SCF #10
BP Ventures
by

Helping FinTechs Leverage Stellar Technologies

Awarded
Budget request:
$
*
WebsiteCode

Project Stage

Growth

Category

Cross-Border Payments
Tools

Based in

Sheridan, Wyoming USA with teams distributed in Brazil, Paris, Toronto, Lagos, and other countries

Team size

Active since

2020
Products & Services

BP Ventures provides Stellar blockchain payment solutions & software development services for Money Transfer Operators, Exchange Houses, FinTechs, Banks and Telcos that add new revenues, decrease fraud & charge-backs rates, and improve working capital, treasury efficiencies.


In particular, BP Ventures fills a vacuum in the market by advising Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and Banks how best to implement and use Stellar. MSB’s are often skeptical of the benefits of blockchain technology.  They see additional risks, like potential compliance and bank account issues with little understanding of how to implement Stellar blockchain powered payments into their existing business.


Based on our 20 years experience in payments and banking and our actual implementation of Stellar at Tempo, an EU regulated payment institution, we directly address MSB’s concerns with a risk reduced and structured Stellar onboarding process which includes 3 easy steps.


Step 1:

Leverage USDC as a payment mechanism for MSBs.  Paying into their existing remittance system and using a non custodial payment gateway with a one click integration solution makes this option fast & easy to implement with little risk. In particular, using USDC as a payment mechanism solves many real world problems for MSBs.


For example, chargebacks are growing at 20% per annum.  BP’s solution has immediate value as it allows MSBs:  

  • Reduces charge backs rates & fraud, as USDC payments are irreversible.
  • Funds are immediately available, thereby assisting MSB’s working capital utilization & improving their treasury efficiencies.  In contrast, card payments are credited by the processor up to 15 days following the transaction.
  • Lower cost.  USDC payment mechanism is cheaper than cards that average between 1.8 to 3.5% plus additional chargeback & fraud fees maybe applicable.
  • Our 1 click integration into major money transfer systems already have thousands of clients.  BP has negotiated this contract with 2 major MSB IT vendors.
  • New customers, ability to tap into different types of customers than the MSB may typically service.
  • 1 click integration into Circle for the MSB to instantly receive digital funds
  • Supports USDT from Ethereum via Apay and Bitcoin Lightning path payments (that convert to USDC)
  • BP's product roadmap with the additional SCF funding includes :
  • Integrate directly into 1000s of backend systems via Zoiper such as Xero, Quickbooks.
  • Complete Circle API integration
  • Integrate into Temenos, opens 1,600 banks and credit unions to the Stellar blockchain.
  • Elliptic integration


https://pay.bpventures.us is charged on a pay as you go model to MSBs already on some key remittance systems that BP has already fully integrated with.  The individual MSB pays only once they have hit the volume threshold of 10 000 USDC in volume, to encourage use.

BP’s commission revenue is split with the IT platform providers giving new revenue streams for these backend vendors..


Step 2:

Our Anchor in a box solution allows MSBs to connect to Stellar as a payment rail for easy cash in & cash out of USDC via SEP 31/6/24 as well as directly sell USDC. This new product provides new revenues & new customers to MSB's. Currently Polaris is accessible by the Admin Panel, but it's confusing and hard for most MSB's to understand & get started.

We have a customized version that allows for a junior operator to manage transactions. It also has an integrated sftp/ftp module that can send batch jobs of transactions including kyc to any website or system backend. With SCF funds we can complete the full integration into 3 major backend providers as well as one click integration with several kyc providers for wallet integration.


Step 3:

Expanded Stellar Blockchain use thru BP’s White label, customized DeFi dashboard solution. The DeFi dashboard solution enables MSB’s & their customers instant access to the DeFi ecosystem to trade, swap, invest in DeFi or cash in/out all from one easy to use app.

Expanded Stellar blockchain use thanks to BP’s DeFi dashboard solution with open API connectivity for fast, easy integration into Money Service Businesses software platforms.



The DeFI dashboard provides an easy way for those who want to protect their funds from inflation to put their funds into USDC. We think of it as a simplified Uniswap with deposit and withdrawal functionality.



