finstack
an all-in-one platform for borderless money transfers, p2p payments, and crypto exchange. the most complex thing i had built up to that point, and the first project i shipped that moved real money at scale.
live url
usefinstack.co
services
ui/ux design, frontend development, api integration
tech stack
next.js, tailwind css, multiple payment apis
date
october 2025
the job
a client came with a vision: one platform for global transfers, p2p payments, crypto exchange, and real-time rates. the full thing.
finstack was supposed to be a one-month job. me and a backend developer, scope defined, deadline set. that was the plan. the reality of building a financial platform at that level of complexity had other ideas. multiple api integrations, idempotency logic, transaction flows that had to be bulletproof because real money was moving through them. the kind of thing where a bug isn't an inconvenience, it's a problem with consequences.
it took two months and some weeks. i brought a friend onboard to help us get it across the line.
what i learned
finstack taught me things no tutorial would have. idempotency, how to think about it, how to implement it, why it matters when money is involved. i integrated more apis on this project than i can count off the top of my head, each with their own quirks, docs, edge cases, and failure modes.
i also learned what a difficult client relationship looks like up close. constant meeting requests, feature changes mid-build, scope that kept shifting. it tested my patience and my ability to keep the work quality high regardless of the noise around it. looking back, i undercharged. significantly. but the experience was worth more than whatever the invoice said.
the launch
when finstack finally launched, i was genuinely proud. not just because it was done, but because of what it took to get there. a platform that handles real transactions, moves real money across borders, and works the way it's supposed to. seamless transfers, live exchange rates, p2p payments, crypto exchange. all of it, live.
this project changed the kind of work i know i can take on. there's a version of me before finstack and a version after it. the after version charges more.
let's build something worth talking about
