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Emigro Payments App
Although I believe that there'll be multiple use-cases for Soroban on Emigro, it doesn't make sense for me to start there. I have to get payments working and get a client base on the core product, before working on more sophisticated features.
The first product is a smart-phone based cross-border payments app for retail tourism-related payments, whereas the tourist and vendor will both need the app at this time, but with the goal of moving towards app to account payments. A tourist will pre-load their (recoverable) self-custody Emigro wallet through an anchor in their home country, via the Emigro interface. They're then able to travel to other countries and make cash-less and card-less retail payments where Emigro is accepted for their trip expenses via QR codes containing the vendor info plus the payment details for the them to scan. With path payments the currency exchange, at the best rate, and payment is completed at the point-of-sale, therefore a traveler doesn't need to exchange and hold currencies other than their own. But, the ability to exchange and hold other currencies does exist if the traveler/vendor wants to hedge against fluctuating exchange rates. The payment will settle instantly with the vendor in the currency that they chose and can be instantly off-ramped to their bank account by their home country anchor via the Emigro interface. Although fiat-backed stablecoins are used, (with XLM as an intermediary), the traveler/vendor doesn't need any knowledge of crypto, and all of the confusing web3 UX is stripped away. The traveler/vendor doesn't have to deal with gas or wallet address strings, their wallet key is their email address or another code they choose, mimicking how Pix operates in Brazil and that others will follow. This is a safe way for people to get started with and use digital currency, and can be a gateway for future products. There are problems solved for both the travelers and the vendors;
Travelers
- no need to exchange and carry cash for regular tourism payments, saving money and also being less susceptible to losing money via theft
- no need to carry credit cards for regular tourism payments as they're not universally accepted, the vendor may add a fee to accept the card, and international cards are not available to all (plus their high fees)
- transparency regarding the fees involved in making payments, with the small on/off ramp fees, but free transfers (payments) and no markup on the exchange rate
Vendors
- no need to hold large amounts cash from tourism clients, with more safety and no in-person bank deposits required
- no need to have a point-of-sale credit card machine if you are a very small vendor, or you can save money by accepting fewer credit cards as a larger vendor. there is also more access to consumers as only smart phones are required for the payments
- instant settlement with no charge-backs, and the ability to immediately send the money to a bank account or another user (free)
Past
EmigroPay participated in SCF#11 as a subject matter expert and a blockchain engineer. The product was a web-based cross-border payments solution for the legal industry, using fiat-backed stablecoins. We successfully implemented muxed accounts, SEP 24, SEP 31, path payments, as well as with the anchors nTokens and Stably and deposits/withdrawals with DEX/CEXs. We had a full UI for customers to use. However, we were not successful with the award and that project was shelved after our partnership broke up.
Present
After spending several months living in Brazil while working on EmigroPay, I learned about a related opportunity where the cross-border payments problem is more acute. I discovered, through my own experience and talking with other foreigners here, that there exists a problem for us to make local payments once we become a long-term tourist / digital nomad, but not a resident. Once you've used up the cash that you came with and are trying to pay with your credit card everywhere you have problems. Vendors (in Brazil) want to be paid with Pix, the federal real-time payments system because it is free for them and is a layer to connect all the major banks. This model of Pix is spreading to other LatAm countries and will be launched as FedNow in the United States as well. However, these systems are national only, and there isn't yet a service to connect them. Stellar anchors present the best opportunity for on and off-ramping using these instant payment systems, and the Stellar network can be used as a third-party to connect them. This is a far better and cheaper way to get nearly real-time bank-to-bank cross-border card-less transfers using XLM and fiat-backed stablecoins.
I'm starting again, but not without significant insight into the past and current problems. I'm focusing on tourism-related payments as a differentiator, but there are many other possible applications for B2B / B2C / C2B payments to grow into, and P2P remittance functionality is built-in.
Roadmap
Stellar-Based Infrastructure
I've been working on blockchain products (3 of them) since late 2021, with two parked projects that will be revived and incorporated into Emigro at a later stage. These products, CeDeFi savings and embedded legaltech payments are far more suited to Soroban capabilities. My intention is to build a suite of fintech products for the global mobility industry and become the financial infrastructure, whereas white-label versions can be offered and SaaS products can be built on top of it - becoming a vertical SaaS platform on Stellar.
