Introducing CARDANO to PAGO TIC: An Argentine Payment Platform with more than 1 Billion USD in yearly processing and over 3 Million users

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Guido Zatloukal

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

FUNDACION BLOCKCHAIN ARGENTINA:

Founded in 2022 with the goal of promoting the application of Blockchain technology in Argentina as a solution to many of the issues the country faces today. 

From absolute transparency of state operations, to the potential for revolutionizing the way citizens interact with their identity, as well as enhancing the efficiency and productivity in the private sector, there are a variety of use cases, beyond the financial, where blockchain stands out as a truly disruptive technology.

The foundation operates as a consulting firm, a source for educational initiatives such as workshops, talks, seminars, and also a bridge between government decision makers and leaders of industry, but also companies and developers within the larger Blockchain ecosystem.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fundaci%C3%B3n-blockchain/  

PAGO TIC:

A fintech company founded in 2011 that processes both one-time and recurring payments for over 1,500 entities, including governments, sport associations (IE: Large local football clubs), cooperatives, schools, universities, service companies, NGOs, judicial bodies, among others. With over three million individuals using their platform, Pago TIC ranks second in the Argentine market processing over 1 Billion USD a year in transactions conducted.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/pagotic/ 

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Integrate to the CARDANO ecosystem a payment processing platform (Pago TIC) in Argentina with over 3 millon users, by implementing TOKENS (backed by ADA) and Real World Assets (RWA)

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

This project will be carried out in partnership with payment processing company “PAGO TIC” and it consists of integrating cardano technology to an already existing platform with over 3 million users in the country of Argentina. For this reason not every step of the process can be made open source. 

Nevertheless we remain committed to communicating as much information as possible, through regular reports as we complete the project’s milestones, and video / social media content that will serve both to inform, but also to market this initiative

[METADATA] Horizons

Tokenization

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

We propose the integration of Tokenization and Real World Assets (RWA) functionalities on the “PAGOTIC” platform (an application created and operated by the company PAY PER TIC), used by over 800 diverse entities such as: companies (of different sizes), sports institutions, educational institutions, NGOs, and those in the public sector like municipalities and state governments.

Through the Cardano blockchain, we will develop tools in order to create native tokens that represent real world and financial assets of the aforementioned entities, granting them access to the Web3 industry, thereby improving their financing and expansion opportunities

This initiative will allow Cardano to onboard users experienced in digital finance as well as companies that currently lack access to these technologies having no prior exposure to blockchain. These users will be incorporated as productive agents aiming to grow their operations and optimize their business.

With the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in Argentina, this initiative will open a unique window for hundreds of companies and millions of users to enter Cardano.

The challenges this project addresses are as follows:

• High Barrier of entry to the BLOCKCHAIN universe for companies outside the tech industry: there are numerous small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as educational, sports, and non-governmental entities, that interact daily with PAGO TIC's services but lack access to the solutions blockchain provides. This may be due to prohibitive initial costs, as these types of projects often lack sufficient funds to explore new technologies independently, or simply due to the perception that entering a universe superficially associated with cryptocurrencies would entail significant overall volatility and high technical difficulty. Integrating a Cardano-based solution into the aforementioned platform would address both issues.

• Insufficient Development of Local Economies: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in general, as well as educational, sports, social institutions, and a large number of NGOs face serious financing difficulties in traditional markets, and there are no accessible investment mechanisms for users and communities to participate directly. The Pago TIC platform, through technology solutions based on Cardano, would provide new methods of tokenization and decentralized financing, strengthening local economies and generating an unprecedented level of community impact in Argentina.

• Lack of Web 3-based services in PAGO TIC: With this integration, we offer the potential of introducing over 3 million users that our partner currently has to blockchain, offering an optimized experience in digital financial services to facilitate access to the Cardano ecosystem.

The following points serve as a summary of what we aim to achieve, whilst at the same time encompassing the main reasons why we believe that this project should be approached in the way proposed.

1. Onboard 3,000,000+ users to blockchain technology through CARDANO, addressing specific issues and serving as a gateway to this ecosystem.  

This integration between an already established platform in Argentina, with a user base that engages with its services daily—both for individual transactions and essential operations for companies or entities—provides CARDANO with a clear opportunity to showcase the practical application of its technology.  

Users will be using blockchain to access services that were previously unavailable, within a platform they already trust, sending a clear message about the potential that CARDANO technology has, for all types of entities and for the Argentine market in general.  

This project could be just the beginning of implementing many more WEB 3 services, in which CARDANO specializes, on the PAGO TIC platform.

2. Lower costs by introducing a platform designed as the first blockchain experience for users and entities without a Web3 background.  

