Fintech Architecture • March 2025 • 7 min read
The ETD API
From Raw Data to Rich Experience
A showcase of engineering excellence in real-time transaction processing.
The Challenge: When Events Don't Arrive Together
In high-scale financial systems, transaction data arrives from different sources at different times. This timing mismatch is a critical architectural reality that must be solved to avoid delays or showing customers incomplete information.
FAP Event
Arrives Instantly
< 1 second
CDP Event
Arrives Later
100-400ms
Our Solution: A Three-Pillar Architecture
Pillar 1: Intelligent Data Ingestion
Orchestrates and correlates out-of-sync events from FAP and CDP streams using a smart temporal buffer.
99%
Event Join Rate
Exceeding 98% target
Pillar 2: Composite Key Innovation
Creates a unique 8-field "fingerprint" for every transaction, allowing for precise matching even in complex scenarios.
98.2%
Matching Accuracy
Pillar 3: Real-Time Enrichment
Transforms raw, cryptic transaction data into a clear, customer-friendly story with merchant names, logos, categories, and locations.
Before: SQ *COFFEE SHOP
After: ☕ Starbucks #1234
How It Works: Intelligent Correlation Flow
Our system uses a sophisticated state machine to manage the temporal complexity. A smart, optimized correlation window ensures data is joined efficiently without compromising user experience.
Receive Event
Generate Key
Smart Wait
Join Data
Enrich
Serve via API
The Impact: By The Numbers
Performance Excellence
<100ms
API Response Time
40M+
Daily Transaction Capability
Join Success Rate vs. Target
Operational Efficiency
$50M+
Annual Savings
50%
Mainframe Traffic Reduction
150K+
Fewer Calls Monthly
Customer Experience
-
📜
Rich Details
Clear merchant name, logo, category, and location for every transaction.
-
⚡
Real-Time Availability
Sub-second enrichment for the vast majority of customer transactions.
-
📱
Better Mobile UX
An enhanced, intuitive, and trustworthy transaction history.
The Teams Behind the Magic
This breakthrough was made possible by the seamless collaboration of three expert engineering teams, each mastering a critical layer of the architecture.
⚙️
BLR Team
The Data Orchestrators
💎
COL Team
The Enrichment Innovators
🏗️
DEL Team
The API Architects
Sources & Further Reading
Dive deeper into the raw research, architecture notes, and collaborative brainstorming that informed this case study.