Niche & Open Banking
As I'm targeting travelers, beyond short-term tourism, I want to be the digital financial "institution" that travels with them. A digital nomad can spend months in Brazil, with Emigro servicing their financial needs, and then do more time in Chile or Peru (etc), with Emigro following them. Part of this is offering different payment methods that are required for different situations, with seamless transition between them. Digital currency won't be replacing Visa and Mastercard anytime soon, and the largest players in travel will still be working with them. Therefore, I've talked to both of them about my plan for an Emigro branded card, with an issuer such as Pomelo (also contacted). This will allow Emigro's customer's significant more optionality for "banking" while traveling across borders. The next step is credit for loans, which open banking enables as I can see the history of income and payments for the Emigro customers over a period of time, as well as their history from their banks in their home country (if it participates in open banking). When customers settle-in to a country for the longer-term Emigro can be their first source of credit, for a car loan, as an example. Something that is historically difficult for temporary residents and newcomers. Obviously, this is further down the road, but I'm already putting the pieces in place to be ready.
Emigro is just getting started (again), but is not, "just another payment app."
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Distribution
The initial goal is to become an industry-recognized payment method in Brazil for international tourists. Tourism is a big industry for Brazil, being 7% of the GDP and encompassing 18% of the jobs in Rio de Janeiro. I've been in contact with several government departments, talking to them about "International Pix". They understand the problems very well and there will be opportunities for me to demo Emigro when it's ready. With their guidance I can ensure that I am building the product in a way that will support Brazilian small businesses well, and then they will endorse me to tourism agencies. These departments include;
Partnerships (Secured "S" / In-progress "IP")
Impact
Emigro won't be mainly serving an under-served audience, but is working towards it. The tourists and the agencies that are serving them are not under-served, but there are far more small operators serving tourists that are from low-income communities and of marginalized backgrounds. By using Emigro, not only are they able to access more money from tourists, but they're able to keep more of it compared to accepting an international credit card. Having immediate access to this income is a big bonus for them.
Proof of Intent Deliverables (Live on testnet as of July 9th)
How can a reviewer check you completed your first deliverable?
Blake Sieders (Blake_Emigro#0019)
Founder & CEO
A multi-career generalist
First as a mechanical engineering technologist and project manager with 15 years of employment experience in;
Second as a Canadian immigration consultant, with 4 years of experience;
Third as a tech founder / product manager / strategist with 6 years of experience;
I'm set up for success because:
Julián Lescano
Project Manager at ScaleMote.co
My name is Julian Lescano! I am a software developer and biotechnology graduate. I currently work as a Project Manager at ScaleMote and my role is to coordinate and manage all aspects of a project to achieve its objectives and deliver the desired outcomes.
Ivan Belasich
Software Developer at ScaleMote.co
I am a 25-year-old full-stack developer from Argentina. With a background in programming spanning two years, I have honed my skills in both front-end and back-end development. I am passionate about creating innovative solutions and contributing to the ever-evolving world of technology.
Mauricio Genebrieres
Tech Lead at ScaleMote.co
Former Software Developer student turned into a Software Engineer. Mauricio has completed the argentinaprograma.com course and is now a Chapter Lead capable of working on complex projects.
ScaleMote
ScaleMote is the perfect tech partner for early-stage startups. We provide rock-solid software engineering solutions tailored to meet your budget, no matter how modest. We offer solutions that will give you the most bang for your buck. If you are a non-technical founder, launching a startup can often be confusing and overwhelming. You need to achieve a lot with limited resources, and make sure everything goes smoothly. We are here to help! Whether you don't have the time or technical knowledge to handle software engineering yourself, our team at ScaleMote is perfectly equipped to do it for you. We have years of experience in the industry, and we know how to make sense out of your technology needs.
Our team is set up for success because:
The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 5, 2022 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on July 5th as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
**The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 16, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on September 27, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
* The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on the date of transfer as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has been awarded to the project in XLM. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.