The use of Cardano in the PagoTIC platform will significantly reduce operational costs thanks to its efficiency and scalability. This translates to zero entry costs, compared to the expenses that would be incurred by a local company or entity themselves if they were to develop such a service individually.  

PagoTIC will leverage the tools available in CARDANO plus previous developments in said ecosystem to create an intuitive service, with user experience as the main focus.  

In this way, individuals and small to medium-sized businesses benefit from the security and transparency of blockchain without the initial complexity that often deters adoption, thus promoting sustainable growth and ongoing interest in the ecosystem.

3. Develop the capability to create new tokens in the Cardano ecosystem, based on real products and services

Tokens will be developed to represent tangible goods and services from the Argentine economy, promoting tokenization based on real value and backed by physical assets or verified services. 

Additionally, these tokens can be used in daily operations within PagoTIC, facilitating a complete financial circuit that not only drives Cardano adoption but also provides added value to local users and businesses.

4. Create a new financial ecosystem that boosts local economies

The project will drive local economic development by enabling payments in tokens backed by Cardano. This integration promotes a decentralized financial ecosystem where local businesses can expand their customer base and operate in a transparent and secure environment. Additionally, the circulation of these tokens strengthens local businesses, with transactions that are fast and free from costly intermediaries, directly benefiting communities and empowering emerging economies.

5. Enhance an active, established, and continuously growing payment platform with tools that no other product on the market offers  

PagoTic already has a large user base and a positive growth track record in the digital payments market. By integrating Cardano's advanced functionalities, the platform's value increases by offering services that traditional payment methods cannot, such as transaction immutability and cryptographic security, among others.

The platform will differentiate itself through the use of smart contracts and tokenization mechanisms, providing innovative financial solutions for businesses and consumers seeking to access cutting-edge technology in a simple and secure way.

6. The platform increases its value as more users and businesses join the ecosystem

The proposal establishes a growth model where the value of the tokens and the platform strengthens as more users and businesses participate in the Cardano ecosystem. By expanding the user base, the token gains value and stability, encouraging its adoption as a medium of exchange.  

This model ensures a cycle of sustainable growth, as greater adoption enhances utility and, consequently, attractiveness for new users and investors, reinforcing the ecosystem and positioning CARDANO in Argentina as a robust blockchain focused on practical solutions.

7. Demonstrate to the Argentine and global financial sectors that the market is ready for decentralized solutions, serving as a proof of concept for applications in other industries

This project will act as a robust case study, validating the use of blockchain, and demonstrating that the market is prepared to adopt decentralized solutions. By implementing in Argentina's financial context, PagoTic, along with Cardano, will serve as a reference model for other industries looking to test the viability of blockchain in a regulated environment and across diverse jurisdictions. 

This experience will show banks, governments, and other financial entities that it is possible to implement blockchain solutions that enhance efficiency, transparency, and security, without significantly altering existing structures.

TOKENOMICS

1. BUSINESS EXPANSION  

Objective: Finance the acquisition of fixed capital to expand operations, with returns based on the asset's performance.  

Operation: The investor receives a proportional share of the generated profits, establishing a passive income flow that prioritizes economic performance.

2. DIRECT PARTICIPATION IN ENTITIES  

Objective: Represent a vehicle similar to a digital stock of the entity, providing both positive performance benefits and exposure to risks.  

Operation: The token is linked to the entity's revenue and performance, reflecting both successes and potential setbacks, encouraging investor interest in the economic development of a local entity.

3. PRE-PURCHASE AND COMMUNITY FINANCING (CROWDFUNDING)  

Mechanism: Tokens enable the acquisition of future products at reduced prices, allowing access to funds in advance by the entity emitting it.

Investor Benefits: Investors can secure future products or services at a discount, supporting the production process and accessing preferential prices once the product is on the market.

4. TOKEN EXCHANGE FOR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS  

Objective: Tokens can be exchanged for the entity's products or services, maintaining a value equivalent to the current price of the good or service, ensuring liquidity and value

Public Sector: A token may be used as an equivalent of a tax credit, reducing part of a taxpayer's tax burden by exchanging the instrument

5. MEMBERSHIPS AND SPECIAL SERVICES  

Value-Added: The token allows for covering membership fees or accessing exclusive experiences, increasing its utility within the entity's ecosystem and offering a wide range of usage options for the investor.

6. TOKENS FOR SPORTS ENTITIES  

Objective: Each sports entity could issue its own token, allowing fans and investors to participate in the club's economic successes.  

Financing: Tokens can be used to finance specific projects, being issued at the discretion of the entity when needed.  

