Before you write any code that touches money, you need to understand how money actually moves. When someone taps a card or sends a bank transfer, a chain of banks, networks, and processors works behind the scenes to approve the payment, record it, and move the funds. Knowing who does what in that chain is the foundation for everything else in this course.
You'll start with card payments and the roles of the cardholder, the merchant, the issuing bank, the acquiring bank, and the card network. Then you'll look at bank transfers, including how systems like ACH and SWIFT work and how clearing and settlement differ from the payment instruction itself. Finally, you'll see why cross-border payments are slow and expensive, and how fintech companies are trying to improve them.
These ideas show up again in later modules, from ledgers and payment gateways to reconciliation and compliance. Once you've finished this module, move on to Backend Foundations for Finance.
How credit cards came about and what happens between a swipe and an approval, including the part played by Visa and Mastercard as networks connecting issuing banks, acquiring banks, and merchants.
The story of how money moves between banks, from checks and correspondent banks to the ACH network and SWIFT messaging, and why clearing and settlement matter.
A short explainer on cross-border payments: nostro accounts, correspondent banking, SWIFT messages, and why international transfers cost money and take time.