Soon after earning his finance degree from the Harbert College in May, Chris Maurice turned his attention to other matters.

Purchasing a generator for a soon-to-be opened company office in Lagos, Nigeria, for example. He had not initially budgeted for one when he was looking for space to lease, but he learned that the power grid can be a bit temperamental even in such a large city. The last thing you want in the middle of the work day is for your screen to go dark.

Maurice, the co-founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency firm Yellow Card Financial, has been juggling quite a bit since graduation. Beyond his evaluation of generators and his travels to cultivate business in Africa, he has also been setting up headquarters in Atlanta. He now has another item to add to his packed calendar.

Maurice recently learned that Yellow Card has been selected to participate in the Money20/20 USA Startup Academy as one of the industry’s 100 most promising startups. Money20/20 describes itself as the home of “Money Revolutionaries” – entrepreneurs and disruptors who are exploring ways to “fundamentally change money as we know it.” The event will be held in Las Vegas October 21-24.

Startups were selected through a competitive application process that included guidance from Money20/20’s venture capital advisory board.

"Money20/20 is a gathering of the best and brightest from across the payments industry," Maurice said. "We've already had numerous people that we've talked to in the past reach out and ask to meet up with while we're in Vegas. We're definitely looking forward to the networking opportunities that will come out of this."

National recognition and competitive accolades aren’t new for Yellow Card. The start-up earned $25,000 in funding, placing third nationally, at the EIX e-Fest undergraduate student entrepreneurship competition in April 2017. In 2018, Maurice and co-founder Justin Poiroux won first place at the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards East Regionals in Atlanta and competed in the GSEA national pitch competition finals in Dallas.

Maurice said Yellow Card Financial focuses on providing safe, quick and secure financial exchanges, as well as storage for coins, on one platform. Customers can buy Yellow Gift Cards, vouchers and PINs at stores around the world, pay using local currency, create a Yellow Card account and buy cryptocurrency.