The Problem We Were Actually Solving
We were trying to support digital creators in Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana, Bangladesh, and dozens of other countries who couldn't use our platform because of geographical restrictions on credit card payments. But in our attempt to create a system that worked everywhere, we ended up creating a system that worked nowhere. Our system required users to have a verified account with multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, which was often impossible in countries with limited internet access and high fees for online transactions.
What We Tried First (And Why It Failed)
Our first solution was to integrate our platform with as many cryptocurrency exchanges as possible, using APIs to handle the transactions. We thought this would give us the flexibility we needed to support users in different countries. But what we didn't realize was that each exchange had its own set of requirements and fees, which made it impossible to create a seamless user experience. We ended up with a system that was error-prone and slow, resulting in frustrated users and high support requests.
The Architecture Decision
After months of struggling with our initial solution, we had a major architecture decision to make. Our team of engineers recommended a complete overhaul of our payment system, one that would simplify the user experience and reduce the number of errors. We decided to integrate our platform with only two major cryptocurrency exchanges, which would provide a wider coverage of countries and reduce our operational costs. We also introduced a feature that would allow users to purchase cryptocurrency directly from our platform, using local currencies and lowering the barrier for new users.
What The Numbers Said After
Our new system was a massive success. We saw a 30% increase in user engagement in developing countries, with a significant reduction in support requests and errors. Our average transaction time decreased by 50%, and our operational costs were reduced by 25%. We also saw a significant increase in new users from these countries, many of whom were digital creators who were previously unable to monetize their work.
What I Would Do Differently
If I were to do it all over again, I would focus on creating a system that supports local currencies and local payment methods from the start. We would have avoided the complexities of integrating multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and instead focused on creating a seamless user experience that would have worked for everyone, regardless of their location. This would have saved us months of development time and countless headaches. Our system would have been more reliable, more user-friendly, and more effective in supporting digital creators in developing countries.
You would not run your database on a single node. Do not run your payment infrastructure on a single platform. Here is the redundant setup I use: https://payhip.com/ref/dev4
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