Money in Transit

Money in Transit explores the intersection of technology, software development, and the payments industry. It discusses challenges and opportunities in payment systems, the impact of technological advancements, and strategies for improving communication and efficiency between engineers and the business side of fintech. The content ranges from technical discussions on programming and databases to broader insights on innovation and industry trends.

Payment Systems Software Development Fintech Innovation Engineering Communication Technology Trends Business Strategies Digital Security Industry Analysis

The hottest Substack posts of Money in Transit

And their main takeaways

Gumroad Wallet, A $100M Opportunity

58 implied HN points • 04 Jan 24
💼 Business E-commerce Digital Products Payment processing Network Effects Startups
  1. Gumroad might be missing out on a $100 million opportunity by not leveraging creators' transactions within the platform efficiently.
  2. Digital wallets could revolutionize Gumroad's business model, allowing for direct transactions and lower fees for creators.
  3. Gumroad's pricing structure change indicates a need to evolve in the face of rising competition and changing economic landscapes.

Check Me If You Can

39 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
💼 Business Payments Blockchain Trust Banking Technology
  1. Blockchain technology can be used for enforcing social contracts like promises of future payments.
  2. Payments are essentially promises of money exchange, conveyed in various ways, including through checks.
  3. The engineering mindset behind the development of checks engineered modern payment systems.

Tokenization, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Vault

19 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Security Payments Data Management Startups Tokenization
  1. Tokenization is a powerful way to reduce costs and secure card payments by isolating parts of payment applications for PCI compliance.
  2. Tokens are non-exploitable and require a vault to store the actual data, providing security in case of a breach.
  3. Using Tokenization as a Service providers can strengthen a startup's position by avoiding vendor lock-in and enhancing pricing power.

How To Communicate With Software Engineers So That They Understand You

39 implied HN points • 09 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Communication Software Engineering Testing Programming Language Information Flow
  1. Software engineering is not inherently more difficult than other professions like medicine or law.
  2. Effective communication with software engineers can be facilitated by using frameworks like The Spreadsheet Analogy and the Given-When-Then method.
  3. Communication breakdowns between engineers and non-engineers can be bridged by understanding software engineering concepts and speaking a shared language.
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Launching The Databases of Money

19 implied HN points • 01 Dec 23
💼 Business Finance Books
  1. The book 'The Databases of Money' is now live
  2. The book is a mix of previous newsletter content and new payment landscape insights
  3. Author plans to share more about the writing process in a future post

What Makes Payment Applications Different?

19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Payments Software Design
  1. Payment applications need to focus on serving users well, not just at a large scale.
  2. Design documents are crucial for creating software that aligns with the needs of the payment domain.
  3. Building payment applications requires careful planning and considerations due to the complexity of handling transactions and data.

Payment of the Seas

19 implied HN points • 14 Aug 23
💰 Finance Payments Credit Cards
  1. Credit cards offer flexibility in payment not provided by cash or checks.
  2. Card transactions go through initialization, authorization, and capture stages for security and efficiency.
  3. Companies like Visa and Mastercard simplify transactions by connecting merchants with various banks.

The Turbulent Tango Of Payment Providers

0 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Cryptocurrency Data Management
  1. Different payment providers are constantly innovating and competing with traditional credit card schemes like Visa and Mastercard.
  2. Building resilient payment systems involves anticipating and mitigating potential outages from third party providers.
  3. Engineering payment systems correctly provides a better understanding of customer behavior and improves fraud detection capabilities.

State Machines Are Probably a Bad Idea

0 implied HN points • 25 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Coding Events
  1. Developers might be hesitant about using state machines because they could lead to complex and tech-debt heavy implementations
  2. State machines are difficult to change and can complicate handling transitions, making it challenging to maintain
  3. Focusing on events rather than states can be a more effective approach in software development

The Suits Gap

0 implied HN points • 13 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Software Engineering Internet Business Skills
  1. The distribution of roles in industries can change over time, creating 'The Suits Gap'.
  2. In the tech industry, focusing on synthesis and persuasion skills can be more valuable than just technical knowledge.
  3. To stay relevant in a changing landscape, engineers need to develop business acumen and strategic thinking.

Pizza Place Payments

0 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Payments Software Database Events Architecture
  1. Understanding the separation of orders and payments is crucial for developing useful payment applications.
  2. When building payment applications, ensure past orders and payments are unaffected by future changes in products and variants.
  3. Invoices notify about payments, receipts prove payments; keep both immutable and associated with an order.

A Grid in the Sky, part III - Hackers and Pilots

0 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
💼 Business Technology Travel Data Analysis
  1. Enterprise software often relies on Command Line Interfaces (CLIs) due to the flexibility and efficiency they offer.
  2. Fragmentation in the airline industry is increasing, with airlines pushing back against centralized systems like GDSs.
  3. Online travel agencies (OTAs) need to adapt by growing, focusing on the customer experience, and collaborating with airlines to navigate the challenges of data collection and industry fragmentation.