UK-based payment solution provider
UK-based payment solution provider expanding to continental Europe
UK-based payment solution provider expanding to continental Europe
UK-based payment solution provider expanding to continental Europe
Brightgrove has partnered with an ambitious UK-based company to extend their cloud-native payment solution platform.
Brightgrove has partnered with an ambitious UK-based company to extend their cloud-native payment solution platform.
Brightgrove has partnered with an ambitious UK-based company to extend their cloud-native payment solution platform.
Microservices
Cloud
FinTech
UK-based payment solution provider
UK-based payment solution provider
UK-based payment solution provider
Client overview
Client overview
Client overview
Main aim of the platform is to deliver the wide variety of reliable, secure and easy-to-integrate payment services to small- and mid-sized fintech startups across UK. Our client’s intention was to extend their business towards continental Europe – which required a comprehensive system modernization. Brightgrove’s team has been responsible for the Account Ledger system extension, including integrations with Banking-as-a-Service platform (ClearBank) and additional payment methods
Main aim of the platform is to deliver the wide variety of reliable, secure and easy-to-integrate payment services to small- and mid-sized fintech startups across UK. Our client’s intention was to extend their business towards continental Europe – which required a comprehensive system modernization. Brightgrove’s team has been responsible for the Account Ledger system extension, including integrations with Banking-as-a-Service platform (ClearBank) and additional payment methods
Main aim of the platform is to deliver the wide variety of reliable, secure and easy-to-integrate payment services to small- and mid-sized fintech startups across UK. Our client’s intention was to extend their business towards continental Europe – which required a comprehensive system modernization. Brightgrove’s team has been responsible for the Account Ledger system extension, including integrations with Banking-as-a-Service platform (ClearBank) and additional payment methods
Business context & challenge
Business context & challenge
Business context & challenge
Going outside of UK internal market had several pre-requisites, both technological and regulatory. The main technological challenge has been to extend the core payment platform functionality to support additional currencies. Significant number of system modules had to be updated or implemented from scratch – especially the currency exchange and international payments functionality. Additional requirement was to develop this extension in compliance with PCI DSS. Moreover, payment transactions have been a subject for AML monitoring, which has been performed by a 3rd-party provider.
Going outside of UK internal market had several pre-requisites, both technological and regulatory. The main technological challenge has been to extend the core payment platform functionality to support additional currencies. Significant number of system modules had to be updated or implemented from scratch – especially the currency exchange and international payments functionality. Additional requirement was to develop this extension in compliance with PCI DSS. Moreover, payment transactions have been a subject for AML monitoring, which has been performed by a 3rd-party provider.
Going outside of UK internal market had several pre-requisites, both technological and regulatory. The main technological challenge has been to extend the core payment platform functionality to support additional currencies. Significant number of system modules had to be updated or implemented from scratch – especially the currency exchange and international payments functionality. Additional requirement was to develop this extension in compliance with PCI DSS. Moreover, payment transactions have been a subject for AML monitoring, which has been performed by a 3rd-party provider.
Also, expansion to Europe required additional payment methods to be integrated – this has been necessary to keep our customer’s payment platform competitive and advantageous on the new market. The strategy included numerous integrations with local systems, but also a global one – SEPA. Brightgrove has been requested to plan and deliver CentroLink integration – the main SEPA gateway. Unlike the 3rd-party SEPA providers, CentroLink is a direct integration with a payment system – which allows to keep the transaction costs extremely low (few cents per transaction).
Also, expansion to Europe required additional payment methods to be integrated – this has been necessary to keep our customer’s payment platform competitive and advantageous on the new market. The strategy included numerous integrations with local systems, but also a global one – SEPA. Brightgrove has been requested to plan and deliver CentroLink integration – the main SEPA gateway. Unlike the 3rd-party SEPA providers, CentroLink is a direct integration with a payment system – which allows to keep the transaction costs extremely low (few cents per transaction).
Implementation approach
Implementation approach
Implementation approach
It was required to set up 2 dedicated teams which would seamlessly integrate into customer’s development processes and work alongside with the inhouse IT department. Brightgrove came up with mature Leadership that was able to fully onboard a new Agile team. Team compositions have been thoroughly planned jointly with our customer, based on the existing backlog and immediate needs. Final team setup included following roles:
• Project Manager – overall coordination and agile process facilitation
• Technical Product Owner – responsible for requirement creation and breakdown, communication with stakeholders, team backlog prioritization and for functionality acceptance
• Business Analyst – assists PO with requirement engineering and is responsible for user story creation
• 2 Technical Leads (one per each agile team) – responsible for architectural design and technical decisions, overall application landscape and for PCI DSS code compliance
• 7 Java Developers (4 in team A, 3 in team B) – developed core backend functionality
• 1 Full-Stack Developer – NodeJS – has been responsible for the orchestration layer development
• 2 Senior DevOps Engineers
• 2 Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer
The overall project has been accomplished throughout the tenure of 2 years: key components have been delivered and launched, which supported our customer’s business expansion goals. The overall engagement with customer has been continued and lasts till today.