Exchange: Members can pay their club membership and also exchange tokens for other exclusive or promotional services and goods.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

The solution proposed mentions the impact this project will have on CARDANO, but being more precise, we will focus our efforts on the following key areas to observe and confirm success:

• Onboarding of New Institutional Users: Creating continuous, impactful use of Cardano's tools by companies, local governments, and other public and private institutions.

• Demonstrating the Potential of Blockchain and Web3 Services: focusing on economic sectors that, although not longer exactly analog, are still lagging significantly behind in terms of innovation. This provides clear benefits to SMEs that otherwise lack the opportunity to justify expenses for exploratory technology projects and serves as clear proof that CARDANO is the ideal ecosystem to execute the transition to Web3

• Creating an Economic Empowerment Tool: Opening up access to financial mechanisms previously inaccessible to many entities, which in turn increases the trust that more traditional sectors of the economy have in the blockchain industry

• Developing Key Knowledge Opportunities: Particularly, but not limited to, those exposed to Cardano for the first time, unlocking new ideas and perspectives on industries that could benefit from this new functionality of the PAGO TIC platform.

The success of this project will be measured upon completion through various metrics, focusing particularly on the number of users interacting with the new tools now offered by the PAGO TIC platform. Results will be shared regularly through reports at the end of each development stage, culminating in a complete retrospective analysis upon achieving all outlined objectives.

Simultaneously, the project will be accompanied by a comprehensive marketing campaign, starting with audiovisual material, and traditional media content to promote the objectives and new opportunities unlocked through Cardano on the Pago TIC platform, at the beginning of development. Finalizing with a series of viral content for social media and professional press releases to highlight the final launch.

This project will have a tangible impact by providing a new tool for a leading payments market player in Argentina, as well as a significant marketing impact by using this technology and financial service innovations as a means to reach new audiences. In both cases, CARDANO is highlighted as the blockchain that has made all of this possible.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

We have complete confidence in the ability of the team assembled to carry out this project.  

The partnership between Pago TIC and the Argentine Blockchain Foundation provides a powerful combination of experience in the Web2 financial industry and the Web3 industry.  

Since 2011, Pago TIC has been offering financial services to over 3,000,000 end users.

Notably, Pago TIC specializes in institutional services, meaning that numerous private and public entities interact with its platform daily, conducting high-volume operations.

For over a decade, they have continuously developed new tools for their users under the highest level of scrutiny.

Since 2022, the Argentine Blockchain Foundation has focused on promoting the Web3 industry in Argentina, building bridges among individual developers, major software companies, and the broader private sector, as well as regulators and decision-makers in government.

These institutional connections will be vital to the project’s development, enabling the early exploration stages to proceed efficiently, leveraging the recognition already established from past work, and providing the development team with the best talent available in the market.

Additionally, regarding the CARDANO ecosystem, we have participated in multiple editions of Project Catalyst, most recently being awarded in Fund 11 for a proposal by team member Maximiliano Rios ( https://projectcatalyst.io/funds/11/cardano-open-ecosystem/latam-the-land-of-the-builders ), an initiative aimed at hosting events focused on onboarding builders to the Cardano ecosystem in different parts of Latin America.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Project Scoping

Develop a WHITEPAPER that includes:  

• Market analysis  
• Survey of existing partners within Pago TIC, exploring how to develop the best tools for the institutions already operating on this platform  
• In-depth analysis of the regulatory environment  
• Detailed tokenomics for the project (as outlined in the main proposal)  
• General roadmap and specific timeline for each new token implementation  
• System architecture definition  

Outcomes:  

• Published whitepaper  
• Marketing and communication plan  

Team Structure and Development Plan  

Key Activities:  

• Formal definition of individuals and teams responsible for the technical development of the project  
• Creation of a detailed roadmap for each future step of the project  
• Definition of a base development concept and a preliminary mockup  
• Development and expansion of relationships with entities already integrated with the Pago TIC platform, as well as exploration of potential new partners  

Outcomes:  

• Formal team presentation  
• Presentation of a mockup with new features for the Pago TIC platform  

Development start

• Primary development of the system’s frontend based on the MILESTONE 2 mockup  
• Development of the Web3 solution using AIKEN for Real World Assets smart contracts  
• Connection of the application’s backend with the frontend  

Outcomes:  

• Technical report on project development progress  

TESTNET IMPLEMENTATION AND GENERAL TESTING  

• Deployment of the code developed in MILESTONE 3 on a test network  
• Quality assurance (QA) testing descriptions and execution based on the test network implementation  

Outcomes:  

