Fintech Engineering Handbook
A comprehensive guide covering core concepts in fintech engineering, including payment systems, compliance, security, and financial data handling. It provides practical insights on building and scaling financial technology products for engineers and technical leaders.
Background
- This is a free, online guide aimed at software engineers transitioning into fintech (financial technology), written by a senior fintech engineer.
- Fintech refers to companies and products that use software to deliver financial services — payments, lending, investing, banking, insurance. Unlike most software, fintech code directly handles real money and is heavily regulated.
- The handbook covers core concepts unfamiliar to typical web developers: how money moves (payment rails, settlement), financial data formats (ISO 8583, ISO 20022), ledger systems (double-entry accounting), compliance (KYC/AML), security (PCI-DSS), and the role of financial regulators.
- It exists because building fintech requires domain knowledge that traditional computer science education and general engineering roles don't teach — mistakes can cost real money or trigger regulatory fines.