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By Remi
We started Remi by first securing distribution and volume, having already locked in up to $400M in annualized monthly remittance volume pre-launch, $65M monthly confirmed.
Remittance into emerging markets remains batch-based, pre-funded and operationally heavy, making it slow, expensive and capital inefficient.
Remi built the orchestration and settlement layer to fix this. We connect senders (banks, exchange houses, MTOs, fintechs, PSPs) directly to local payout rails, enabling:
1. 24/7 real-time settlement (vs transaction batching)
2. Zero FX exposure (Live FX execution)
3. Volume-based FX model (rebate driven FX enhancement)
4. On-demand liquidity (pre-funding-as-a-service & remittance-as-a-service across corridors)
5. Compliant stablecoin rails in regulated markets (stablecoin origin remit->local currency payout)
We focused on proving this works before launch:
1. Anchor UAE Exchange House (LuLu Exchange) onboarding: $7.5M month 1->$65M by month 4-6; 2nd UAE Exchange House (IDE Exchange) onboarding
2. UAE + Egypt entities live, EU, Morocco & Canada imminent
3. Egypt first bank & IPN integration complete (bank accounts, mobile wallets, prepaid cards, cash outlets)
4. Morocco last mile integration underway as Principal Agent under Chari (banks accounts, prepaid cards, cash outlets)
5. MSB license in progress, unlocking EU->Morocco corridor
6. Onboarding 15 partners to the Remi Network throughout EU, Morocco, Egypt and UAE (6 exchange houses (2 signed), 3 banks, 3 crypto exchanges, 3 BaaS fintechs)
We���re not building a crypto project waiting for adoption. We’re building a regulated financial network and when it reaches the scale that justifies it, we add the blockchain layer on top of a proven, operating business.
Remi is building a bank-grade remittance system that moves USDC across borders on Stellar with transaction amounts and balances kept confidential on-chain, while preserving full regulatory visibility through auditor viewing keys and selective disclosure.
Remi is the application, compliance, and operations layer that makes Stellar's confidential-transfer capability usable by regulated remittance operators, partner banksand payment service providers.
What we are building: integration of Stellar's confidential-transfer capability (built on the Protocol 25/26 zero-knowledge host functions and the emerging Confidential Token contract standard) into a production remittance system, complete with an Admin (operator) dashboard, a Banking/Partner dashboard, an Auditor/Compliance dashboard, and the partner and compliance APIs required to operate it.
Ecosystem contribution (public good): open-source dashboards, partner/compliance APIs, a sponsored-transaction relayer, a client SDK, and published Soroban zero-knowledge cost benchmarks — reusable by any regulated operator building confidential payments on Stellar.
De-risking: a functional testnet proof-of-concept already demonstrates the end-to-end confidential flow — register, deposit, confidential transfer, recipient decrypt, auditor decrypt, withdraw — against the confidential-token contracts, with real Soroban fee/CPU measurements captured and the sponsored-transaction (fee-free user) model confirmed.
Total request: $143,200, delivered across three tranches.
$133.7K
LOI here signed with Chari, Morocco partner BaaS fintech, currently onboarding.
LOI here signed with EG Bank, Egypt partner bank, currently onboarding.
Locked in up to $65M in annualized monthly remittance volume pre-launch from first UAE exchange house partner. Commercials agreed (proof here), contracts being finalized.
Remi's Trust Center live here showing bank-grade certification completion of ISO 27001, SOC 2 and GDPR compliance.
API demo here accessible via API key: remi_kHZCnkmkjzvHcW9-KXHx41fe1PF5EsIw
Remi Dashboard demo here.
Network Operator Agreement (NOA) with Lulu Exchange (highly confidential - happy to share)
Network Operator Agreement (NOA) with IDA Exchange (highly confidential - happy to share)
MoU with ruya bank (highly confidential - happy to share)
Tranche 1: Confidential Core & Foundation (Testnet MVP)
Stand up the confidential-transfer layer for USDC, sponsored fees, wallet access, and the operator control surface.
Deliverables
1.1 Confidential transfer contract deployment (USDC)
Deploy the on-chain contracts that make confidential transfers possible on Stellar: the confidential-token wrapper (which holds encrypted balances), the verifier contract (which checks the zero-knowledge proofs), and the auditor-key registry (which stores the compliance viewing key). The wrapper is pointed at USDC through Stellar's Asset Contract (SAC) pattern, so ordinary USDC can be moved into the confidential layer. This is the foundation the entire system sits on. Why it matters: it lets real USDC become confidential on Stellar without needing the issuer's cooperation.
