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Design an international money transfer system

The article explores the architecture and key design considerations for building an international money transfer system, covering aspects such as currency conversion, fee structures, compliance with regulations, and ensuring reliability and security across borders.

Background

- This article covers how to design the backend for a service like Wise (formerly TransferWise) or Remitly — apps that send money across borders cheaper than banks. - Key concepts: "FX rate" (exchange rate between currencies), "spread" (hidden fee banks add to that rate), "SWIFT" (the slow legacy bank network for international transfers), "correspondent banking" (chains of intermediary banks that each take a cut). - The proposed design uses a ledger with local-currency accounts, batched net settlement between currency pools (avoids per-transaction SWIFT fees), and a matching engine that pairs opposite flows (e.g., USD→EUR with EUR→USD) to minimize actual forex conversion costs. - Why it matters: Global remittances exceed $800B/year. Even a 1% savings means billions for users. This architecture is what lets fintech firms offer 5–10x cheaper transfers than legacy banks.

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