It was required to set up 2 dedicated teams which would seamlessly integrate into customer’s development processes and work alongside with the inhouse IT department. Brightgrove came up with mature Leadership that was able to fully onboard a new Agile team. Team compositions have been thoroughly planned jointly with our customer, based on the existing backlog and immediate needs. Final team setup included following roles:
• Project Manager – overall coordination and agile process facilitation
• Technical Product Owner – responsible for requirement creation and breakdown, communication with stakeholders, team backlog prioritization and for functionality acceptance
• Business Analyst – assists PO with requirement engineering and is responsible for user story creation
• 2 Technical Leads (one per each agile team) – responsible for architectural design and technical decisions, overall application landscape and for PCI DSS code compliance
• 7 Java Developers (4 in team A, 3 in team B) – developed core backend functionality
• 1 Full-Stack Developer – NodeJS – has been responsible for the orchestration layer development
• 2 Senior DevOps Engineers
• 2 Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer
The overall project has been accomplished throughout the tenure of 2 years: key components have been delivered and launched, which supported our customer’s business expansion goals. The overall engagement with customer has been continued and lasts till today.
It was required to set up 2 dedicated teams which would seamlessly integrate into customer’s development processes and work alongside with the inhouse IT department. Brightgrove came up with mature Leadership that was able to fully onboard a new Agile team. Team compositions have been thoroughly planned jointly with our customer, based on the existing backlog and immediate needs. Final team setup included following roles:
• Project Manager – overall coordination and agile process facilitation
• Technical Product Owner – responsible for requirement creation and breakdown, communication with stakeholders, team backlog prioritization and for functionality acceptance
• Business Analyst – assists PO with requirement engineering and is responsible for user story creation
• 2 Technical Leads (one per each agile team) – responsible for architectural design and technical decisions, overall application landscape and for PCI DSS code compliance
• 7 Java Developers (4 in team A, 3 in team B) – developed core backend functionality
• 1 Full-Stack Developer – NodeJS – has been responsible for the orchestration layer development
• 2 Senior DevOps Engineers
• 2 Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer
The overall project has been accomplished throughout the tenure of 2 years: key components have been delivered and launched, which supported our customer’s business expansion goals. The overall engagement with customer has been continued and lasts till today.
Requirements collection & business analysis phase
Requirements collection & business analysis phase
Requirements collection & business analysis phase
• Strategic Goals interpretation: collected the strategic vision from Product Department through a series of workshops and deep dives
• Internalization Approach Analysis. Analyzed specific needs to launch in a European market and created a list of epic-level requirements for the upcoming implementation
• Stakeholder Interviews and workshops. Conducted structured interviews with Marketing, Operations and Legal teams to collect the expectations and setup the go-to-market plan
• 3rd-party SaaS provider interviews and documentation review. Investigated the provided services landscape and functionality from two main suppliers – ClearBank and CentroLink; tech leads did a deep dive into the workflows and data structure of provided services
• Regulatory Compliance Assessment. Evaluated PCI DSS, PSD2, and other financial regulations impacting payment processing
This has been a solid basis for the team to start technical design phase.
• Strategic Goals interpretation: collected the strategic vision from Product Department through a series of workshops and deep dives
• Internalization Approach Analysis. Analyzed specific needs to launch in a European market and created a list of epic-level requirements for the upcoming implementation
• Stakeholder Interviews and workshops. Conducted structured interviews with Marketing, Operations and Legal teams to collect the expectations and setup the go-to-market plan
• 3rd-party SaaS provider interviews and documentation review. Investigated the provided services landscape and functionality from two main suppliers – ClearBank and CentroLink; tech leads did a deep dive into the workflows and data structure of provided services
• Regulatory Compliance Assessment. Evaluated PCI DSS, PSD2, and other financial regulations impacting payment processing
This has been a solid basis for the team to start technical design phase.
• Strategic Goals interpretation: collected the strategic vision from Product Department through a series of workshops and deep dives
• Internalization Approach Analysis. Analyzed specific needs to launch in a European market and created a list of epic-level requirements for the upcoming implementation
• Stakeholder Interviews and workshops. Conducted structured interviews with Marketing, Operations and Legal teams to collect the expectations and setup the go-to-market plan
• 3rd-party SaaS provider interviews and documentation review. Investigated the provided services landscape and functionality from two main suppliers – ClearBank and CentroLink; tech leads did a deep dive into the workflows and data structure of provided services
• Regulatory Compliance Assessment. Evaluated PCI DSS, PSD2, and other financial regulations impacting payment processing
This has been a solid basis for the team to start technical design phase.
