We are building V-Pay, a closed-loop digital payment and settlement platform designed for constrained and emerging markets where traditional card networks and acquiring banks are unreliable. The initial deployment supports: • Tourism spending • Private merchants • Diaspora-funded wallets • Local settlement through approved partners • Offshore treasury and liquidity management This is real financial infrastructure, not a consumer app clone. ⸻ The Problem We Are Solving In certain markets: • International cards frequently fail • Local POS/acquiring is unreliable • Cash dominates due to broken payment rails • Merchants cannot reliably accept foreign spend • Governments require visibility, controls, and reversibility V-Pay solves this by: • Holding foreign funds offshore • Running an internal authorization + ledger system • Enabling QR-based local payments • Settling merchants locally without foreign wires • Providing full auditability and compliance controls ⸻ What Needs to Be Built This project is for a prototype / pilot system (simulated funds in Phase 1). Core components to build: • Double-entry ledger system (source of truth) • Authorization engine (approve/decline, limits, controls) • Consumer wallet app (Android-first) • Merchant acceptance app (QR-based, no POS hardware) • Settlement orchestration logic (local settlement simulation) • Admin / compliance dashboard • Full transaction logging, reporting, and audit trails ⸻ What Will Be Integrated (Not Built From Scratch) • Card issuing / tokenization platform (Marqeta-type issuer later) • KYC / AML tooling • Messaging (SMS / push) • Cloud infrastructure (AWS / GCP) No crypto. No blockchain. ⸻ Key Functional Requirements • QR-based payments with instant authorization • No reliance on local card acquiring • Strong ledger consistency and reconciliation • Tiered limits for users and merchants • Ability to freeze, reverse, and audit transactions • Designed to withstand bank and regulator review ⸻ Technology Stack (Flexible, Must Be Justified) • Backend: Node.js or Python • Database: PostgreSQL or equivalent relational DB • Mobile apps: React Native or Flutter • APIs: REST (GraphQL acceptable if justified) • Hosting: AWS / GCP / Azure ⸻ Required Experience • Payments, fintech, or wallet systems • Ledger or transaction system design • Secure API development • Idempotency, reconciliation, and consistency handling • Building systems that move money (even simulated) ⸻ Strongly Preferred • Card issuing or prepaid systems experience • Regulated system exposure (banking, payments) • Admin dashboards for financial operations • Emerging market or low-infrastructure experience ⸻ What This Is NOT • Not a crypto project • Not a simple e-wallet clone • Not a UI-only build • Not a speculative idea ⸻ Project Scope & Timeline • Prototype / pilot build • Simulated funds (no real money in Phase 1) • Target timeline: 8–10 weeks • Milestone-based payments • Potential long-term engagement after pilot ⸻ How to Apply (Important) Please include: • Brief description of similar systems you’ve built • How you would design the ledger • How you would handle authorization and limits • Relevant GitHub or architecture examples Generic or low-effort proposals will be ignored. ⸻ Why This Project Is Different • Real stakeholders (banks, ministries, merchants) • Architecture and correctness matter more than UI polish • Opportunity to build core financial infrastructure • High-visibility system with long-term potential