Context

Brick, initially a data and verification service provider, identified a demand from businesses seeking a more efficient way to manage incoming payments. Companies face operational inefficiencies due to fragmented payment systems and manual reconciliation processes. To address this, Brick developed a Payment Acceptance API, allowing businesses to integrate multiple payment methods, automate billing, and streamline reconciliation with a single API.

Hypothesis

<aside> 💡

H1: Businesses need a unified payment solution that accepts payments via multiple channels (e-wallets, virtual accounts, QRIS) to improve conversion rates.
H2: Automating payment reception and reconciliation will reduce operational costs and increase efficiency.
H3: Offering a simple API for payment acceptance will increase adoption by reducing integration complexity for businesses of all sizes. </aside>

Market Research and Competitive Analysis

Overview

The Indonesian digital payments market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 22.3% from 2021-2026, driven by rising smartphone adoption and e-commerce penetration.

Bank transfers dominate with 40% market share.
E-wallets (38%) and QR-based payments are quickly growing due to ease of use.
Other options, such as payment links, are gaining traction among SMEs.

Competitive Analysis

Major Players	M***	X****	D****	O******
Strength	Wide range of payment methods, strong brand recognition	Modern API, good documentation, focus on developer experience	Long-standing presence in the market, trusted by large enterprises	Specializes in alternative payment methods, strong in e-wallet integrations
Weakness	Complex pricing structure, occasional downtime issues	Higher prices for some services, limited coverage in rural areas	Outdated user interface, slower adoption of new technologies	Limited traditional banking integrations, smaller merchant base

Competitive Landscape

Feature	M***	X****	D****	O******	Brick (Proposed)
Bank Transfer Support	✓✓✓	✓✓✓	✓✓	✓	✓✓✓✓
E-wallet Integration	✓✓	✓✓	✓	✓✓✓	✓✓✓
Virtual Account	✓✓	✓✓✓	✓	✘	✓✓✓
Real-time Processing	✓	✓✓	✘	✓	✓✓✓
API Documentation	✓✓	✓✓✓	✓	✓	✓✓✓
Pricing	✓✓	✓	✓✓	✓✓	✓✓✓
Customer Support	✓✓	✓✓	✓	✓	✓✓
Additional Services	✓✓	✓✓	✓	✓	✓✓✓

Legend: ✓ = Basic offering or limited capability ✓✓ = Good offering or capability ✓✓✓ = Excellent offering or capability ✓✓✓✓ = Industry-leading offering or capability ✘ = Feature not offered

Key Market Insights

Fragmentation: Many businesses use multiple providers for different payment methods, creating complexity.
Reconciliation: Manual reconciliation remains a pain point for businesses, resulting in increased operational costs.
Integration Difficulty: The complexity of APIs is a common complaint, leading to high development costs and delays.
SMEs Market: Small and medium businesses are looking for cost-effective, easy-to-integrate solutions that provide broad payment options.

Market Opportunity

Based on this analysis, there's a clear opportunity for Brick to enter the market with a solution that addresses these pain points:

Offer a unified API covering all major payment methods
Provide superior reliability through robust infrastructure
Simplify integration process with clear documentation and support
Implement a transparent and competitive pricing structure
Expand coverage to underserved rural areas
Leverage BIFAST for real-time transactions across a wide network
Bundle additional services (e.g., data enrichment, verification) for a comprehensive offering

The Audience

Persona	Medium to Large Enterprises (CFO, CTO)	SMEs (Founders, Developers)	Traditional Businesses:
Use Cases	Process large volumes of transactions via virtual accounts and QR codes.	Simple API to manage payments through payment links and virtual accounts with limited technical resources.	Automate billing and payment reconciliation to reduce manual workloads
Frustrations	Multiple integrations with different payment providers increase operational overhead.	High development costs and complicated reconciliation processes.	Time-consuming manual invoicing and high payment processing costs.

User Journey

User Insights

Users demand a solution that:

Reduces manual reconciliation.
Automates payment tracking across different methods.
Provides multiple payment options to increase customer flexibility and conversion.
Is easy to integrate with minimal technical requirements.

Big Takeaways

There is a clear market need for a unified payment API that allows businesses to accept payments through multiple methods (virtual accounts, QRIS, payment links) and provides real-time reconciliation. Businesses want automation, flexibility, and cost efficiency in payment processing.

The Goal

<aside> 💡

To create a Payment Acceptance API that enables businesses to accept payments through multiple methods, automate reconciliation, and reduce operational costs through easy integration and scalable usage.

</aside>

Feature Prioritization and MVP Definitions

User Stories

As a CFO, I want to track payments from multiple virtual accounts linked to specific invoices, so I can reconcile payments quickly and easily.
As a startup founder, I want to integrate a simple payment API, so I can accept payments through QR codes without needing complex infrastructure.
As an SME owner, I want to automate payment reception and reconciliation, so I can reduce my operational costs.

