Inspiration
One of the questions I asked myself was, how could I build a solution that could impact real people. My thought process going into the hackathon was to build an API-first platform that could integrate into any tool imaginable.
I wanted to create a simple API entry point for the APIs that allows vendors to create products, receive payments, issue refunds and scale quickly. It is an API Aggregator built around common use cases
When I first started this hackathon there were quite a few usecases which I wanted to demonstrate with Rapyds VAN capabilities. But there were a few issues I stumbled upon which made it difficult to consider all my use cases. For example, beyond just developing a mobile app, I thought about what if you’re a small business on alibaba who wants to start accepting international bank transfers from your customers. You dont have the resources or time or money to implement a custom solution
I developed a much more simplified way of paying that isn’t complex. Makes it easy for any vendor to start accepting payments from customers or suppliers
I also wanted to demonstrate the power and utility of the Rapyd Toolkit
What it does
WorkFlow is an ecosystem of different systems and tools which come together for the ultimate Payment App for Space tourism
It is an open-source platform that allows the Rapyd community to build on top of it to create workflows that integrate into everyday solutions that other businesses can use such as Bank Transfers with clients from other countries. The idea was to create an extensible platform that can be plugged into anything, a Typeform, a google form, or Trello. If an Airbnb host wants to provide value-added services to customers such as insurance for their items in the event they get damaged, they don't have to build custom solutions. They can just build a TypeForm around the WorkFlow API and offer embedded Fintech solutions on the fly.
SheetSync which is an extension of the API
View the spreadsheet which syncs with the API and mirrors the information from Rapyd. This is useful for merchants who don't have the time or resources to build a custom app. I wanted to build a solution that could help anyone get started on accepting international bank transfers and plug that data source into their favorite tool https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19EDarVq33_ZBvu_nhWJR8t8EOhr0cJw_PSlt7xZh-3U/edit?usp=sharing
View how we created a no code using SheetSync dashboard which allows merchants to manage orders from other sources like typesheets
https://www.appsheet.com/start/69b4922f-0efe-4956-a05a-460ccea13bcd
Key Features of WorkFlow
Customers can register and automatically be assigned a virtual card to their wallet. This is great for merchants as they can issue partial refunds which is a feature WorkFlow caters for. Essentially, a customer can request a Bank Transfer refund as well as a card refund and this could improve cash flow for the customer
Customers can create multiple Virtual Account Numbers and they can create Virtual Account Numbers for their dependents as well (A dependent can be a co-payer, a friend, etc.)
WorkFlow listens out to incoming payments using Webhooks and takes care of the accounting
Payments that come into a customer's wallet can be automatically assigned to an order. This is great for accounting as the merchant and customer don't have to focus on reconciliation. Everything is handled by the API as it can spread payments you make to the order you assign them to. If a customer overpays then the money is moved to their wallet. If they underpay the order remains active.
Customers can add more than one payment to an order meaning that they can pay the order over 4 payments. An order is complete only when all the payments are made
Customers can add other people to an order if they have a Rapyd wallet. If they don't have a wallet, WorkFlow allows customers to create dependents which can also contribute to paying for an order. Dependents can also add more than one payments to an order.
The API contains a reconciliation feature that allows a merchant to view things like how much they've made on orders and how much they've had to refund customers. They can also receive information such as how many orders are still pending and how much money is pending and so much more.
The API can create customers and assign VANs and Virtual cards to them using TypeForm. We use webhooks to achieve this
The API syncs with Google Sheets and Firebase meaning a merchant can build custom platforms without having to spend time and money on an app or website as these can be intimidating to small businesses
How we built it
I built WorkFlow using Spring which allowed me to get started quickly. I then integrated WorkFlow with Google Sheets and TypeForm as well as Firebase. It can be integrated with anything you can imagine.
Challenges we ran into
The Rapyd API is complex. There are a lot of things you need to understand and I built an API which solves for that and makes accepting international payments easier and more streamlined
What's next for WorkFlow
Make WorkFlow open source so other people can contribute into creating simple solutions which other businesses can use to integrate into their favorite tools.
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