SCF #13
Award Completed
CashAbroad

CashAbroad is the 1st smart platform to leverage the liquidity of B2B payments and family remittances to fund Public Goods.

Awarded
Awarded
Budget request:
$
110,025
*
WebsiteCode

Project Stage

Development

Category

Payments
Soroban

Based in

USA

Team size

7

Active since

December, 2022
Products & Services

CashAbroad is a smart network that funds public goods using small fees from family remittances and B2B payments. These fees are used to fund community projects like schools, hospitals, and community centers in the remittance senders' towns. We believe this approach will make a significant impact on these communities.

To achieve this, we are taking the following steps:

  • We are using Soroban to enable a smart contract that will distribute a percentage fee to the public good, recipient, and CashAbroad wallets. This smart contract will distribute the money via on-chain transactions to Stellar wallets.
  • We are integrating Circle to enable B2B ramp on and ramp off methods such as bank card transactions and wires. This will provide higher amounts for businesses with cross-border payments and enable KYC for businesses. We aim to enable these features for the countries of Canada, the US, and Mexico to start with.
  • We are integrating Stellar Anchors to enable instant family remittance payments with a convenient fee. With this integration, we aim to leverage payments for Argentina and Peru to start.
  • We are continuing the design and development of the B2B functionalities of automatic payments, dispersion (mass payments), roles and approvals, invoice/request, accounting imports, accounts and sub-accounts, approval triggers, WhatsApp shares, and status.
No items found.
Previous Project(s)
SCF #10
Award recipient
CashAbroad
Do abroad business as easy as with locals
Learn more
SCF #11
Award recipient
CashAbroad
Cashabroad helps businesses do abroad payments as easy as with locals, with low-cost and instant transactions.
Learn more
Progress so far

Achieved Goals 🎉

  1. 🌎 Incorporated CashAbroad, Inc. in Delaware, USA, and obtained the required address, mailbox, and virtual US phone numbers.
  2. 🧑‍💻 Integrated with Wyre for the US-MX corridor, Whatsapp, and Google.
  3. 🎙️ Developed a waiting list of 20 users after conducting 60-min user interviews from Australia, the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
  4. 💼 In talks with two startups: One that needs an improved payment experience throughout its network of South American gyms, and another that specializes in managing Trust Funds for individuals receiving inheritances or income from other countries.
  5. 🤝 Achieved a partnership with UTSV university, which is part of a network of 114 technical universities, enabling us to continue improving our platform.
  6. 👟 Accelerated our development x4 by adding new team members, increasing monthly commits from 100 to 400, and resolving issues from 7 to 27.
  7. 🎨 Reskilled team members to accelerate the UX design pipeline and added AI.

Strategic Updates! 🦜

🧑‍🚀 We successfully integrated with Wyre for the US-MX corridor and due to current Wyre's financial solvency issues haven't been able to receive the production keys to pass to production. As the opportunity cost of waiting for Wyre is too high, we strategically decided to refocus our development efforts on integrating Stellar Anchors and Circle. This ambitious development requires an additional four months to ensure a successful pass to production and launch

🚀 We're working hard to differentiate CashAbroad by leveraging family remittances and B2B payments to fund community projects in the towns of origin of the remittance senders. To achieve this, we're focusing on Soroban to enable a smart contract that will automatically distribute a percentage fee to public goods of the recipient community after each transaction.

🚗 We're also exploring nearshoring opportunities for cross-border payments, such as Tesla in Monterrey, Mexico, where both founders studied.

Goals
To get there, we request a budget of  
$
110,025
*
  to:
Additional information

💸 | Revenue Model & Funding

We calculate an average income per cross-border transaction of 3%, including fees per transaction and an exchange rate commission.

Average cross-border remittance fees are 6.2%, depending on the country, with fees commission ranging from 0% to 15% plus exchange rate commissions. It is common to find competitors with a 0% transfer fee but with an exchange rate significantly decreasing the money sent. So we consider 3% a competitive fee.

We are currently applying and pitching to investors to raise funding. And as part of our participation in the Blockchain Academy Chile Incubator.