  • It supports all major DeFI wallets such as Albedo, Freighter, xBull, Rabet and Ledger.
  • It has a seamless onboarding process for new users to crypto.
  • It supports mobile users via Albedo and xBull
  • It shows the market price via Coingecko api (may be moved to an oracle)
  • It shows the positive or negative gain vs Coingecko (Impact).
  • It protects users from trading too much from the Coingecko price via slippage protection
  • Integration into Google Analytics to help MSBs track customer usage


The DeFi dashboard is built on Stellar blockchain technology with advanced algorithms that enable users to obtain better pricing when they swap instead of a simple path payment.


Our product roadmap includes:

  • It is build ready to support Stellar Smart contracts when they launch later this year
  • Additional Liquidity Pool Staking options.
  • Reports on incorrectly priced assets (trading opportunities).
  • Virtual Visa Card issuance.
  • Direct integration with Exchanges and other partners - Deposit into Bitso where the user needs only to enter their member id/memo.


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Previous Project(s)
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Progress so far

Combination of sales & improved functionality.  On the sales side, we’ve targeted smaller payment companies that are satisfied with the current product which enables BP to build transaction volumes, onboard clients & earn revenues to then further improve product functionality.  This enables us to more easily onboard a more demanding, publicly traded bank or payment institution.


BP’s Stellar blockchain strategies & stable coin implementation service for FinTechs is live and we have 3 corporate clients, with a 4th pending contract signing expected imminently.


Expanded Stellar blockchain use thanks to BP’s DeFi wallet solution is in production, live with 2 corporate clients & 3rd expected shortly.  We continue to add new functionality improvements to the DeFi product & additional funding expedites this process as today we have limited development resources.


Concerning the legal environment, BP Ventures is a Wyoming incorporated blockchain consulting services & software development firm.  The company does not hold client funds.  BP provides SAAS for FinTechs like MSB’s, payment & E-Money institutions that are obliged to hold licensing as appropriate to their legal jurisdiction. BP has an ongoing contract with a legal advisor


Additional HR resources such as software developers, product managers & blockchain consultants enables the company to support on-boarding more corporate clients simultaneously and ramp Stellar transaction volumes faster.

Goals

Specifically BP Ventures seeks to increase Stellar blockchain transaction volumes by providing useful & relevant Stellar blockchain strategies & stable coin solutions to Fintechs that permit them to increase revenues, decrease chargebacks & more efficiently manage their working capital by adeptly implementing blockchain technologies. As Moneygram is coming onto Stellar via USDC we plan to help smaller MSBs take advantage of this one time opportunity.


We seek to engage contractually with 1 large, publicly traded international payment company and 2-3 smaller, regional payment institutions in the next 6 months.  These contacts have already been made and are in progress. BP Ventures is currently in discussions with 4 publicly traded payment companies and 6 smaller, regionally focused players.  Based on current negotiations, BP believes obtaining 1 or 2 contractual agreements for public entities and 4-5 for smaller players during the next 6 month period is attainable and reasonable to achieve.  


BP directors believe our 6 month goal is within reach, realistic, and relevant to our life purpose of increasing Stellar transaction volumes through onboarding payment companies  & showing them implementation strategies to best profit from blockchain technologies. Our Starting date is now & target date for signing & rollout is 1 activation or signed service agreement/SOW implementation in the next 2 months.


Finally we wish to be cash flow positive within 12 months based on growth targets and based on our current financial plan this is feasible. For our product suite we currently focus on weekly releases that add new functionalities. Some of these updates are developed and deployed live at clpx.finance.


Our DeFI dashboard should have improved superswap capabilities - algorithmic supported for best pricing across different digital assets & improved withdrawal capabilities for partner accounts.


Further major enhancements for pay.bpventures.us are to complete Zoiper, Circle and Elliptic integration as well as add outbound Stellar support for the two Money Transfer systems we are already integrated with.

