MerchantPay - Payment platform
We helped a US-based fintech company to modernize their go-to payment platform called MerchantPay. After the modernization the platform became competitive, scalable and future-proof, and brought our client more satisfied and loyal users.
TEAM
13 Members
STARTED IN
2024
FINISHED IN
12 months
Country
USA
Industry
FinTech
OVERVIEW
About the business
We cooperated with SwiftMerchant - a US-based fintech company providing merchant payment solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. The company caters to retailers, restaurants, service providers, and franchise businesses, enabling them to seamlessly manage payments, orders, and customer interactions.
With a mission to simplify transactions, enhance customer experiences, and drive business growth, SwiftMerchant offers a comprehensive ecosystem of digital payment tools, including POS systems, online payment processing, loyalty programs, and NFC/QR-based transactions.
SwiftMerchant recongnized that demand for cashless transactions and contactless payments continues to grow. And to meet evolving needs of their clients they needed to offer more advanced and scalable solution. So the client came to us with the request to perform an audit and modernization of their go-to payment platform called MerchantPay.
OVERVIEW
Project tasks and challenges
We began our cooperation with SwiftMerchant with defining key tasks and current challenges their product faced. It turned out that their payment platform was too outdated for a rapidly evolving market. MerchantPay faced significant limitations, impacting its performance, scalability, and user experience.
Key challenges that our team discovered included:
- Legacy Infrastructure & Performance Issues - The monolithic architecture caused slow API responses, high server loads, and delayed order processing. Outdated AngularJS/Vue 2 frontend and Cordova/Ionic mobile app led to poor UX and maintenance difficulties. On-premise hosting increased operational costs and limited scalability.
- Inefficient POS & Order Management - No real-time inventory sync across POS systems lead to order fulfillment delays. Multi-location businesses struggled with manual tracking of transactions and stock levels. There was lack of self-ordering kiosks and automation that resulted in longer wait times and lower efficiency.
- Limited Payment & Loyalty Features - The platform lacked seamless omnichannel payments (NFC, QR codes, Apple Pay, Google Pay). Loyalty and rewards programs were basic, offering little customization for merchants. Tips management was manual, creating inefficiencies in revenue distribution for service businesses.
- Security & Compliance Risks - Weak authentication mechanisms lacked multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access controls (RBAC). Fraud detection was manual, increasing the risk of chargebacks and unauthorized transactions. PCI DSS compliance audits were time-consuming and not automated.
SwiftMerchant required a comprehensive digital transformation to ensure their payment platform can remain competitive, scalable, and future-ready. So here is what task we set to achieve the desired outcomes:
1. Shift to scalable, cloud-native infrastructure
- Migrate from monolithic to microservices architecture, enabling faster feature deployment and independent scaling.
- Transition from on-premise to AWS/Google Cloud, reducing costs and improving reliability.
2. Create next-gen POS & Order Management
- Implement cloud-based POS with real-time inventory tracking for multi-location merchants.
- Automate order tracking, fulfillment, and reconciliation, reducing manual efforts.
3. Ensure frictionless payments & Customer Engagement
- Upgrade the frontend to React + Next.js and mobile app to React Native for a fast, unified experience.
- Enable contactless payments (NFC, QR, Apple Pay, Google Pay) for seamless transactions.
- Enhance loyalty and rewards, allowing dynamic discounts and customer segmentation.
4. Take care of security, compliance & Fraud Prevention
- Introduce OAuth2 authentication with MFA, ensuring secure access control.
- Implement AI-driven fraud detection, reducing chargebacks and unauthorized transactions.
OVERVIEW
Project team
• 1 Project Manager
• 1 Business Analyst
• 2 UX/UI Designers
• 3 Front-end Developers
• 4 Back-end Developers
• 3 Mobile Developers
• 4 QA Engineers
• 1 Solution Architect
8
months for Audit & Design
11
months for
development & testing
React.js
TypeScript
Next.js
.NET Core
.NET
AWS Aurora
AWS S3
AWS
AWS SQS
TeamCity
AWS CloudWatch
React Native
Node.js
PLATFORM FEATURES
Dashboard overview
Our client wanted the platform to provide merchants with real-time insights into their business performance using diverse graphs and data visualization tools.
Keeping this goal in mind, we developed a centralized and intuitive dashboard displaying key financial metrics, including total transactions, revenue trends, pending payments, chargebacks, and refunds.
Merchants can use advanced filtering to compare their sales data over different periods of time. The dashboard turns finance management to a whole new level making it more smart and transparent.
Merchant Pay. Dashboard Overview
PLATFORM FEATURES
POS Payment Management
Our team developed a robust feature to help merchants efficiently track and manage in-store transactions processed via POS terminals. POS payment management provides all key transaction details, including payment status (successful, declined, pending), amount, authorization type, and timestamps.
