h2>
Agilie is a European IT outsourcing organization that crafts from scratch and optimizes software solutions that align with our clients' boldest ideas. Specializing in fintech, mobile banking, and payment solutions, our software benefits multiple industries, including fintech, marketing, logistics, healthcare, real estate, etc. We aspire for client-centricity by aligning with the client&rsquo;s unique needs and embedding them into effective and time-preserving SDLC-based product development.&nbsp;
Our&nbsp;<a title="blockchain software services" href="https://agilie.com/expertise/fintech/blockchain-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockchain software services</a>&nbsp;include:&nbsp;
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Blockchain Development
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
NFT Crafting
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Smart Contract Development
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
Decentralized Finance Development
</li>
</ul>
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/success-stories" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1739370581892.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Gain insights into the versatility of our tech experience with Agilie Success Stories.</a>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h2>
The article answered the question of how is blockchain used in accounting by demonstrating its advantages and use cases. Blockchain technology excludes the reliance on intermediaries and streamlines efficiency by minimizing manual reconciliations and ensuring security and cost-effectiveness.
Smart contracts automate the transaction verification process, can prevent data falsification, and, by operating on decentralized storage, will make sure that no single entity will have control over the financial records and operations. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with skilled IT professionals who can integrate blockchain technology into your system to ensure the security and integrity of your accounting processes.
<a class="incut--wrap" style="transition-property: all;" href="https://agilie.com/contacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="incut"><img style="float: left;" src="https://d3pxw3l8cozu05.cloudfront.net/images/f9e66e179b6747ae54108f82f8ade8b3c25d76fd30afde6c395822c530196169-1739370637771.png" width="100%" height="100%" />Don&rsquo;t hesitate to contact us if you want to integrate blockchain into your accounting services.</a>

Delve into the cases of how is blockchain used in accounting, including its benefits and examples.&nbsp;

Delve into the cases of how is blockchain used in accounting, including its benefits and examples.