Technical architecture & system design
Technical architecture & system design
Based on the requirements analysis, we designed a comprehensive technical architecture for both Account Ledger extension and SEPA payments integration:
Based on the requirements analysis, we designed a comprehensive technical architecture for both Account Ledger extension and SEPA payments integration:
Multi-currency account structure
• Extended existing account structure to be flexible to hold multiple currencies: GBP and EUR have been implemented; however, system became flexible for future currency extensions
• Implemented clear account and sub-account structure and account mapping across the whole platform
• Integrated account creation process with existing KYC provider
• Exposed functionality through a well-documented REST API to simplify further integrations
Currency Exchange operations
• Designed the landscape of FX operations within the platform
• Implemented the currency exchange functionality for personal Ledger accounts, based on real-time FX rates received from BaaS provider
• Build the “rate-comparison” tool to compare BaaS exchange rates with 3rd-party integrations and highlight cases of non-optimal rate used
Basic domestic and cross-border payments system
• Enhanced existing transaction list with additional options: wire transfers to non-UK accounts, EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers) and direct debit
• Implemented unified Transaction creation interface to simplify further integrations
• Designed the Transaction History data storage to be compatible with existing AML monitoring and reporting
Multi-currency account structure
• Extended existing account structure to be flexible to hold multiple currencies: GBP and EUR have been implemented; however, system became flexible for future currency extensions
• Implemented clear account and sub-account structure and account mapping across the whole platform
• Integrated account creation process with existing KYC provider
• Exposed functionality through a well-documented REST API to simplify further integrations
Currency Exchange operations
• Designed the landscape of FX operations within the platform
• Implemented the currency exchange functionality for personal Ledger accounts, based on real-time FX rates received from BaaS provider
• Build the “rate-comparison” tool to compare BaaS exchange rates with 3rd-party integrations and highlight cases of non-optimal rate used
Basic domestic and cross-border payments system
• Enhanced existing transaction list with additional options: wire transfers to non-UK accounts, EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers) and direct debit
• Implemented unified Transaction creation interface to simplify further integrations
• Designed the Transaction History data storage to be compatible with existing AML monitoring and reporting
Advanced payments: SEPA payment integration
• Built a standalone service to handle SEPA payments through CentroLink
• Mapped SEPA integration with the general Account ledger structure
• Enabled internal money transfer between accounts of the same person’s Ledger
• Implemented REST interface for payment initiation, confirmation, transaction history and other operations
• Integrated SEPA payments into previously designed Transaction history data storage to keep the transaction data integrity and transparency
API Orchestration Layer
• Designed and built a unified REST API structure for all operations independently of the Account type
• Set up WAF and API Gateway policies for the public
Advanced payments: SEPA payment integration
• Built a standalone service to handle SEPA payments through CentroLink
• Mapped SEPA integration with the general Account ledger structure
• Enabled internal money transfer between accounts of the same person’s Ledger
• Implemented REST interface for payment initiation, confirmation, transaction history and other operations
• Integrated SEPA payments into previously designed Transaction history data storage to keep the transaction data integrity and transparency
API Orchestration Layer
• Designed and built a unified REST API structure for all operations independently of the Account type
• Set up WAF and API Gateway policies for the public
Results and business impact
Results and business impact
Results and business impact
Enabled the customer's successful platform launch in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in 2020 by supporting multi-currency IBAN accounts and international payments
Enabled the customer's successful platform launch in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in 2020 by supporting multi-currency IBAN accounts and international payments
Enabled the customer's successful platform launch in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in 2020 by supporting multi-currency IBAN accounts and international payments
Platform quality and stability were crucial for entering a very competitive market and achieving projected KPIs (customer acquisition, sales, revenue) during the go-to-market phase
Platform quality and stability were crucial for entering a very competitive market and achieving projected KPIs (customer acquisition, sales, revenue) during the go-to-market phase
Platform quality and stability were crucial for entering a very competitive market and achieving projected KPIs (customer acquisition, sales, revenue) during the go-to-market phase
Expansion after 2020 led the platform to cover over 18 countries across Europe
Expansion after 2020 led the platform to cover over 18 countries across Europe
Expansion after 2020 led the platform to cover over 18 countries across Europe
Executive summary
Executive summary
Executive summary
Location
Location
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Partnership duration
Partnership duration
2018-2020 (project), overall cooperation with customer is still ongoing
2018-2020 (project), overall cooperation with customer is still ongoing
2018-2020 (project), overall cooperation with customer is still ongoing
Delivery center
Delivery center
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine
Team structure
Team structure
17 FTE
17 FTE
17 FTE
Tech stack
Tech stack
Java, NodeJS Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, AWS, Terraform, Docker, ELK
Java, NodeJS Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, AWS, Terraform, Docker, ELK
Java, NodeJS Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, AWS, Terraform, Docker, ELK
Conclusion
Conclusion
Conclusion
Engagement between Brightgrove and Customer has been prolonged after the project implementation. Now our team is working on further payment platform development, beyond the scope of this case study.
Engagement between Brightgrove and Customer has been prolonged after the project implementation. Now our team is working on further payment platform development, beyond the scope of this case study.
Engagement between Brightgrove and Customer has been prolonged after the project implementation. Now our team is working on further payment platform development, beyond the scope of this case study.
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