1.2 Account registration & key management
Before anyone can transact confidentially, their account is registered: the system derives a private viewing key for them, records it on-chain, and in the same step, cryptographically escrows a copy that the auditor can later unlock. That escrow is proven correct with a zero-knowledge proof, so an account cannot be created without granting the auditor visibility. Why it matters: compliance is built into account creation; no user can opt out of oversight.
1.3 Core confidential flow
The four operations that make up a private payment: deposit (move public USDC into a confidential balance), merge (make incoming funds spendable), confidential transfer (send with the amount and both balances hidden), and withdraw (convert a confidential balance back to public USDC). Each step is verified on-chain by a zero-knowledge proof, so the network confirms the arithmetic is valid without ever seeing the numbers. Why it matters: this is the actual product: the private movement of money.
1.4 Sponsored-transaction infrastructure
Stellar normally requires the sender to hold XLM to pay network fees. We build a relayer that pays those fees on the user's behalf using two native Stellar features: fee-bump (paying another account's transaction fee) and sponsored reserves (covering the minimum balance an account needs to exist and to hold USDC). The result is that users and remittance recipients never need to touch XLM at all. Why it matters: a recipient in a remittance corridor can receive money without first acquiring any crypto token, essential for real-world adoption.
1.5 Wallet integration
Connect the system to standard Stellar wallets (Freighter and the Stellar Wallets Kit) so users approve transactions, view balances, and interact with the confidential layer through a wallet they already trust, rather than a bespoke key tool. Why it matters: familiar, safe signing UX and no custom key handling.
1.6 Admin (operator) dashboard: MVP
The internal control panel for Remi as the network operator. This first version lets the operator deploy and monitor the confidential token, see live system state, track the balance of the fee-sponsorship treasury, and freeze or block an address when required. Why it matters: an operator needs a control surface, including the emergency controls a regulator expects, from day one.
1.7 Confidential transfer SDK + proving service
A reusable TypeScript client library plus a service that generates the zero-knowledge proofs. Proof generation is heavy computation, so we run it in a dedicated service (with a browser path as well), letting partner developers integrate confidential transfers through a few function calls instead of implementing cryptography themselves. Why it matters: it is how partners build on the system, and it is a reusable public good for the ecosystem.
1.8 Public documentation & open-source release
A public GitHub repository with the architecture explained, the deployed testnet contract addresses, a step-by-step integration guide, and scripts anyone can run to reproduce the flow. Why it matters: transparency for reviewers and reusable infrastructure for other Stellar builders.
Completion measurement
Confidential USDC transfer executes and verifies on testnet; the amount is absent from the transaction's public data.
Register/deposit/merge/transfer/withdraw all demonstrated with passing tests.
A user completes a confidential transfer while holding zero XLM (sponsored).
Wallet connect and signing demonstrated end-to-end.
Admin dashboard shows live token state and treasury balance; freeze control demonstrated.
Public repository with deployment scripts, README, and test instructions.
Budget $42,800
# Deliverable Cost
1.1 Confidential contract suite deploy + USDC SAC config $6,800
1.2 Registration + viewing keys + auditor escrow $5,400
1.3 Core confidential flow (deposit / merge / transfer / withdraw) $7,200
1.4 Sponsored-transaction infrastructure $5,600
1.5 Wallet integration (Freighter + Wallets Kit) $3,900
1.6 Admin dashboard MVP $6,300
1.7 TypeScript SDK + proving service $5,200
1.8 Documentation + open-source repo + tests $2,400
Tranche 1 total $42,800
Tranche 2: Bank-Grade System, Dashboards & Compliance (Testnet)
Build the partner-facing product: the three dashboards, the APIs, selective disclosure, the regulated-payout link, and the zero-knowledge cost report.
Deliverables
2.1 Banking/Partner dashboard
The web application partner banks, payment service providers, and anchors use to run remittances. They initiate and track confidential transfers, see the status of each corridor and the liquidity/settlement position, pull reconciliation reports, and manage their own staff logins. Why it matters: remittance is a B2B2C business, the partners who face the end customer need an operational console, not raw API calls.
2.2 Auditor/Compliance dashboard
The console for a compliance officer or regulator. Using the auditor's viewing key, they can decrypt specific transactions to see the real amounts and parties, review a complete audit trail, inspect flagged transactions, capture travel-rule information, and export reports in a form a regulator accepts. Why it matters: this makes the 'private from the public, transparent to the regulator' promise concrete, and it is the single most important thing a bank's compliance team will ask to see.
