Who we work with
We do one thing, so we're deliberate about who it's for.
The teams below share a problem: they have to move US dollars over RTP, FedNow, FedWire, or ACH, they can't afford to learn the networks the hard way, and the cost of getting it wrong is measured in certification delays and regulatory findings, not just engineering hours.
Foreign banks and neobanks entering the US
You're licensed at home, you have customers who need US dollars, and your core was built for SEPA, not for ABA routing numbers and NACHA files. Whether your US path is a de novo charter, an acquisition, or a sponsor bank while the charter question plays out, the integration problem is the same: where does a US-domestic payment enter your core, and what runs between that seam and the rails?
We design that seam and build what runs across it — an ISO 20022 canonical layer, network adapters, routing and failover — so the work survives a charter timeline that moves. We've done this for a European digital bank during its charter window; the architecture didn't depend on the outcome.
Typical starting point: a Rail Integration Assessment that produces the path-agnostic architecture and the roadmap.
Fintechs that move money
You have product-market fit and a sponsor bank or processor relationship, and now you need instant payments, FedWire for high-value flows, or ACH at scale — built to survive your sponsor's compliance review and the next examination, not just your first thousand transactions. Idempotency, reconciliation, returns, cutoff times, and the failure modes between rails are where fintech payments stacks break; that's the work.
Typical starting point: an assessment when you're choosing rails and providers; a build when you've chosen.
Sponsor banks, BaaS platforms, and processors
You already run rails and you're adding instant payments, migrating to ISO 20022, or extending coverage for the fintechs you sponsor. Your risk is a certification detour or a migration that breaks existing flows. We bring the network relationships, the certification experience, and the message-layer discipline to add a rail without disturbing the ones you have.
Typical starting point: architecture review and certification planning; hands-on build when the timeline is fixed.
Vertical SaaS and embedded finance
You're embedding payouts, disbursements, or collections into a product and you need the rails behind them to be boring: reliable, reconciled, and defensible to your bank partner. We scope these carefully — the engagement is usually architecture plus a targeted build, not a full program.
What our clients have in common
- A regulated counterparty — a network, a sponsor bank, or a regulator — who will review the work.
- A timeline that can't absorb a failed certification or a rebuilt message layer.
- Engineering teams who will own the system afterward and want to.
- Leadership that prefers a plan they can execute over a pitch they have to trust.
Who we're not for
We're not a generalist development shop and we don't do fractional-CTO work under this brand. If you need a payments product built from scratch (a wallet, a card program, a ledger), a money-transmitter licensing strategy, or offshore capacity, we'll say so on the first call and point you to people who do that well.
Start with the Rail Integration Assessment
Fixed scope, fixed fee, one to two weeks. An independent, senior-led read of your rails readiness and a sequenced integration roadmap you own — it de-risks the larger build before you commit to it. You're buying a roadmap, not hours.