To get there, we request a budget of  
$
*
  to:

Come alongside BPV as we roll out the following in 2022:

BP Pay

  1. Complete Circle integration
  2. Elliptic integration
  3. Auto sweep feature for smaller amounts


DeFI Dashboard


  1. Open source codebase
  2. Integrate DeFi dashboard new order types
  3. Supperswap and Smart swap - breaks swap into smaller trades that allow accessing different liquidity sources and mix limit ordes with path payments
  4. Virtual Visa card issuance with large, publicly traded Stellar partner



Polaris-White label

  1. Integrate upcoming features from SDF
  2. Add 2 MT vendors seamless integration
  3. Integrate with KYC provider Passbase

Development Process:

Additional information

PROBLEM & SOLUTION

What problem(s) have you identified?

In running Tempo for the past decade we learned how to best leverage Stellar for regulated & authorized payment companies. Our objective is to help other payment institutions best use & implement Stellar blockchain technologies based on our hard earned experiences so they can increase revenues, decrease fraud & chargeback rates, and improve treasury efficiencies.


What are your users' pain points?

Our corporate customers are generally limited to no or little experience using Stellar blockchain and stable coins.  They have limited knowledge on how to implement Stellar into their existing payment rails to improve operational & treasury functions. No real experts in the market today are available to provide a comprehensive Stellar USDC focused implementation solution.


Furthermore, MSB’s are often reluctant to enter into the blockchain space due to fears of the unknown, incomplete knowledge of crypto, regulatory & banking considerations that - from the MSB’s perspective, adding Stellar blockchain may adversely impact their business.


How do you solve them?

We’ve already done it & have years of experience working with Stellar & therefore have some strong credibility!  We implemented Stellar blockchain & on chain settlement at Tempo, a Central bank regulated & authorized European payment institution in Paris, France.


We became one of Stellar’s first anchors in Europe and we created our own stable coin, the EURT and connected to various other Stellar partners for onchain payments like with BitBond, Coins.ph, Cowrie Systems, Flutterwave, nTokens and more.  We bring credibility and real world experience coming from a regulated payment’s company that implemented Stellar.


Subsequently, we’ve helped a number of other Regulated Financial companies successfully implement & leverage Stellar technologies. Our 3 part solution increases revenues, reduces chargebacks/fraud & improves working capital, treasury efficiencies.

User pain points are exploding card chargeback & fraud rates for online payments. High card interchange & processor assorted fees for total card cost & delays in processor funding we are addressing by implementing USDC as a payment mechanism for FinTechs.

Subsequently we are using USDC as an additional product for cash in & out at authorized locations to obtain new users & revenues.Finally our DeFi dashboard solution helps clients easily move between different digital assets & FIAT.

How do you use Stellar in your solution?

Stellar blockchain is the principal blockchain we are using to connect different payment entities around the world.  All the user transactions are recorded on Stellar. In particular we use the USDC stable token as a settlement mechanism for remittances.


We have also in the past integrated Ethereum based blockchains, Bitcoin Lightning, and Ripple so we have depth of experience.


TARGET MARKET


FinTechs like MSB’s, authorized payment institutions, Neo or and online focused banks and E-Money licensed companies that can all profit by implementing blockchain technologies to improve operational & treasury efficiencies.  Additionally the individual users of payment services.  


Where are they located?

Worldwide to include in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, the Americas. Authorized payment institutions,  MSB’s, Neo banks, E-Money Licensed companies, Telecoms, and Financial Services companies.

REVENUE MODEL

Blockchain strategies & blockchain consulting fees averages up to $4000 per day & BP’s charging below the average daily rate.


BP’s SAAS model includes a standardized set up fee per payment institution depending on their size, plus an option for additional software development customizable for the client plus a flat percent per volume transaction fee and ongoing technical service & support agreement.


In general we anticipate charging more for larger publicly traded companies versus a smaller initial fee for start ups that may have an ongoing per transaction fee.


We are setting pricing a bit below the market rate as we onboard our first group of companies, but really are focused on competing on the quality of our services, experience in the market & working with other payment companies to implement Stellar.  BP Ventures is one of the rare firms we know about who’s directors have +5 years experience in implementing Stellar for regulated payment companies like MSB’s as well as Ripple and Bitcoin.