This feature also includes advanced filtering options. By using them merchants can filter payments by store location, terminal ID, and payment method. We also integrated reconciliation tools helping to match POS transactions with settlements.
With these capabilities, businesses gain greater financial control, minimize discrepancies, and enhance operational efficiency.
Merchant Pay. POS Payments Management
PLATFORM FEATURES
Payment Links & Invoicing
This feature is designed to help merchants streamline remote payments and digital invoicing. By using it merchants can generate payment links and send them to customers via email, SMS, or messaging apps, making it easy for customers to complete transactions from anywhere.
The system also provides real-time tracking of payment requests, showing whether a link is active, expired, attempted, paid, or canceled. To further simplify financial operations, we performed integration with business invoicing tools, enabling merchants to issue and manage digital invoices directly within the system.
All customers can pay seamlessly using a variety of methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers, ensuring flexibility and convenience. This feature helps businesses speed up cash flow, reduce manual invoicing efforts, and improve the payment experience for their customers.
Merchant Pay. Payment Links and Invoicing
PLATFORM FEATURES
Virtual Terminal
We developed virtual terminal to help merchants securely process remote payments without needing a physical card reader. This functionality enables businesses to manually enter card details when handling phone or email orders, making it easier to accept customer-not-present transactions and expand sales opportunities.
To ensure security, we integrated built-in fraud prevention mechanisms, including secure authentication for high-risk transactions. Additionally, merchants can securely store customer payment details for future transactions while staying PCI compliant. This allows to streamline repeat purchases and subscription-based payments.
Merchant Pay. Virtual Terminal
PLATFORM FEATURES
Platform features
Online Payments Tracking
MerchantPay supports different payment processing methods, including credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment solutions.
On top of that, it offers monitoring of online transactions from web and mobile platforms, giving a clear breakdown of charged amounts, order numbers, payment statuses, and authorization details.
Merchants can now view pending payments, cancel transactions, or reattempt failed payments directly from the interface.
Settlements & Reconciliation
The platform displays a detailed overview of settlement transactions, including payable amounts, acquirer fees, and final deposit values.
This feature helps businesses track incoming funds from different sales channels, ensuring accurate financial reconciliation.
MerchantPay supports exportable reports for accounting and bookkeeping purposes and lets merchants monitor bank transfers and payment clearances in real time.
Fraud Awareness & Risk Management
The platform provides built-in fraud detection alerts and risk management guidelines to prevent chargebacks and fraudulent activities. It also displays clear security recommendations for merchants, such as best practices for handling Card-Not-Present (CNP) transactions.
To make the platform even safer, we added two-step verification and additional authentication for high-value transactions. There is also an option to perform integration with third-party fraud prevention services.
Filters & Advanced Search
Merchants can search for transactions based on multiple criteria, including store location, terminal ID, payment method, and transaction status.
The platform supports sorting by date, amount, authorization status, and settlement period for enhanced and convenient financial analysis. It also allows batch selection of transactions for bulk updates, reporting, or export.
PLATFORM FEATURES
Retail Module
PLATFORM FEATURES
Online Ordering
& E-commerce Integration
With this feature, businesses can expand their reach, streamline online sales, and provide a frictionless checkout experience across multiple touchpoints.
With the user-friendly online storefront and set of professional tools, businesses can quickly set up an e-commerce store, allowing customers to easily browse products, place orders, and complete payments seamlessly.
To enhance shopping flexibility, we integrated click-and-collect options, enabling services like curbside pickup and in-store collection. This ensures a smooth omnichannel experience, helping merchants meet customer expectations while optimizing order fulfillment.
Merchant Pay. Online Ordering
PLATFORM FEATURES
Loyalty Programs and Digital Rewards
This feature was created to help merchants boost customer retention and engagement. By using this feature businesses can create tailored loyalty programs that reward customers based on their purchasing behavior, encouraging repeat business and long-term loyalty.
We also integrated digital rewards, allowing customers to earn and redeem points seamlessly through the app. This enhances the shopping experience and increases customer engagement while providing merchants with valuable insights into customer preferences.
With this feature, businesses can strengthen relationships with their customers, boost sales, and gain competitive advantage.
Merchant Pay. Loyalty Program
PLATFORM FEATURES
Retail Module
Features
Point of Sale (POS) System Integration
We ensured seamless integration with existing POS systems to provide real-time synchronization of sales data, inventory, and customer information.
MerchantPay also offers unified transaction management and acts as a centralized platform for processing both in-store and online transactions, simplifying financial oversight.
