asgayapedia

Merchant Spread Sufficiency

Status: Not Started
Priority: High
Last Updated: 2026-05-29
Contributors Welcome: Yes

What We Don’t Know

Is the 0.5% merchant validation fee sufficient to motivate merchants to maintain cash inventory and validate covenants?

Why It Matters

Merchants are the critical cash-out points. If 0.5% is insufficient, they won’t participate and recipients can’t claim remittances.

Current Hypothesis

0.5% fee on high-frequency small transactions (20-30 per month) plus product sale opportunities makes merchant participation economically attractive.

Investigation Method

  1. Survey existing remittance-adjacent merchants about fee acceptability
  2. Model merchant earnings at various transaction volumes
  3. Compare to existing cash handling services
  4. Calculate break-even transaction volume

Success Criterion

Merchant retention above 80% during Phase 0 trials with measured transaction volumes meeting projections.

Phase 0 Trial Integration

Track merchant earnings, transaction frequency, and retention rates.

Contributor Guidance

Skills needed: Market research, merchant interviewing
Estimated effort: 4-6 hours
How to start: Identify and survey remittance-adjacent merchants

🏠 Home ↑ Unknowns 📖 Glossary
This site is open source. Improve this page.