• QA results report  

 FINAL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING  

• Deployment of the code developed in MILESTONE 4 in a production environment  
• Description and execution of QA testing in production (or mainnet)  

Outcomes:  

• QA results report in production  

LAUNCH - MARKETING CAMPAIGN CONCLUSION - PROJECT REVIEW  

- Public launch of the project to Pago TIC users  

- Conclusion of the marketing campaign across traditional media and social networks, featuring viral audiovisual content and press releases  

- Final technical report on the project implementation completed in MILESTONE 5  

Outcomes:  

- Marketing campaign results report based on engagement statistics on social networks and traditional media exposure  

- Video demo of the completed system  

- Audiovisual documentation of the entire development process, from ideation through to execution

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

GUIDO ZATLOUKAL: President and Co-Founder - Argentine Blockchain Foundation

An experienced developer with a 10-year career in the tech industry. He was a key player in implementing the “NAC,” a Digital Literacy project in Argentina sponsored by the national government. Additionally, he is the co-founder and president of the Blockchain Argentina Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting blockchain awareness and widespread use in the country.  

https://ar.linkedin.com/in/guido-zatloukal-175b372b0 

FABIÁN BARROS REQUEIJO: Entrepreneur, Investor, and Business Leader  

He has extensive experience in the tech field across both public and private sectors. In the public sector, he led the reform of Digital Signature implementation in Argentina as Director of Applications at the National Office of Information Technology. In the private sector, he has been a consultant for various international companies and currently serves as President of Pago TIC.  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianbarrosrequeijo 

ROBERTO ROJAS: Master’s in Human Development, Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Argentina, 2022  

- Bachelor’s in Economics, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, 2002  

- Diploma in Human Development, FLACSO, Argentina, 2019  

- Macroeconomics and Economic Policy Lecturer, UBA  

Specializations:  

- Agromonitor: Agricultural Policy, Food Security, and Climate Change - Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), 2016  

- The Macroeconomic Reality in Latin America - Social Development Institute, IDB, 2015  

- Social Management Specialist - Social Development Institute, IDB, 2008  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberto-rojas-24469b1a6/?originalSubdomain=ar 

MAXIMILIANO RÍOS: Blockchain Product Development Specialist 

With 10 years of experience in systems development, he studied Systems Engineering at UTN-BA.

As Community Champion for Argentina at the Algorand Foundation (March 2023 - December 2023), he led the growth of the Algorand ecosystem in Argentina through live events and social media content. In 2023, he organized two hackathons: one in April at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and another in November during LABITCONF 202, the largest blockchain event in Latin America. He also founded the crypto community at UTN Buenos Aires, Argentina’s most prestigious engineering university.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxirios/

ALEX BARROS: Co-Founder of the Argentine Blockchain Foundation, with ample experience in the field of communications/ marketing consulting, and an academic background in Political Science, a field that he studied at the University of Buenos Aires, bringing several diverse skill sets to the table that make him valuable to projects such as this, that require excellence in many different fields in order to succeed. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-b-g/

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

[ MILESTONE 1 ] Project Scoping: ₳ 200,000

[ MILESTONE 2 ] Team Structure and Development Plan: ₳ 200,000  

[ MILESTONE 3 ] Development start: ₳ 700,000

[ MILESTONE 4 ] TEST-NET IMPLEMENTATION AND GENERAL TESTING: ₳ 500,000  

[ MILESTONE 5 ] FINAL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING: ₳ 200,000  

TOTAL: ₳ 1,800,000

(Amounts calculated 10/30 with a valuation of ₳1 = $0.33 USD)

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Investing in this project offers significant value to the Cardano ecosystem for several reasons:

Opening a New Market: By addressing the core problem outlined in this proposal, new opportunities for digital asset exchange would be created for three million users who currently have no access to such possibilities.

Trust and Credibility: Pago TIC, as a company with over a decade of experience and partnerships with more than 800 diverse entities, thus providing the highest level of trust when introducing new services to its users.

The Argentine Blockchain Foundation, on the other hand, has focused from the start on fostering a broad and diverse ecosystem within the country's Web3 industry, with access to top developers and potential partners for this project.

Focused Development: This project is targeted at Argentina, a region with growing interest in blockchain technology. By channeling resources into this area, we aim to capitalize on this market, which we believe is primed for mass adoption of the Cardano ecosystem. The costs are fully justified due to the strategic importance of entering this market.

Balanced Budget: We will ensure that the budget usage strictly meets the project’s specific demands. Expenses will be directly aligned with the proposed objectives and goals, focused on solving a specific issue in collaboration with a prominent local partner, as well as incorporating both individual and institutional users and enhancing Cardano’s visibility.