Order Management System
Our goal was to enable merchants to monitor orders from initiation to fulfillment, ensuring timely processing and delivery. So we added
inventory synchronization feature that helps to automatically update inventory levels across all sales channels to prevent overselling and stock discrepancies.
Tips Manager
The platform allows customers to add tips during the payment process, with options for preset percentages or custom amounts.
There is also an automated tip distribution helping to set rules for pooling and distribute tips among staff members, ensuring fairness and transparency.
Self-Ordering Kiosks
MerchantPay can be integrated with in-store kiosks where customers can place orders independently, reducing wait times and enhancing the ordering experience. The kiosk interface can be used to suggest add-ons or promotions, increasing average order value.
Inventory Management
MerchantPay offers real-time stock monitoring and helps users to keep track of inventory levels across all locations, receiving alerts for low-stock items to prevent shortages.
To streamline the reordering process and facilitate timely restocking, we added option to connect with suppliers directly through the system.
PLATFORM FEATURES
Development approach
The biggest challenge with the SwiftMerchant’s existing payment and order management system was that it was built using outdated technologies leading to:
- slow transaction processing due to a monolithic backend architecture
- outdated UI that was difficult to update and maintain
- limited mobile experience, relying on hybrid mobile technology with performance lags
- POS integration issues, making real-time inventory tracking and order management inefficient
- increasing operational costs and reducing scalability because of on-premise hosting
To address these limitations, we redesigned the entire system architecture, transitioning to a microservices-based, cloud-native approach. The modernization focused on:
- Decoupling frontend and backend for independent scalability.
- Adopting a high-performance, real-time API architecture with GraphQL.
- Ensuring a native mobile experience by replacing Cordova with React Native.
- Enhancing POS integrations for real-time transactions and inventory tracking.
- Moving to cloud hosting to reduce infrastructure costs and enable auto-scaling.
The modernized stack was built using the latest technologies, ensuring speed, security, and long-term maintainability.
Here is how our development & modernization strategy looked like:
- System Audit & Discovery - Our team conducted a comprehensive audit of the existing system, identifying key bottlenecks and scalability constraints. We mapped out mission-critical functionalities and created a step-by-step migration plan to ensure a smooth transition.
- Frontend & Mobile Experience Overhaul - We performed migration from AngularJS to React + Next.js, significantly improving performance, maintainability, and developer productivity. Then we replaced Cordova/Ionic with React Native, providing a true native experience across iOS and Android.We also implemented a unified design system, ensuring brand consistency and a seamless user experience across devices.
- Microservices & API Modernization - We decomposed the monolithic PHP backend into scalable Node.js microservices. We also shifted from traditional REST APIs to GraphQL, enabling efficient data fetching and real-time interactions. WebSockets were integrated allowing real-time updates for transactions, orders, and inventory.
- Cloud Migration & Infrastructure Optimization - It was a transition from on-premise servers to AWS/Google Cloud, enabling auto-scaling and reducing infrastructure costs. We leveraged serverless functions for lightweight API execution, improving response times. Our engineers also implemented CI/CD pipelines, ensuring seamless deployments and continuous updates.
- Real-Time Order & POS Integration - We implemented real-time synchronization between POS systems and backend services, ensuring instant inventory updates. Then we integrated contactless payment methods (QR codes, NFC, digital wallets) to support faster checkout experiences.
- Security & Compliance Enhancement - Here is what we implemented: OAuth2 authentication, PCI DSS compliance, and role-based access control (RBAC). We added fraud detection tools with AI-powered anomaly detection and ensured end-to-end encryption for all payment transactions.
- Continuous Monitoring & Optimization - Last but not least, we integrated monitoring tools (Datadog, AWS CloudWatch) for real-time performance tracking. Then we set up automated alerts for transaction failures, server load, and security vulnerabilities. Our team also povided ongoing support & post-launch optimizations, ensuring long-term product stability.
UI decisions that make sense
7 images
RESULTS
OUTCOME
MerchantPay was successfully modernized in 12 months. It is now a cutting-edge retail and payment solution empowering the next generation of merchants. Due to timely product modernization, our client was able to get significant achievements:
- Customer satisfaction became better since the new GraphQL-powered backend processes transactions in real-time.
- Company got ability to scale effortlessly as they adopted a microservices architecture and cloud hosting.
- Merchants now benefit from a fast, intuitive React-based interface with seamless mobile, tablet, and POS interactions.
- Migration to AWS/Google Cloud cut infrastructure costs by 35%, while optimized APIs improved system performance by 40%.
- Customers can now pay via NFC, QR codes, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and digital wallets, making the checkout process more convenient.
- The new security framework ensured PCI DSS compliance, fraud detection, and real-time risk monitoring, keeping transactions safe.
Our client is absolutely satisfied with the modernized platform and is planning to keep improving it as their business grows.
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