The full case study
HedgeFlows, step by step
On this page · 8 sections
About the business
Our client, HedgeFlows team of tech visionaries building advanced fintech solutions, came to us with an idea to create a brand new product. It should be a groundbreaking multifunctional application for international transfers and exchange rate hedging.
The client wanted to utilize state-of-the-art algorithms and machine learning to empower HedgeFlows app to:
- proactively optimize investment strategies,
- ensure diligent portfolio performance tracking,
- enforce risk mitigation.
The end solution should cater to a diverse user base, including hedge fund managers, financial institutions, and individual investors. Our client wanted to build a revolutionary tool in today’s financial landscape and that’s what we helped them to do.
Project tasks
Building a cutting-edge fintech platform requires more than just integration of a robust functionality. It demands a cohesive design and user-centric experience to enhance HedgeFlows adoption and usability.
Keeping this in mind, we focused on the following tasks:
- To construct a unique visual identity and public page to reinforce HedgeFlows’ distinctiveness and differentiation in the market.
- To design a seamless onboarding process to effectively educate users about the platform’s capabilities and benefits. Onboarding should help to overcome the knowledge gap by providing clear, engaging educational content about the hedging process and its benefits.
- To build a comprehensive dashboard to provide users with quick access to their foreign currency invoices, payments, and risk assessments.
- To develop a user-friendly yet detailed pricing interface for flexible currency payment transactions.
Project team
- Project Manager
- Business Analyst
- 2 UX/UI Designers
- 2 Front-end Developers
- 2 Back-end Developers
- QA Engineer
- 2 Solution Architect
4 months for discovery & design
7 months for development & testing
Platform features
Multi-currency payment automation
HedgeFlows automates the process of making payments in over 30 currencies, helping businesses simplify and manage bulk payments across borders. The system ensures payments are processed efficiently with automatic reconciliation and remittance notifications to suppliers.
Real-time cash & currency visibility
The platform links to bank accounts to provide real-time visibility into cash positions without waiting for manual reconciliations. It enables businesses to plan and manage both inflows and outflows more efficiently.
Foreign Exchange (FX) risk management
HedgeFlows helps businesses manage currency risk by allowing them to prebook exchange rates for future transactions. This feature is designed to protect businesses from currency fluctuations, giving them more control over international financial exposure.
Bank account validation
To enhance security, HedgeFlows offers global bank account validation, which helps prevent fraud and manual errors in payment processes.
ERP and Accounting system integration
The platform integrates with popular accounting systems like Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and Microsoft Dynamics, allowing businesses to automate processes such as payment runs, reconciliations, and financial reporting.
SWIFT payment tracking
HedgeFlows provides real-time tracking for international payments via the SWIFT GPI tracker, ensuring that businesses can easily monitor the status of their transactions.
Invoice Management
HedgeFlows integrates with accounting systems to automatically process, reconcile, and mark invoices as paid. Advanced invoice management reduces the need to manually input and handle currency conversions and remittance emails.
Here is what else invoice management feature offers:
- Real-time syncing with popular accounting platforms to keep invoice data up to date.
- Automatic invoice processing – once an invoice is generated or received, the system matches it with corresponding transactions and performs automatic reconciliation.
- Upon payment, the feature sends automated remittance emails to clients and suppliers, ensuring transparency and confirmation of completed transactions.
The invoice management feature improves accuracy, and ensures seamless cross-border transactions, allowing businesses to focus more on strategic operations.
Dashboard
The dashboard provides app users with a real-time overview of cash balances across multiple currencies and bank accounts. This feature allows users to monitor their financial health at a glance, proactively manage FX risks, and optimize cash management operations.
The dashboard also provides:
- detailed insights into incoming and outgoing cashflows, enabling users to identify trends and optimize financial operations;
- analytics on payments, and FX risks, helping users to stay informed of available funds and enabling better decision-making and cash management;
- custom alerts for account thresholds, currency movements, or pending payments, ensuring proactive financial management;
- summary reports for quick access and detailed reports for in-depth analysis of financial transactions.
Development approach
To build a robust, scalable, and user-friendly solution, we carefully selected tech stack tailored to its unique needs. Given the nature of HedgeFlows, our development approach prioritized performance, maintainability, and scalability. Here is what technologies we used:
- Frontend development: We suggested using React for the web application, since React is a modern, component-based JavaScript library that allows for the creation of dynamic and responsive user interfaces. TypeScript was used for efficient code maintenance and better quality.
- Backend development: We selected Node.js with Express.js for backend part of the product. Node.js, with its event-driven, non-blocking architecture, allows for better scalability and performance, especially for real-time applications.
- Database: To handle the platform’s data needs, we integrated Elasticsearch and Firebase. Elasticsearch supports advanced searching and filtering functionalities, while Firebase provides real-time data syncing—an ideal setup for financial insights and real-time market data.
- Cloud Infrastructure: For deployment, we used Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to ensure scalability, flexibility, and high availability. GCP’s robust infrastructure ensures HedgeFlows can effortlessly scale and meet the demands of a growing user base while maintaining performance and efficiency.
Outcome
In a short term after the successful HedgeFlows launch, our client acquired 200+ B2B customers. They evaluated the app as a user-friendly, intuitive and highly-effective solution that simplifies finance management.
Due to automation for bulk vendor payments and auto-reconciliation, HedgeFlows app reduced manual effort for its users by 80% and errors by 90%.
The app has been recognized with awards such as “Best Business Finance Solutions Provider” and “Best Innovation” in 2023, highlighting its impact and innovation in the financial technology sector.
