In January 2025, three engineers in Sydney started building a payment network to compete with Visa.
By November 2025, they had 20+ cafes live with 3,200+ users. Zero external funding. No VC. No grants (yet).
Here's what that actually looked like.
The Team
- Victor Zhang: Co-invented Ethereum token standards ERC-5169 and ERC-7738. Co-founded AlphaWallet. 8 years building on Ethereum.
- James Brown: Co-founded AlphaWallet. 25 years systems engineering. IoT firmware expert.
- Cindy Chuah: Growth and merchant success. Previously scaled 1,500+ SMBs at Booking.com and TripAdvisor.
No payments industry veterans. No card network experience. Just engineers who understood cryptography and a growth person who understood merchants.
Month 1-3: The IIN
The first thing we did was apply for our own Issuer Identification Number from ISO. This is the same identifier that Visa and Mastercard use. Without it, you can't issue cards that work in the existing payment ecosystem.
Getting an IIN means you're recognized at the same level as Visa. You're in routing tables. Terminals read your cards.
Month 3-6: The Card
We built a custom applet for JCOP4 (Java Card Open Platform) chips. The applet:
- Generates a P-256 key pair in the card's secure element
- Implements EMV contactless protocol
- Signs transaction data on each tap
- Works identically to a Visa card from the terminal's perspective
Simultaneously, we built the mobile NFC version using Host Card Emulation (HCE) and a QR code payment option using ERC-681.
Month 6-8: The Settlement Layer
This is where the blockchain part comes in. We built a ClearingVault smart contract on Base L2 (Coinbase's Ethereum layer 2) that:
- Accepts P-256 signatures from card taps
- Verifies them on-chain via the RIP-7212 precompile
- Routes AUD stablecoins to merchant-specific CREATE2 receivers
- Enables instant settlement
Month 8-10: Going Live
We launched with a loyalty solution first. Cafe customers get a card, tap for rewards, build the habit. Then payments come next.
The results:
- 3,200+ wallet users
- 45,509 total transactions
- AU$66,000 in volume
- 4.5x industry average week-12 retention
- 20+ Sydney cafes
Month 11: Blackbird Giants
Blackbird Ventures (Australia's largest VC, Canva's earliest investor) selected us for Giants Cohort 11. This isn't investment, it's an accelerator program. But it's validation from the most respected VC in the country.
What We Learned
- The IIN is everything. Without it, you're just another crypto card on Visa's rails.
- EMV compatibility is the distribution hack. Merchants don't need to change anything.
- Start with loyalty, add payments. Users build the tap habit first.
- 3 people is enough. If you know the tech deeply, you don't need a large team.
- Zero funding forces focus. We couldn't build features nobody wanted.
What's Next
The RBA just banned card surcharges in Australia. Mid-2026, they're opening a consultation on mobile wallets and BNPL. The regulatory environment is shifting in our favor.
We're building TCP/IP for money. One cafe tap at a time.
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