Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Rosales.
Hi Jeffrey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Los Angeles, CA but raised in Fresno, CA. I am the son of
a Bracero and is the youngest of 12. I come from a family of small business
owners in construction and hospitality.
I joined the Marine Corps in 2007 and deployed multiple times in support of both
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
In Industry, my experience extends to over a decade from Financial Technology to
Defense and Consulting with roles in leadership, acquisitions, strategy and business
operations. I have served organizations of all sizes from Startup to Fortune 500 with
multi-billion dollar portfolios with multi-national operations.
My portfolio also includes roles chairing boards of Latino & Veteran Business Resources
Groups, Advising Non-Profits, Board Director of a Non-Profit, Podcast Host focused on business, personal development and leadership, and now the Founder and CEO of Moneda.
I founded Moneda because during the pandemic I witnessed the challenges that my family had to go through when they had to go to the back of the bus just to get approved for a much needed PPP (capital) loan versus legacy players who it turns out didn’t need the capital after which became a revelation for me that I needed to do something because it is now personal. It turns out that many small businesses like my families had similar challenges and I looked at it as an extinction event for the pillars of local communities.
I then did market research and found out that our financial system hasn’t been upgraded since the 1970’s!! The impacts from cashflow in receiving your hard money instantly to swipe fees aka card fees being the second highest operating for Merchants were some additional revelations. I turns out that Card and Chargeback fees costs Merchants $300B+ Per Year and if you segment it by market, the hispanic community equates for about half of that so roughly $150B+ Per Year!!
So for a resilient community that contributes $4.1 Trillion+ in GDP to America, why is $150B+ leaving the community and not staying in? Well in addition to the swipe and chargeback tax, it turns out that the dollar in the hispanic community only stays for 48 hours!!!
So what are we to do when hard earned dollars are being taxed with legacy systems impacting the hispanic community and all Americans causing us to fall behind in Financial Innovation in comparison with Brazil, China, Africa India and many other emerging markets who are leapfrogging us with digital first innovations and infrastructure?
Without any technical expertise where I only took one programming course in high school and nearly failed, little to no resources having just come off a divorce and losing dad the year before, no access to capital and networks, I walked by faith by assembling a team of experts to develop an AI powered Financial Technology platform called Moneda that eliminates the swipe and chargebacks fees problem along with keeping the dollar circulating longer because it turns out our culture and community is the true currency. Moneda is a platform for the community and by the community. What’s more is that the community now has the capability to vote with their wallets by supporting their neighborhood with Moneda something Cesar Chavez who is also a fellow veteran aspired to do.
Our vision is to be the platform of prosperity and our mission is to accelerate economic opportunities for all.
Moneda keeps our dollar circulating locally so small businesses can stay competitive, secure and
profitable. For me, Moneda isn’t just a FinTech solution —it’s a platform for building community wealth.
What’s more is that policy called Section 1033 aka “Open Banking Rule” was created under the 1st Trump Admin and Passed in 2024 under Biden calling for more competition and innovation in the financial services space. They specifically highlighted Emerging Technologies called Pay By Bank which is our first product that is now being released into the market.
Moneda has plans to make it available on more platforms and we have a backlog of Merchants that we are onboarding with commitments from many more who are eager to partner with us.
This is the opportunity of a lifetime for our community and I strongly suggest that they get behind it so we can finally step into the fold with Moneda which has a North Star of returning $1 Billion back to our community.
We will not stop until our community has economic opportunity with platforms that are for them and by them.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Without any technical expertise where I only took one programming course in high school and nearly failed, little to no resources having just come off a divorce and losing dad the year before, no access to capital and networks, I walked by faith by assembling a team of experts to develop an AI powered Financial Technology platform called Moneda that eliminates the swipe and chargebacks fees problem along with keeping the dollar circulating longer because it turns out our culture and community is the true currency. Moneda is a platform for the community and by the community. What’s more is that the community now has the capability to vote with their wallets by supporting their neighborhood with Moneda something Cesar Chavez who is also a fellow veteran aspired to do.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In Industry, my experience extends to over a decade from Financial Technology to
Defense and Consulting with roles in leadership, acquisitions, strategy and business
operations.
I have served organizations of all sizes from Startup to Fortune 500 with multi-billion dollar portfolios with multi-national operations.
My portfolio also includes roles chairing boards of Latino Veteran Business Resources
Groups, Advising Veteran Non-Profits for Deported Veteran, Board Director of a Faith Based Non-Profit and also a podcast host focused on business, personal development and business.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
My Favorite Book is the good book aka the Bible.
I am also currently reading Doing Business by the Good Book by David L. Steward, the wealthiest African American in America who like me has no technical background, but founded a $20B IT Business providing solutions and services to the government.
As for podcasts besides mine, I leverage my veteran and latino business community such as The Latino Startup and American Latino Veterans Association to be around leaders that will challenge you in all facets of life to be the best version that god designed me to be.
Pricing:
- Moneda is Free
- Moneda Offers Subscriptions for Merchants starting at $9.99 per Month
- Moneda Offers Subscriptions for Community Users starting at $1.99 Per Month
- Moneda only charges a flat fee of 1% per transaction
- Moneda would like to partner and power SD Voyager Magazing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://monedaapp.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/monedaapp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tvc1775
- Other: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneda-scan-and-pay/id1582605685
Image Credits
Mujeres Brew House and Cocinas Del Monte. Photos by Elsa Photography in Downtown.
