Smart city portal solutions provider DigitalTown has introduced a platform in San Antonio which aims to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors by allowing them to connect share, shop and transact locally and directly on web and mobile.

Described as a “digital cooperative”, the SanAntonio.City platform means San Antonians have their local-first alternative to Google, Expedia, AirBnb, and PayPal, all in one 24/7 web portal and mobile app.

As part of the roll-out, each resident of San Antonio is given a secure blockchain smart wallet with which they can send and receive money digitally without fees.

Every local business gets a free storefront where they can list their goods and services on SanAntonio.City and in the free mobile app, in order to accept online and mobile payments.

“San Antonio is a remarkable city which has much to offer the world as a leading technology hub,” said Rob Monster, CEO, DigitalTown. “[We are] excited to partner with the citizens and institutions of San Antonio to empower quality of life for all stakeholders as the city positions itself as a leading city for innovation in the digital age.”

Local city leaders Graham Weston and Jenna Saucedo-Herrera see the potential positive impact it can have on the San Antonio economy, taking advantage of these technologies for the benefit of our community.

“We are excited to have a platform like SanAntonio.City,” added Weston. “New business models like this are revolutionary and we want our ecosystem to be early adopters of this type of blockchain technology.”

San Antonians can also share in the success of the local platform itself, through the distribution of CityShares, a blockchain-based solution for managing shared participation in city cooperatives.

Residents are able to claim free CityShare tokens limited to 10 for each local resident. Additional CityShares can be purchased by accredited investors.

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