Context
POK set out to give people and small businesses in emerging markets the payment tools they lacked: instant transfers, cards that work online, and a simple way for any business to accept money.
Regulated money movement leaves no room for shortcuts. Every transaction must be correct, auditable and secure, and the product still has to feel effortless.
The challenge
- 01
Regulated from day one
A licensed institution needs audit trails, identity checks and controls designed in, not added later.
- 02
Two sided platform
Consumers and merchants need different products that share the same money movement core.
- 03
Ecommerce acquiring
Businesses of every size must be able to accept online payments, with or without a website.
- 04
Growth
The platform had to keep up with 300% yearly growth and new verticals.
Our approach
- 1
Wallet and transfers
P2P transfers by contact, QR code or phone number, with no fees between users, built on a ledger designed for correctness.
- 2
Digital cards
Debit cards issued instantly in app for individuals and businesses, tokenised for online and subscription payments, with employee cards, limits and real time monitoring.
- 3
Ecommerce acquiring
Pay by Link over SMS, email or chat; a hosted, mobile optimised checkout; RESTful APIs and SDKs; and plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento so merchants go live in hours.
- 4
Engagement and commerce
QR payments in store, a cashback engine, a smart coupon system and corporate coupons for employee benefits, then food delivery and grocery ordering inside the app.
- 5
Merchant portal
Transactions, settlements, offers and integration settings, managed by the business without developer help.
Architecture
Nebula led the foundational build and continues to support POK at critical milestones alongside POK's own engineering team.
