Programs and Products

In the Braid Payment Core, a Program acts as the overarching structure that connects financial institutions, fintech partners, and their customers. It provides a unified framework for managing customer relationships and accounts, allowing the bank or credit union to maintain visibility and control over operations. The program is specifically designed to handle multiple fintech partnerships, making it a scalable solution for financial institutions to expand their service offerings.

Within each Program, customizable Products are created. These products are distinct financial offerings tailored to different customer needs and fintech use cases. A product can define various features, including account types (e.g., checking, savings, prepaid) and account number formats. This flexibility allows financial institutions to configure different financial products for fintech partners, ensuring that each product can serve its unique purpose while aligning with the bank’s core offerings.

Fintech partners within the Braid system are assigned Developer IDs, which act as a unique identifier for each fintech. These IDs allow fintechs to access the system and interact with customer data in a controlled manner. Through their Developer IDs, fintechs can manage their customers' accounts, facilitate transactions, and leverage the features of the specific product tied to their business needs. However, fintechs operate under the umbrella of the Program, meaning their actions are guided and restricted by the boundaries set by the bank.

Critically, limits and compliance are entirely managed at the bank level. While fintechs are empowered to interact with customers and manage accounts, they do not control regulatory compliance or risk management features such as transaction limits, customer verification, and fraud detection. These elements remain the responsibility of the bank, ensuring that all fintech activity stays within the bank’s established risk and compliance frameworks. This separation of control ensures that fintechs can innovate and deliver their services without compromising the regulatory obligations of the financial institution.

The Program structure within Braid Payment Core provides an organized, scalable way for financial institutions to manage multiple fintech partnerships. It allows fintechs to efficiently integrate their services while the bank maintains full control over critical aspects like compliance and transaction limits, ensuring both operational flexibility and regulatory compliance.

Hierarchical Structure

Use Case Example: International Payments Program

In the scenario above, the Braid licensee bank has created a program specifically for international payments, directly linked to the on-core FBO account. A key distinction is that Braid is installed within the bank’s environment, ensuring the FBO account is for internal use, not for use by Braid as a third-party or BaaS provider.

• The fintech, "MSB, Inc.," and its foreign financial institution (FFI) client, Banco Mexico, are represented in the Braid Payment Core as a 'Product,' where functionality is configured, and a composite FBO account balance is maintained.
• A fully addressable virtual account is issued to Banco Mexico for various fund flows, as defined by the contractual relationship between all parties. Additionally, a child virtual account is issued for use by Banco Mexico’s customer, Jose Diaz, to allocate in-transit funds.
• By enforcing payment instructions at the lowest level account in this structure, banks can ensure full visibility, compliance, and control.