🔎 | Market & Industry Research

The global B2B payments market size was valued at $942.6 billion in 2021 and will reach $1.91 trillion in 2028 at a CAGR of 10.6%. In Latam, we estimate a volume of cross-border payments of $168 Billion based on the remittance volume in the region.

In Latam, even if cash still is the primary payment method, larger central banks are launching initiatives to develop an open banking ecosystem that support the shift toward digital payments. The global pandemic boosted this change in countries such as Brazil and Mexico.

Additionally, the shift to digital payment methods was boosted by the favorable demographics of Latam since it has one of the youngest populations in the world.

In Mexico, the management of payments plays a substantial opportunity for improvement since, according to a study, 87% of the businesses reported late payments by B2B customers, which is, in part, caused by the manual reconciliation of invoices and payments that 40% of companies do, according to INEGI.

Percentage of B2B with late payments

The lack of fast and cost-efficient cross-board payment methods for businesses in Latam, combined with the favorable demographics and smartphone penetration, presents an ideal environment for Cashabroad to bring his solution to Latam businesses.

⚔️ | Competition

  • Legacy Solutions
  • Banks
  • MTOs: Western Union, Money Gram, and Ria (mostly brick-and-mortar)

  • Digital Solutions (not crypto focused)
  • Stripe, Paypal, Wise, Thunes, Rapyd, Flexio

  • Crypto solutions
  • Request (DAO based)
  • Binance
  • Valora
  • Other Wallets

✅ We focus mainly on the Latam region.

✅ We offer a friendly digital solution powered by crypto benefits to a not crypto-savvy audience.

✅ Our focus is B2B needs

👥 | Resources & Relationships

Colledge (formerly Blockchain Academy Chile)

A growing education, incubator, and community platform. Colledge experts on blockchain have nurtured us during the 4-month program of its incubator with expertise in different fields like UX, Mkt, Finance, engineering, and others. They also offer an extent network of investors.

Lourdes Hidalgo | Advisor & Business Asociations

Currently President of the National Chamber of Commerce in Coatzacoalcos (CANACO), a member of AMEXME (Business Woman Association), and with connections with other business entities like CANACINTRA.

Ivan Álvarez Frías | Tech Advisor & Talent Pool

Ivan has the biggest iOs developer community in Mexico (he has nurtured it over the years) and supports us with the best talent and engineering expertise.

📮 | Marketing & Sales

  1. Early adopter, we are currently building a Waiting List through contacts
  2. After Customer Acquisition, we will focus mainly on the following:
  3. Business Associations: We plan to target and partner with the National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO), the EXATEC Community of business, the International Business Network (BNI), and the Business Woman Association (AMEXME). And groups of Facebook by business type.
  4. A mix of offline/online events with a viral discount fee that prompts people to invite others.
  5. Video content for businesses with interviews and tips on expanding and growing their cross-border audiences.
  6. Affiliate compensation plans
Pitch deck
No items found.
Deliverables
First Deliverable

Our initial goal is to incorporate the Circle wallets with a stellar blockchain address in the onboarding flow and enable the on-ramp process with bank card for users with Circle in the development environment. Our initial approach was to enable the Wyre as on-ramp, but since for the moment Circle is stoping the Wires functionality as a result of exiting their Silvergate and Signature banking partnerships this month, we integrated the Bank Account as our first on-ramp method.

We will follow these steps to complete the functionality:

1-Design the experience of CashAbroad and Circle, this includes:

  • Establish the architecture of CashAbroad, incorporating Circle in the onboarding process.
  • Design the diagrams of the CashAbroad flow, including Circle in the interaction.

2- Develop in the backend the Circle endpoints of:

  • Creation of custodial wallets and the Stellar address with Circle in the CashAbroad onboarding flow.
  • On-ramp method of bank card, sending money in FIAT and receiving it in a wallet as USDC.

3- Integrate the backend endpoints to the frontend experience and enable the complete on-ramp flow in the development environment of Circle.


