Where is the money stored?
This section is to clarify an important aspect of storing the business and end-customers’ assets or funds when using SDK.finance software as a foundation for a financial service product.
Our Platform acts as a facilitator, representing the funds and recording the transactions in a secure ledger, but SDK.finance does not store or access any customer’s funds directly.
To better understand how it works, let’s consider the process of wallet top-up as an example.
Wallet top-up through a cash desk of a bank
When an end-customer initiates a wallet top-up, it may appear as if they are depositing cash directly into their wallet. However, in reality, the process involves multiple steps and entities:
- The end-customer deposits cash into a bank cashier or financial institution with a cash desk, indicating the bank account number of your organization and the Client’s wallet number as the purpose of payment.
- The bank or the financial institution informs your organization that the customer has cash in their wallet for a specific amount.
- The cash desk transfers the replenishment amount from their account to your company’s business bank account. In case the top-up is done at a bank cash desk, the funds are transferred to your company’s bank account immediately.
- Your organization receives the top-up message from the bank (automatically via the Bank’s API or manually through your accountant)
- Your organization authorizes wallet top-up and the system fills the customer’s wallet with the e-currency amount equivalent to the top-up amount. From the technical side, the system issues e-currency for the corresponding amount of funds.
Wallet top-up through a provider
When an end customer tops up their wallet through an integrated provider, the money is transferred from the end customer’s bank account to the provider’s bank account and can then be transferred to your company’s bank account (the process depends on the specifics of the integration).
Commissions
Regarding commissions, they are calculated and handled based on the company’s specific business process and sent to the dedicated business bank account. SDK.finance doesn’t charge any commission fees and doesn’t have access to the funds.
In the scheme above, the commission is calculated based on the top-up amount and the transferred sum includes the commission as well*.
Regulations
Numerous regulations require that the amount of issued digital currency circulating in the system should be equal to the amount of fiat money in your organization’s bank accounts. This is to ensure the economic efficiency of the digital money business and to prevent e-money fraud.
The SDK.finance Platform architecture and processes described above help ensure compliance with this requirement as well.
For example, during the top-up, the end-customer effectively purchases e-currency issued by your company (provided you have the necessary license) using their cash deposit. So, technically, it is the e-currency that circulates within the system, not the fiat money. The money is all on your business bank account.
To sum up, SDK.finance’s system does not store or access either your business’s assets or customer funds directly. Our software acts as a secure intermediary, safeguarding the integrity of the payment system and ensuring the accurate representation of the funds and transactions in the ledger.
*It concerns this specific scheme, while commission scenarios may differ.