Final Solution

Brick Payment API offering:

Virtual Account Support: Unique VA codes for easier reconciliation.
QRIS Static and Dynamic: Accept payments from e-wallets using static or dynamic QR codes.
Payment Link: Create billing links without needing to code.
Real-time Reconciliation: Automatically match transactions with corresponding payments.
Pay-as-you-go Pricing: Flexible pricing based on usage, suitable for businesses of any size.

sequenceDiagram
    participant Client
    participant BrickAPI as Brick API Gateway
    participant BrickAuth as Brick Auth Service
    participant BrickPM as Brick Payment Manager
    participant BrickCB as Brick Callback Service
    participant ThirdParty as Third Party System
    participant Bank as Bank/E-Wallet

    %% Client to Brick Flow (Payment In)
    Client->>BrickAPI: 1. API Request (with token)
    BrickAPI->>BrickAuth: 2. Validate Token
    BrickAuth-->>BrickAPI: 3. Token Valid
    BrickAPI->>BrickPM: 4. Process Payment
    BrickPM->>Bank: 5. Initiate Payment
    Bank-->>BrickPM: 6. Payment Confirmation
    BrickPM->>BrickCB: 7. Trigger Callback
    BrickCB->>Client: 8. Send Callback

    %% Brick to Third Party Flow (Payment Out)
    Client->>BrickAPI: 9. Request Payment Out
    BrickAPI->>BrickAuth: 10. Validate Token
    BrickAuth-->>BrickAPI: 11. Token Valid
    BrickAPI->>BrickPM: 12. Process Payment Out
    BrickPM->>ThirdParty: 13. Initiate Transfer
    ThirdParty-->>BrickPM: 14. Transfer Confirmation
    BrickPM->>BrickCB: 15. Trigger Callback
    BrickCB->>Client: 16. Send Callback

Client to Brick Flow (Payment In):
- Steps 1-3: Client authenticates and sends a payment request to Brick.
- Steps 4-6: Brick processes the payment, interacting with the bank or e-wallet.
- Steps 7-8: Brick sends a callback to the client with the payment result.
Brick to Third Party Flow (Payment Out):
- Steps 9-11: Client authenticates and requests a payment out.
- Steps 12-14: Brick processes the payment out, transferring funds to the third party.
- Steps 15-16: Brick sends a callback to the client with the transfer result.

High Level Architecture

Key Components

Component	Descriptions
Client Applications	Including mobile apps, web dashboard, and third-party systems integrating with our API.
Load Balancer	Ensures high availability and distributes traffic across multiple API servers.
API Gateway	The entry point for all API requests, handling routing, composition, and protocol translation.
Authentication Service	Manages user authentication, authorization, and access token generation.
Payment Manager	Core service for processing payment transactions across various methods.
Transaction Manager	Tracks and manages the lifecycle of all transactions.
Ledger Manager	Maintains financial ledgers and handles balance inquiries.
Notification Manager	Manages system notifications, including emails and webhooks.
Data Store	Consists of a main database for persistent storage and a cache for frequently accessed data.
External Systems	Connections to banks, e-wallets, and BIFAST for processing transactions.
Pub/Sub Service	Facilitates asynchronous communication between services, enabling event-driven architecture.
Bulldozer Service	Handles bulk operations and data processing tasks.
Subscriber Services	Process events from the Pub/Sub service, allowing for decoupled and scalable event handling.
Scheduler Service	Manages scheduled tasks such as recurring payments or periodic reports.
Callback Service	Manages the delivery of callbacks to client systems, ensuring reliable communication of transaction statuses and other important events.

graph TB
    subgraph Client Applications
        MobileApp[Mobile App]
        WebApp[Web App]
        ThirdPartySystem[Third-Party System]
    end

    subgraph Brick Payment API Platform
        LB[Load Balancer]
        API[API Gateway]
        Auth[Authentication Service]
        Security[Security Service]
        PM[Payment Manager]
        TM[Transaction Manager]
        LM[Ledger Manager]
        NM[Notification Manager]
        PubSub[Pub/Sub Service]
        Bulldozer[Bulldozer Service]
        Subscriber[Subscriber Services]
        Scheduler[Scheduler Service]
        Callback[Callback Service]

        subgraph Data Store
            DB[(Main Database)]
            Cache[(Cache)]
        end
    end

    subgraph External Systems
        Banks[Banks]
        EWallets[E-Wallets]
        BIFAST[BIFAST]
    end

    MobileApp --> LB
    WebApp --> LB
    ThirdPartySystem --> LB
    LB --> API
    API --> Auth
    API --> Security
    API --> PM
    API --> TM
    API --> LM
    API --> NM
    
    PM <--> PubSub
    TM <--> PubSub
    LM <--> PubSub
    NM <--> PubSub
    
    PubSub --> Bulldozer
    PubSub --> Subscriber
    
    Scheduler --> PM
    Scheduler --> TM
    
    Callback --> API
    
    PM <--> Banks
    PM <--> EWallets
    PM <--> BIFAST
    
    Auth <--> DB
    PM <--> DB
    TM <--> DB
    LM <--> DB
    NM <--> DB
    
    Auth <--> Cache
    PM <--> Cache
    TM <--> Cache

Virtual Account

Virtual Account is unique bank account number that the user c an generate to receive money