Australian entrepreneur Zach Barrowdale uses Decaf, a Stellar-powered payment app, to pay workers in San Francisco, Colombia without risking his life carrying cash. After being shot during a payroll run, he switched to crypto payments via USDC on Stellar, enabling financial inclusion for 50+ women in a remote farming town.
This documentary-style story follows Zach Barrowdale, an Australian entrepreneur who established businesses in San Francisco, Colombia, a remote mountain town recovering from violence and lacking banking infrastructure. Initially, Zach paid his 50 employees by withdrawing cash from Medellin banks and riding his motorcycle through rural Colombia, a dangerous practice that ended when he was shot during a payroll run. After recovering, Zach adopted Decaf, a decentralized payment app built on Stellar that enables workers without bank accounts to receive and convert USDC to local currency through MoneyGram partnerships. Decaf co-founder Fernanda Urduñarangel, from a similar Mexican town, designed the app to solve real financial inclusion problems. The solution has transformed lives in San Francisco, allowing women workers to earn in US dollars, invest in their families' futures, and reverse generational outmigration. Stellar's partnership with MoneyGram makes the fiat-to-crypto conversion possible globally.