Reviewer instructions

To show the progress of the deliverable, we can take the following steps:

1- Share a document with:

  • The architecture diagrams of Cashabroad, which includes the Circle endpoints of wallet creation, stellar address creation and on-ramp with bank card.
  • Screenshots of the source code that demonstrates the implemented experience of the wallet and on-ramp in the CashAbroad platform, which includes sending FIAT and receiving USDC in a wallet.

Document link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFfR7_F-Yc/tYUJIKIpl38oh4xn73vb5g/edit?utm_content=DAFfR7_F-Yc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

2- Share a video explanation of:

  • Design architecture for CashAbroad + Circle
  • Integrate custodial wallets in CashAbroad onboarding flow accounts and sub-accounts (User View and Backend)
  • Integrate the OnRamp via bank card (FIAT to Crypto) (User View and Backend)

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc3BZJnUZu8

3- Link to a demo with the implementation.
Demo: https://cashabroad.netlify.app/

Links:
https://cashabroad.netlify.app/
CashAbroad, Inc.

CashAbroad, Inc. Is company that facilitates cross-border payments for B2B, B2C and P2P. CashAbroad offers cross-border payments for businesses in Latam, enabling them to send and receive payments from international merchants and vendors with low-cost, instant transactions and a group of smart features that make the process user-friendly.

Team

Ruth Gomez Hidalgo (ruths.hidalgo-CashAbroad#7130)

CEO & Marketing

Has broad experience in digital marketing, paid media, social media, video content, branding, budget, product design, UX, CX, omnichannel integrations, leading teams, and working on tech companies.

Consistently delivering results on customer acquisitions, ROA, LTV, CAC, Sales, budget optimization, campaign management & optimization, customer engagement, launching national campaigns, customer service, cross-sell and up-sell strategy, and Crisis Management.

Worked with P2P, Massive Market (more than 10M customers), B2B, and Enterprise.

Tech-savvy and blockchain technology enthusiast. Studied at the "Tec de Monterrey" and in Miami at the "MBP school."

Has won competitions at Google, Microsoft, Bosch, and Aldea Digital.

Loves her three cats, video games, watching Netflix, Star Wars, Marvel, zombie films, Sustainability and Climate change initiatives.

Linkedin

Braulio Ramirez Montiel (Braulio- (CashAbroad )#7103)

Lead Developer & Product

Physics engineer Graduated with honors from Tec de Monterrey.

He did an internship abroad at Stuttgart, where he researched and experimented with ice particles.

At PwC, he worked for the finance department for transfer pricing.

With nine years of experience leading, developing, and deploying digital products (often the most challenging at these companies) at Telmex and later at Walmart.

As Growth Manager at Walmart, he led the India and US (Sunnyvale) teams, and his projects increased by 25% digital sales.

He has also won several competitions and was on the five-person innovation team for Hector Slim (CEO of the biggest Telecomm in Mexico.)

He loves to read about economics and news, adores cats, Shingeki no Kyojin, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and speaks German.

Linkedin

José Alberto Gómez Solís (Joseju#7410)

Fullstack Engineer

José Alberto Gómez Solís is a Fullstack Engineer with great enthusiasm for technology and the world of programming. He stands out for his ability to investigate new technologies such as data mining and data science.

Among his skills are his ability to solve problems, his flexibility and adaptability, his creativity, his interpersonal skills, his ability to learn and his ability with different programming languages. As well as the handling of APEX Oracle tool.

He studied at UTSV, then he was an intern at Quaxar S.A de C.V., where he developed fullstack applications with Ruby on Rails and obtained a scholarship. He also participated in projects of great importance, such as "iPromoter", a project to promote artists in the area of Nanchital, Minatitlán, Ixhuatlán and Coatzacoalcos, and "Proveicydet", a page developed for the Research Institute of the State of Veracruz, where they obtained records of proposals to existing problems in the region.

He likes to be in constant learning and therefore has taken different courses to expand his knowledge in his area.

Alberto is currently watching “The last of Us”, 🧟‍♂️ and playing “Cyperpunk 2077” 🎮

Linkedin / GitHub

Angélica Martínez Sarmiento (Angie Mtz (CashAbroad)#9261) UX and Social Media

Angélica Martínez Sarmiento graduated from the Marketing and Communication program at Tec de Monterrey.

