Maximus card · Ghana launch

Launch roadmap

From today's investor demo to a closed pilot with 5–10 Ghanaian businesses in May 2027. Maximus runs as a card-as-a-service programme: licensed partners issue the card and hold the money, and Maximus is the software and customer experience on top.

Model
Card-as-a-service on licensed partners
Funding routes
Mobile money (GHS) and USDC
Budget to pilot
USD 20,000
Pilot starts
May 2027 (target)

Where it stands

As of 12 November 2026.

Timeline

Four workstreams over eleven months. Pick an owner to see their part.

Swipe sideways to see the full timeline.

Phase 1 · Foundations 2 · Partners 3 · Sandbox build 4 · Ready 5 · Closed pilot 6 · Scale
Gates A B C D E
Partners
Provider enquiries and quotesYou
Choose providers, sign term sheetYou · providers
Partner sandbox and integration supportProviders
Go-live approvalProviders
Physical cards and deliveryYou · providers
Legal and compliance
Lawyer's written opinion on our role, including USDCYou · lawyer
Anti-money-laundering policy, compliance officerYou
Data protection registration, terms, privacy, complaintsYou · lawyer
Suspicious-activity reporting to the FICYou
Product and engineering
Merge USDC workYou · Codex
Database ledger and real loginCodex
Card issuing and spending; app and console on the backendClaude
Provider adapters, KYC, reconciliationCodex · Claude
Security test and fixesTester · Codex · Claude
Pilot support and fixesCodex · Claude
Scale-up featuresCodex · Claude
Brand and customers
Trademark check and logoYou
Card artwork approved by the issuerYou · issuer
Recruit 5–10 pilot businessesYou
Closed pilot: virtual cards, hard limitsYou
Raise on pilot results, open salesYou

Dates are planning estimates. Provider onboarding usually sets the real pace: if Gate B slips, everything after it moves by the same amount. Engineering keeps going against sandbox stand-ins while the partners are being chosen.

Decision gates

Each phase ends at a gate. Don't spend on the next phase until every line under its gate is true.

  1. Quotes in hand

    Mid-December 2026
    • Written quotes from at least two card providers for the mobile-money-funded card.
    • An answer on the USDC route, from the same provider or a separate one.
    • Every quote says whether identity checks and wallet screening are included.
    • A Ghanaian fintech lawyer is engaged and the trademark search is back.

  2. Partners chosen

    End of January 2027
    • Term sheet signed and sandbox access received.
    • Lawyer's written opinion on Maximus's role, including whether the USDC route needs its own registration.
    • Decided which company signs with the provider.
    • Costs fit the USD 20,000 budget, or a raise is decided.

  3. Sandbox flow works

    End of March 2027
    • In the partner's sandbox, end to end: sign up, identity check, fund by mobile money and by USDC, issue a virtual card, pay, reconcile.
    • Balances come only from the server ledger, and every automated test passes.

  4. Cleared for pilot

    End of April 2027
    • The partner approves go-live.
    • Independent security test with no open critical or high findings.
    • Registered with the Data Protection Commission; terms, privacy policy, complaints and anti-money-laundering processes in place.
    • Pilot targets agreed in writing before the first card is issued.

  5. Pilot proven

    End of July 2027
    • Pilot targets met for activation, funding success, fraud and support time.
    • No money left unreconciled at any month end.
    • Decision recorded: scale up and raise, adjust, or stop.

Next four weeks

What moves the plan to Gate A.

Budget to pilot

Estimates, not quotes. Replace each line with the provider and lawyer quotes at Gate A.

ItemWhenUSD
Provider onboarding and first three months' minimum feesPhases 2–58,000
Prefunded card balance (locked, not spent)Phase 54,000
Legal opinion, provider contract, customer termsPhases 1–43,000
Independent security testPhase 42,000
Hosting, domain, logo, trademark searchPhases 1–31,000
ReserveAny2,000
Total20,000

Risks

The four things most likely to move the dates or the budget.

RiskWhat we do about it
Provider minimums exceed the budgetAsk for a pilot tier. Fall back to a referral or co-branded programme. Use the demo to raise the gap.
USDC route needs its own registrationLawyer's opinion at Gate B. If blocked, launch the mobile-money card first and keep USDC in the sandbox.
Provider onboarding takes longer than plannedRun enquiries in parallel. Keep engineering moving against sandbox stand-ins.
Identity checks and wallet screening cost extraMake it the first question in every quote; buying them separately can cost more than everything else combined.