Introduction

Client: A fintech startup with a headcount of 15, dedicated to developing cutting-edge solutions in the financial technology sector. Their primary focus lies in creating greenfield products to address modern banking challenges.

The Challenge 

The main objective of the project was to develop a core banking system that could efficiently adapt to evolving business requirements. Traditional core banking systems on the market often require extensive effort to model economic events and business flows. Additionally, incorporating custom business requirements or performing later-stage development is often inefficient, costly, and time-consuming.

Our team aimed to address these pain points with a fresh approach, introducing the concept of "analytic governance". This principle ensured that every entity in the system—be it an actor, asset, or economic event—was described using a four-coordinate "analytical descriptor."

By leveraging these descriptors, we developed a simple language to express relationships between entities, making it possible to adapt to new business requirements by merely modelling entities and their descriptors. This eliminated the need for additional development work.

To complement the core banking system, we also designed a no-code editor tool that enabled users to create relationships and workflows through drag-and-drop functionality, significantly enhancing usability and flexibility.

Project Scope

This was a large-scale project designed with scalability in mind, both in terms of team size and product features. The immediate focus was on delivering a functional minimal solution that allowed for later expansion.

• Technology Stack: Backend development was done using Java Quarkus, while the frontend utilized Nuxt.js. External integrations included Microsoft AD and Kafka.

Methodology: Agile development was employed with holacratic, self-organizing teams.

Milestones:

The project presented unique challenges due to its innovative nature. At the time, there were no similar projects in existence, requiring the team to navigate uncharted waters and solve problems as they arose.

Key milestones included:

• Successful demos for various early-stage fintech companies.

• CBDC Pilot Project: The solution was piloted by the Central Bank of Hungary for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative, showcasing its potential to support modern banking needs.

The Results

The project introduced a groundbreaking approach to core banking systems, making them more adaptable, efficient, and user-friendly. While the concept held significant potential, the economic downturn and increased caution in the fintech sector hindered broader adoption.

Despite these challenges, the solution demonstrated clear value, and the company advanced in terms of innovation, positioning itself as a pioneer in analytic governance within core banking solutions.