She has experience as a content coordinator and digital marketer, where she has demonstrated skills in visual direction and content creation. She also has experience in web development, design, video editing, and branding. During her time at the Chamber of Commerce, she had the opportunity to meet different entrepreneurs in the city of Coatzacoalcos and create marketing strategies.

Angie is a curious mind, interested in sustainability. She believes in the importance of taking action to address the climate crisis and is involved in projects to do so. She also likes to stay up to date with the latest trends in technology, marketing, and other topics.

As a scout, Angie has attended two Leadership Encounters and has been in charge of projects for national events. She loves being a volunteer and empowering other girls.

She enjoys spending her free time going for walks, watching movies and series, and spending time with her friends and family.

Angie has been a scout for about 10 years now! 🏕️ 🥾

Linkedin

Miroslava Luis Santiago (Miros#3254)

Backend Engineer

Miroslava Luis Santiago is an engineer, student at UTSV, passionate about multi-platform software development. She has great learning and adaptation skills in any environment she finds herself in.

During her professional career, Miroslava was an intern at Quaxar S.A de C.V, where she had the opportunity to develop her skills in back-end and front-end development, as well as in database administration.

Among her skills are knowledge of various cutting-edge tools, database administration, and Office package management. In addition, she stands out for her ability to solve problems, work in a team, goal orientation and adaptability to change.

Miroslava is also known for being proactive. She is currently focused on software analysis and continuing to develop her skills in the field of Information Technology.

Miroslava loves to dance to the rhythm of Dua Lipa and the 70’s! 💃🕺

Linkedin / GitHub

Juan José Lopez Montalvo (joss.lmont#3577)

Mobile Engineer

Juan José López Montalvo is a highly skilled Information Technology and student at UTSV. Throughout his professional career, he excelled as an intern at Quaxar S.A de C.V, demonstrating expertise in Backend web development and multiplatform mobile development.

Juan is a valuable team player who is adept at adapting to challenging situations. Moreover, he possesses exceptional proficiency in handling computer tools and is known for his proactive approach to work.

Juan Jose loves his dog, he calls it “Mi cachorro”. 🐶

Instagram / GitHub

Angel Josue Garcia Canteros (GCAJ#0286) Fullstack Engineer

Angel Josue Garcia Canteros studies at UTSV in Information Technology, specialized in Multiplatform Software Development. He is a person who is very interested in learning and applying his knowledge in the professional field.

He was a scholarship recipient at Intekel Automatización as a Back-end Developer, Tester and Documenter. His duties included project tracking, application testing with load and performance testing, and web development with Laravel and REST API.

Angel has several certificates in different areas, such as Certified Tester by the Carlos Slim Foundation, Web Development with Laravel at Udemy, Application Development with Kotlin at Udemy, Minimalist Web Aesthetics at Udemy, and Data Analyst by Google.

He loves his dogs! 🐕

Linkedin / GitHub

Our team is set up for success because:

  • The team has a diverse set of skills and experiences that complement each other, including digital marketing, product design, UX, CX, omnichannel integrations, leading teams, and working on tech companies.
  • The members have a proven track record of delivering results, including customer acquisitions, ROA, LTV, CAC, sales, budget optimization, campaign management & optimization, customer engagement, launching national campaigns, customer service, cross-sell and up-sell strategy, and crisis management.
  • The team members have worked with P2P, Massive Market (more than 10M customers), B2B, and Enterprise, showing their adaptability to different types of projects.
  • The team is passionate about technology and constantly learning about new tools and techniques, such as blockchain technology, data mining, and data science.
  • The team members have won competitions and participated in innovative projects for well-known companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Bosch, and the biggest Telecomm in Mexico.
  • The team is composed of proactive individuals who are involved in sustainability and climate change initiatives, volunteering, and empowering people.
  • We are passionated about moving Latam forward.
  • Some of us have worked together before and have a great dynamic.