Banking the Unbanked with Stablecoins

In this Stabledash Live interview from Stablecoin Conference LATAM 2025, we sit down with Rick Martin, co-founder of Decaf, who reveals how his team is partnering with the UN and major humanitarian organizations to bring financial services to populations excluded from traditional banking. On the same day Decaf announced their Rain-powered Visa card (not backed by any bank), Rick shares extraordinary stories of people hiding in caves in Afghanistan earning money from TikTok, and how the International AIDS Society successfully paid 250 researchers across 50+ countries using stablecoin infrastructure—no backpacks of cash required.

Key Highlights:

- Launching non-bank Visa card powered by Rain - connects non-custodial wallets directly to global payments
- Unlike Wise or Revolut: Works in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Colombia, Mexico - truly global access
- Physical cards with ATM access increase cash availability in restricted regions
- Partnership focus: UN, International AIDS Society, and NGOs making "really hard payments"
- Real deployment: 250+ people paid across 50+ countries at AIDS conference in Rwanda
- Afghanistan use case: People hiding from Taliban in caves earning from freelance work and TikTok
- $160 billion in remittances across Latin America, $64 billion to Mexico alone
- Uses Stella disbursement platform: Upload Excel spreadsheet, bulk payments to hundreds instantly
- Non-custodial architecture: Users can send funds to Binance, banks, ATMs - full freedom of choice
- Go-to-market strategy: Target institutions with "screaming demand"and no other solutions
- White-label approach: Organizations like UN put their name on it, leveraging existing trust
- From Europe to Nigeria, US to Mexico, supporting manufacturing and cross-border trade flows


About Rick Martin & Decaf:
Rick Martin is co-founder of Decaf, a global stablecoin payments platform focused on bringing financial services to populations excluded from traditional banking. Decaf provides non-custodial wallet infrastructure with off-ramps to cash (MoneyGram), cards (Visa via Rain partnership), and bank transfers, serving humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and institutions making payments to hard-to-reach populations across 50+ countries. The platform uses Stella's disbursement technology for bulk payments to hundreds or thousands of recipients simultaneously.

About Stabledash Live:
Stabledash Live brings you exclusive conversations from the world's leading stablecoin conferences, diving deep into the infrastructure, regulation, and innovations shaping the future of digital money. Subscribe for more insights from Stablecoin Conference LATAM 2025 and follow the stablecoin revolution transforming global payments.