Why Stellar And MoneyGram Teamed Up With Techstars To Improve Cross-Border Payments

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and MoneyGram, the payment solution company, have partnered with Techstars. The partners will cooperate to create a support program for developers around the world working on “technological innovation”.

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Specifically, the partners will focus on people trying to improve digital payments and blockchain technology. The objective is “streamline cross-border payments and support financial inclusion”, per a press release.

Techstars is a company that, according to its website, provides access to capital, customers, talent, infrastructure, and mentorship. The company calls itself an “operational investor” created to support people on their entrepreneurial aspirations.

Techstars has worked with ClassPass, DataRobot, DigitalOcean, and crypto-based companies, such as Chainalysis. Their partnership with Stellar and MoneyGram will target ways to remove friction from the process of transferring money in the Latin American region. The SDF explained:

Each year for the next three years, the program will select a class of up to 12 fintech startups to participate in an immersive 13-week program where entrepreneurs will work with mentors from Techstars, the Stellar Development Foundation, and MoneyGram to solidify their value proposition and product-market-fit.

Once the cohorts finish their program, they will have the opportunity to present their progress in front of the fintech community, the released said. Potential participants will be able to start sending applications as early as July 25, 2022, until October 12, 2022.

Denelle Dixon, CEO at the SDF and its Executive Director, claimed blockchain technology has been contributing to improving the legacy payment infrastructure and providing people with better payment cross-border payment methods. Dixon added:

We believe that we can improve access to the financial system for all participants, and we’re proud to work with MoneyGram and Techstars to empower the next generation of innovators to build a more inclusive and accessible cross-border payments system that takes full advantage of 21st-century technology.

Per Techstar’s official website, the company also contributes with a monthly stipend for living expenses during their programs. In return, the beneficiaries provide them with a portion of their equity, in the form of fully diluted common stock.

This arrangement stands until the company “raises a priced equity financing of $250,000 or more”. For blockchain-based companies, Techstars claims as much as 6% of the token reserve, if the supported company conducts a “token event, ICO, etc”.

Beneficiaries can access an additional $100,000 in convertible notes. Maëlle Gavet, Techstarts CEO said the following on this new partnership:

At Techstars, we believe great ideas are everywhere, but access to opportunity is not, which is why our global-investment model is to reach founders anywhere and everywhere. As we look to reach founders in the Americas, this program will provide early-stage blockchain and digital asset innovators the advantages and resources they need to succeed in building an inclusive, accessible financial system, and deliver world-changing solutions.

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As of press time, XLM trades at $0.17 with a 1.4% profit in the last 24 hours.