All Case Studies
Mobile Financial Technology

Cross-border Payment App

React Native app enabling instant cross-border transfers with biometric auth, real-time FX rates, and compliance checks across 12 currencies.

FinTech Startup (Confidential) 18 weeks 4 engineers 2024
12 Currencies
< 2s Confirmation
4.8★ App Store
Tech Stack
React NativePlaid APIBiometricsNode.jsPostgreSQLStripeKYC

The Challenge

A FinTech startup needed a consumer-facing cross-border payment app that could clear regulatory requirements in Japan, UK, and Singapore simultaneously. Existing solutions were too slow, too expensive, or couldn't handle multi-currency wallets with real-time FX.

Our Solution

React Native codebase with iOS/Android parity. Plaid for bank account linking, a custom FX rate aggregator polling 4 providers, and a compliance engine that runs KYC/AML checks synchronously before any transfer initiates. All PII encrypted at rest with AES-256.

The Results

Shipped to App Store and Play Store in 18 weeks. 4.8-star average rating from 2,000+ early users. Sub-2-second transfer confirmation. Zero compliance incidents in the first 6 months of operation.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Under the Hood: Architecture & Data Flow

Zero-trust financial transaction architecture featuring biometric client signing, pre-flight AML/KYC guardrails, dynamic FX multi-quote aggregation, and append-only cryptographic ledger.

Throughput: 2,500+ transfers/day
Latency: < 2s transfer confirmation
Mobile Security Boundary
Client
iOS & Android Payment Client React Native / TypeScript
Biometric authenticated mobile wallet
FaceID / TouchID SigningSSL Certificate PinningSecure Enclave Storage
Hardware Key Storage iOS Keychain / Android Keystore
Tamper-resistant token vault
Hardware CryptographyNo Plaintext StorageAuto-Wipe On Tamper
HTTPS / TLS 1.3
Edge & Defense Gateway
Ingress
Cloudflare Enterprise WAF Cloudflare Edge / DDoS Shield
Edge perimeter defense & rate throttling
Zero-Trust EdgeDDoS ProtectionGeo-IP Compliance
API Gateway & JWT Verifier Fastify / Node.js
Cryptographic request signature validation
Replay Attack DefenseSub-10ms OverheadScope Enforcement
Internal Mesh / gRPC
Core Banking Engines
Compute
Dynamic FX Rate Aggregator Node.js / Worker Pool
Multi-provider FX quote synthesizer
4 Liquidity Feeds90s Rate Lock LeaseSpread Optimization
Compliance & AML Engine Python / FastAPI
Synchronous KYC and AML evaluation
Sardine AML ScreeningJumio KYC VerificationReal-Time Sanction Checks
Persistence & State Sync
Ledger & State Persistence
Storage
Append-Only Financial Ledger PostgreSQL 15 (AES-256)
Double-entry cryptographic ledger
Double-Entry LedgerAES-256 Column EncryptionImmutable Audit Log
Ephemeral FX Quote Cache Redis 7 / MemoryLock
Locked rate store with strict TTL
90s Hard TTLZero Slippage GuaranteeAtomic Lease Locks
Component Details
STEP 1 OF 5
HTTPS / TLS 1.3 Pinning
iOS & Android Payment Client Cloudflare Enterprise WAF
User approves transfer via FaceID; client attaches cryptographic signature and sends payload.
Key Engineering Decisions & Trade-offs
✓ Double-Entry Append-Only Ledger

Prohibited all SQL UPDATE commands on account balances. Every financial operation is represented by balanced credit and debit ledger entries, ensuring total regulatory compliance.

✓ 90-Second Ephemeral Rate Locking

Eliminated foreign exchange rate slippage risk during volatile market swings by caching locked institutional quotes in Redis with strict atomic TTL timeouts.

TECHNICAL DEPTH

Deep Dive Specifications

Security Model

Biometric auth (Face ID / Fingerprint) as the primary auth factor with PIN fallback. JWT refresh tokens stored in iOS Keychain / Android Keystore — never in AsyncStorage. Certificate pinning prevents MITM attacks on the API layer.

FX Engine

Custom rate aggregator polls 4 FX providers every 30 seconds, applies a spread, and locks the rate for 90 seconds during checkout. Redis stores the locked rate with TTL. Expired rates reject the transaction — no rate mismatch risk.

Compliance

KYC via Jumio SDK integrated into onboarding. AML screening runs on every transfer via Sardine API. Flagged transactions enter a manual review queue with 24-hour SLA. Full audit trail stored in append-only PostgreSQL tables.

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