2.3 Partner API (REST + webhooks)
The programmatic interface partners integrate with their own systems: request a quote, initiate a transfer, check status, reconcile, and receive webhook notifications when events occur. Includes API-key management and a sandbox environment so partners can test safely before going live. Why it matters: it is how the system plugs into a bank's or PSP's existing software stack.
2.4 Compliance API
The programmatic surface for compliance workflows: hooks to run sanctions/AML screening before a transfer proceeds, endpoints to perform selective disclosure, queries over the audit trail, and export of suspicious-activity cases. Why it matters: it lets a compliance team wire Remi into their existing screening and case-management tools rather than working in a silo.
2.5 Selective disclosure/ selective decryption
The mechanism that lets an authorized party (an auditor or regulator) reveal the amount and parties of one specific transfer, and only that one, without exposing any of the user's other activity. Why it matters: it is targeted, provable transparency: you can answer a lawful request about a single payment without breaking the privacy of everyone else. This is the compliance cornerstone and a genuine differentiator.
2.6 Sponsorship policy engine
The rules layer on top of fee sponsorship: who qualifies for paid fees, rate limits, allow/deny rules, and per-program budgets, plus a live view of the sponsorship treasury. Why it matters: it lets Remi run 'free for users' programs or subsidise a corridor safely.
2.7 Anchor Platform integration prototype
A prototype connecting the on-chain confidential transfer to the regulated fiat world, using Stellar's Anchor Platform standards (SEP-24 deposit/withdraw, SEP-31 cross-border, SEP-12 KYC) to move money in and out as local currency at each end. Why it matters: this is the remittance last-mile, cash-in and cash-out through regulated anchors, without which a remittance product is not real.
2.8 Soroban zero-knowledge cost & performance benchmark report
A published measurement of what confidential transfers actually cost and how they perform on Stellar: CPU/resource usage, fee per operation, throughput, and scaling limits. We already have real figures from the proof-of-concept to seed this. Why it matters: banks and the ecosystem need the unit economics before committing, and it is a reusable public resource.
2.9 Double-spend prevention & balance reconciliation
Two pieces of correctness plumbing: validating the cryptographic mechanism that prevents the same confidential funds from being spent twice (the commitment/nullifier model), and a service that rebuilds a user's confidential balance from on-chain history so partners can reconcile reliably even though balances are encrypted. Why it matters: encrypted balances must still reconcile exactly for a financial-grade system to be trusted.
Completion measurement
USDC confidential flow driven end-to-end through Soroban contract calls from the Partner API.
Selective disclosure decrypts a chosen transfer for an authorized auditor while all other transfers remain hidden.
Banking, Auditor, and Admin dashboards each demonstrated against live testnet data.
Partner API and webhooks exercised from a sample partner integration in the sandbox.
Sponsored-transaction policy enforced (a rate-limited, budgeted free-transfer program demonstrated).
Anchor Platform prototype links an on-chain confidential transfer to a regulated deposit/withdraw flow.
Published benchmark report with CPU/resource and fee figures.
Budget $56,900
# Deliverable Cost
2.1 Banking / Partner dashboard $8,400
2.2 Auditor / Compliance dashboard $8,900
2.3 Partner API + webhooks + sandbox $7,100
2.4 Compliance API + screening hooks $6,200
2.5 Selective disclosure / decryption $6,800
2.6 Sponsorship policy engine + treasury view $4,700
2.7 Anchor Platform integration prototype $6,600
2.8 Soroban zero-knowledge cost & performance report $3,300
2.9 Nullifier/commitment + reconciliation service $4,900
Tranche 2 total $56,900
Tranche 3: Production Hardening & Mainnet Launch
Pass the security gate, ship to mainnet, and deliver the operations, APIs, and documentation a regulated operator and its partners need.
Deliverables
3.1 Mainnet deployment package
Everything required to run on Stellar mainnet after the audit gate: the contracts and USDC integration deployed to mainnet, reproducible infrastructure-as-code, and a multi-signature key ceremony so that no single person controls the admin and emergency functions. Why it matters: production deployment to institutional standards, with distributed control of powerful keys.
3.2 Production dashboards
Hardened, production versions of the Admin, Banking, and Auditor dashboards, with proper role-based access control, single sign-on, and complete audit logging of who did what. Why it matters: the testnet MVPs become tools a regulated business can actually operate, and be audited on.
