Books30 chapters6 h 12 min read
Payments
The playbook's Payments section is about handling money correctly anywhere: amounts, idempotency, state machines and ledgers. This book is about the industry those systems plug into. Card networks, banks, processors and regulators each set rules, and almost every hard problem in a payments platform is one of them doing exactly what it's supposed to.
It reads in six parts. How Money Moves: a payment by card and terminal and what it costs, then by bank transfer, check, cash and wallet, and all of them compared. The Rules: who sets them, what you may pass on to the payer, and how they change across the border in Canada. Taking Payments: onboarding merchants, the API they integrate with, authenticating cardholders, keeping cards on file, taking payments by phone and by link, and defending against fraud and disputes. Paying Out: paying merchants, the bank accounts and files behind it, and paying vendors. Running a Provider: serving software platforms, routing across processors, running a card vault and its keys, what a processor runs, certification, operations, and becoming the provider everyone else builds on. Reference: a glossary of every term.
How Money Moves
- 01How Card Payments WorkThe parties behind a card payment, why authorization, capture, clearing, settlement and funding are separate events, and the ISO 8583 underneath it all.16 min
- 02Card-Present PaymentsHow in-person card payments work: EMV chip cryptograms, cardholder verification, contactless, Tap to Pay, terminals, P2PE, and the risk of going offline.11 min
- 03Interchange & PricingWhat a card payment costs and why: interchange, regulated debit, network fees, downgrades, Level 3 data, pricing models, and how platforms earn on payments.12 min
- 04ACH & Bank TransfersHow ACH really moves money: SEC codes and files, why settled isn't final, returns, reversals and fees, validating accounts, the Nacha rules, RTP and FedNow.24 min
- 05Accepting ChecksTaking checks as payment: image clearing under Check 21, remote deposit capture, Reg CC holds, returns and late claims, conversion to ACH, lockbox and fraud.14 min
- 06Cash PaymentsLetting customers pay in cash: retail bill-pay networks, real-time validation and posting, money orders, money transmitter rules, BSA reporting and vouchers.10 min
- 07Wallets & Local Payment MethodsApple Pay and Google Pay as network tokens, PayPal, BNPL, and the bank rails other countries pay with: SEPA, iDEAL and Wero, Pix, UPI and UK pay-by-bank.10 min
- 08Comparing the RailsEvery way money moves, side by side: who starts it, when you know it worked, when it settles, when it's final, how it comes back, and which accounts it crosses.6 min
The Rules
- 09The Payments RulebookHow payments rules fit together: network contracts like PCI DSS and Nacha, the laws behind them, who enforces each, and which apply from merchant to provider.11 min
- 10Surcharging & FeesPassing card costs to the payer: surcharges, convenience and service fees, cash discounts, the network caps and state laws behind them, and safe fee math.8 min
- 11Payments in CanadaExtending a US payments platform to Canada: ACSS and Standard 005 files, pre-authorized debits under Rule H1, Interac, card rules, RPAA and FINTRAC.14 min
Taking Payments
- 12Merchant OnboardingKnowing who processes payments on a platform: KYC and KYB, a verification state machine, progressive onboarding, underwriting, and an API that says what's due.10 min
- 13Designing the Payments APIThe surface merchants integrate with: payment objects and intents, modifications, keys and the client, test mode, versioning, errors, events and platforms.11 min
- 14Strong Customer Authentication & 3-D SecureWhen a card payment needs the cardholder to authenticate, the exemptions that skip it, why the liability shift matters, and how an API models the extra step.9 min
- 15Stored Cards & Recurring BillingSaving a card and charging it later: the stored credential framework, network transaction IDs, network tokens, account updater, retry rules and dunning.12 min
- 16Phone PaymentsTaking payments by phone and by link: MOTO and TEL rules, telephony in PCI scope, DTMF masking, text-to-pay, recordings, IVR design, remote agents.14 min
- 17Fraud & RiskDeciding which payments to allow, review, challenge or block: the cost of both mistakes, rules and models together, card testing, and auditable decisions.10 min
- 18Disputes & ChargebacksHow a dispute moves from inquiry to arbitration, what it does to the ledger, the monitoring thresholds that end merchant accounts, and who pays on a platform.11 min
Paying Out
- 19Payouts & SettlementHow a card payment becomes money in a merchant's bank: settlement timing, fees as ledger entries, payout schedules and reserves, failures, and reconciliation.12 min
- 20Treasury & Bank OperationsThe bank accounts behind a payments ledger: FBO accounts, pass-through insurance, funding, bank files, the banking calendar and reconciliation.15 min
- 21Vendor PayoutsPaying vendors and suppliers: ACH, virtual cards, push to card, checks and instant rails, enrollment, stopping redirect fraud, funding, 1099s.14 min
Running a Provider
- 22Payments for Software PlatformsEmbedded payments for vertical software: referral, reseller, managed and registered payfac models, the tenant hierarchy, fund splits, 1099-K and support.16 min
- 23Processor RoutingRunning payments over more than one processor: when it pays, routing by card, cost and approval rate, US debit, safe failover, tokens and reconciliation.9 min
- 24Running a Card VaultBuilding the one service that holds card numbers: token design, envelope encryption, who may detokenize, capture iframes, BIN data and the CDE around it.18 min
- 25HSMs & Key ManagementPayments cryptography as its own discipline: HSMs, key hierarchies, key blocks, DUKPT and PIN blocks, the move off TDES, key ceremonies and cryptoperiods.13 min
- 26Inside a ProcessorWhat an acquiring processor runs: the authorization switch, network connections, stand-in, clearing files, settlement, exceptions, merchant setup and billing.13 min
- 27Network CertificationGoing live and staying live on card networks: processor and host certification, EMV levels, 3DS approval, and the twice-yearly network release calendar.8 min
- 28Operating the PlatformRunning a payments platform day to day: the internal console, pipeline and approval-rate monitoring, statements, compliance operations, incidents and retention.12 min
- 29Becoming a Payment ProviderWhat it takes to be a Stripe or a payfac rather than integrate one: sponsor banks, card networks, PCI as a service provider, licensing and the money.14 min