FINANCIAL PLAN

Please see financial model attached: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Lf3rodNxhilDytXSPMqt4sXSIAJKZJqp9YQsGlOo8us/edit?usp=sharing

INDUSTRY AND MARKET RESEARCH

Payments is a billions of dollar market using old technologies like SWIFT that if certain barriers are surmounted, is ripe to profit from Stellar technologies. Covid has only accelerated online payments, which has resulted in exploding fraud & chargeback rates that BP Ventures solution solves directly by using Stellar technologies. The consulting advisory market size is $135 billion according to Statista and growing!


THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The regulatory landscape is actually the most complicated portion of managing digital assets as certain jurisdictions may require additional crypto licensing to offer Stellar powered blockchain payments.


COMPETITION

  • LeewayHertz - Software Development Company
  • Internal IT Development teams
  • PWC
  • Deloitte
  • Ripple



MARKETING AND  SALES

With over 20 years in the FinTech space, we personally know key C-level people at many payment institutions and are therefore able to make direct approaches to these companies to propose our Stellar blockchain implementation consulting & software development services.


We also use social media channels like LinkedIn, Stellar oriented podcasts, Facebook and Google Analytics to maximize marketing.By providing a clear & compelling description of how the payment entity can best profit from using Stellar blockchain & stable coin strategies. A standardized Service agreement & SOW to execute. Connections into Money Transfer Systems with dozens of MSBs using the system & having access to BP’s payment solutions.

Pitch deck
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Team

Jeffrey Phaneuf

Director

Jeffrey M. Phaneuf is currently the co-founder and Director of BP Ventures LLC, a Wyoming incorporated information technology company providing management consulting & software development services with a focus on Stellar blockchain strategies and stable coin implementation solutions for banks, FinTechs and authorized payment institutions.

Previously Jeff was the founder and President of Tempo Money Transfer, an EU regulated FinTech headquartered in Paris, France offering Stellar blockchain powered, online digital wallet & payment solutions, OTC foreign exchange services, corporate B2B payments, person to person remittances and more!

Jeff was instrumental in the founding of Tempo, obtaining the company’s EU payment service license and raising investor funds to develop a unique, digital payment's company using Stellar blockchain technology in conjunction with a EURT stable coin to facilitate faster, secure, and more efficient payment processing.

Prior to founding Tempo, Jeff worked in a wide range of international organizations, including as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, as a military observer with the United Nations in Iraq & Kuwait, with Reuters in Luxembourg, and in various senior executive payment positions at RIA, Sigue, and i-transfer.  Jeff was on the senior executive team that successfully sold Ria to Euronet and has 20 years of payment industry experience leading FinTechs from creation and market entry to exit.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-michael-phaneuf-70540930/

Name Anthony BARKER

Director

Mr. Anthony Barker, is a co-founder and MD at BP Ventures LLC, a Wyoming incorporated information technology company providing management consulting & software development services with a focus on Stellar blockchain strategies and stable coin implementation solutions for banks, FinTechs and authorized payment institutions.

Formerly Director General & CTO at Tempo, a regulated European payment institution based in Paris, France & previously head of IT equities trading technology at National Bank, BMO and IBM Canada with +20 years of successful banking, IT, crypto & senior executive strategic management experience.

A serial entrepreneur, Anthony came into contact with Jed McCaleb back in 2016 and thanks to his efforts, introduced Stellar to Tempo.  Anthony subsequently created & launched Tempo’s EURT stable coin on Stellar and piloted multiple Stellar partner interfaces with financial institutions all around the world.  Working in close coordination with Lisa Nestor for many years, he contributed significantly to the implementation of various SEPs that facilitated Stellar adoption in the payments community.  

He was chosen to participate in Tokyo’s prestigious blockchain accelerator program and has since expanded Stellar partner relationships throughout Asia.  

After co-founding BP Ventures, Anthony has led strategy & development efforts for BP’s Stellar backed DeFi investment dashboard wallet solution.

MBA, citizen of the world graduate from Thunderbird, School of Global Management.  

Fluent in French & Chinese languages.

LinkedIn or other social channel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-barker-15288a/

Yuri Escalanti

Yuri, BP’s lead developer has been programming since he was in highschool. He enjoys walking his dogs and perfecting his coding craftsmanship.

Visit Yuri’s github repos at

https://github.com/yuriescl/

Other team members include:

Hassan: Front end Javavscript developer