3.3 Partner & Compliance API v1
The stable, versioned, authenticated, rate-limited public release of the Partner and Compliance APIs, with published service levels and client SDKs so partners can integrate with confidence. Why it matters: it turns the prototype APIs into a dependable product partners can build a business on.
3.4 Anchor Platform/disbursement integration
A reference integration and documentation showing exactly how Remi ties confidential on-chain transactions to regulated payout flows through anchors i.e. how a private transfer becomes cash in a recipient's hands, compliantly. Why it matters: it is the documented, repeatable path from confidential transfer to real-world payout that partners and regulators can follow.
3.5 Operational runbook
The operations manual for running the system: monitoring and alerting, incident response, key rotation, day-to-day sponsorship-treasury operations, and disaster recovery. Why it matters: a payments system is judged as much on how it is operated as on its code; this is what an operations or risk reviewer will require.
3.6 User & partner testing package
A full set of end-to-end acceptance tests covering the real journeys: onboarding, wallet signing, a sponsored confidential transfer, selective disclosure, and cash-out: for both end users and integrating partners. Why it matters: it proves the whole system works as a product, not just as isolated unit tests, before and after launch.
3.7 Final technical & compliance documentation
The complete written record: system architecture, threat model, and compliance documentation, plus a tagged open-source reference release for the ecosystem. Why it matters: it is the durable knowledge base for partners, auditors, regulators, and future Stellar builders, and it closes the grant as a reusable public good.
Completion measurement
Security review completed; findings remediated or documented; mainnet-readiness gate recorded.
Confidential transfer confirmed on mainnet (or a documented mainnet-ready launch candidate pending the audit gate).
Admin, Banking, and Auditor dashboards live with role-based access control and audit logging.
Partner & Compliance API v1 published with SDKs; a partner completes an integration against it.
Anchor Platform disbursement linkage demonstrated/documented.
User and partner testing package executed and signed off.
Final architecture, threat model, runbook, and open-source release published.
Budget $34,000
3.1 Security review / audit gate + remediation $9,500
3.1 Mainnet deployment package + key ceremony/multisig $5,800
3.2 Production dashboards (RBAC / SSO / audit logging) $6,900
3.3 Partner & Compliance API v1 + SDKs $6,400
3.4 Anchor Platform disbursement integration + docs $5,200
3.5 Operational runbook + monitoring / DR $3,800
3.6 End-to-end user & partner testing package $3,300
3.7 Final architecture / threat model / compliance docs + OSS $2,600
Tranche 3 total $34,000
Our team combines deep expertise across payments, blockchain infrastructure, regulation and emerging-markets execution.
I come from traditional finance and payments, having spent 17 years building, investing in and scaling across the US, Europe, GCC and Africa.
Over that time, I worked with and invested in payments and fintech businesses representing more than $200M in deployments, giving me the commercial, partnership and multi-jurisdiction execution experience required to build payment corridors.
My co-founder Mohamed Abdou is a veteran engineer with 27 years of software engineering experience and more than a decade focused on blockchain and distributed systems.
His expertise spans cryptographic protocol design, enterprise API architecture and digital asset infrastructure.
He previously led CBDC infrastructure for the Central Bank of Egypt and brings deep technical leadership to the company.
Our broader team strengthens both execution and compliance:
Ahmed Saleh, Head of Legal & Compliance, brings over 15 years of experience across banking, fintech, and digital assets.
Mostafa Amr, Tech Lead, has built and launched stablecoin infrastructure across multiple blockchain networks.
Abanoub Saied, Product Lead, previously built product infrastructure for secure on-chain messaging platforms.
Together, we combine payments expertise, blockchain infrastructure experience, regulatory knowledge and local market understanding across the regions we serve.
This allows us to solve both the technical and operational challenges that have historically prevented instant settlement across emerging markets.
Although I began my career in traditional banking, I spent much of it acting as an entrepreneur within large organizations and later as a founder, investor and operator.
I was exposed early to blockchain-powered interbank payment infrastructure, experimenting with Wall Street payment systems as far back as 2015.
Since then, I've invested in more than 85 (incl fintech) companies across Africa and have helped build infrastructure businesses spanning payments, climate finance and web3 across emerging markets.
Abdou is a serial entrepreneur currently building his third startup in Africa.
Prior to Remi, he founded Dmails and Pravica, both focused on blockchain-enabled communication and infrastructure solutions.
Collectively, our experience spans founding companies, scaling startups, investing in African technology businesses and building regulated financial infrastructure across the continent.
These experiences have given us firsthand insight into the challenges facing cross-border payments in Africa and the operational expertise required to solve them.
A Tony Amer
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