Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. The Birth of New Bank
3. Disrupting the Brazilian Banking Market
4. New Bank's Rapid Growth
5. The Introduction of PIX
6. Developing New Bank's PIX Flows
7. The Success of PIX
8. Challenges Faced by New Bank
9. Stabilizing Systems and Reducing Costs
10. The Cultural Shift at New Bank
11. New Bank's Efficiency and Customer Benefits
12. Conclusion
**Introduction**
New Bank, the fourth largest financial institution in Brazil and the fifth largest in Latin America, has experienced remarkable growth in just a decade. This article explores the journey of New Bank, from its humble beginnings to becoming a disruptive force in the Brazilian banking market. We will delve into the introduction of PIX, a revolutionary money transfer protocol, and how New Bank tackled the challenges it brought. Additionally, we will discuss the strategies employed by New Bank to stabilize its systems and reduce costs, leading to increased efficiency and customer benefits.
**The Birth of New Bank**
A decade ago, New Bank started as a small team working in a little house in Sal Paulo. At that time, most Brazilian banking institutions relied on mainframes and legacy systems. However, New Bank embraced cloud technology, specifically AWS, which allowed them to disrupt the market and make banking more accessible to customers who were previously underserved. This section explores the early days of New Bank and the innovative products they developed.
**Disrupting the Brazilian Banking Market**
In this section, we will delve deeper into how New Bank disrupted the Brazilian banking market. We will discuss their first product, a credit card with no annual fee and an exceptional customer experience. This disruption was just the beginning, as New Bank expanded its offerings to include bank accounts, insurance, investments, loans, and an in-app marketplace. We will explore the impact of these offerings on the Brazilian banking landscape.
**New Bank's Rapid Growth**
Within a span of 10 years, New Bank experienced rapid growth, expanding its technical environment to encompass over 40 different AWS services and thousands of closure microservices. This section highlights the factors that contributed to New Bank's impressive growth and the challenges they faced along the way. We will also discuss the scale of their operations and the increased load on their mobile app and customer-facing flows.
**The Introduction of PIX**
The Brazilian Central Bank introduced PIX, a new money transfer protocol, in 2020. This section explains the concept of PIX and its significance in the Brazilian banking industry. We will explore how PIX revolutionized money transfers, offering instant, real-time, and cost-effective transactions available 24/7, 365 days a year. The impact of PIX on New Bank's operations and customer experience will be discussed.
**Developing New Bank's PIX Flows**
To meet the 10-second latency requirement set by the Central Bank, New Bank dedicated five months to developing PIX flows. This section delves into the challenges faced by New Bank during this development process and the strategies they employed to ensure the stability and efficiency of their systems. We will discuss the success of PIX and how it surpassed expectations, leading to a significant increase in transactions.
**The Success of PIX**
PIX proved to be a massive success for New Bank, with transaction volumes surpassing the combined total of credit and debit transactions. This section explores the impact of PIX on New Bank's mobile app and customer-facing flows. We will discuss the unprecedented level of stress on their technical environment and the need for stability and cost-efficiency.
**Challenges Faced by New Bank**
With the success of PIX came new challenges for New Bank. This section highlights the instability faced by multiple flows due to increased PIX traffic. We will also discuss the cost scrutiny faced by New Bank as they transitioned from startup hypergrowth mode. The trade-off between cost and stability will be explored, along with the need for innovative solutions.
**Stabilizing Systems and Reducing Costs**
In this section, we will delve into the strategies employed by New Bank to stabilize their systems and reduce costs. We will discuss the importance of addressing urgent architectural challenges and the impact of choosing the right garbage collector for microservices. Additionally, we will explore New Bank's caching strategy and the use of NVMe disks to improve data locality and reduce latency.
**The Cultural Shift at New Bank**
New Bank's success can be attributed not only to technical solutions but also to a cultural shift within the company. This section explores how New Bank fostered a culture of technical understanding and cost-consciousness among its leaders and business units. We will discuss the role of AWS cost champions in making informed decisions that balance competing concerns.
**New Bank's Efficiency and Customer Benefits**
The strategies implemented by New Bank resulted in increased stability, predictability, and cost savings. This section highlights the efficiency of New Bank's operations, making them one of the most efficient companies in the sector. We will discuss the transformative impact of these strategies on New Bank's 90 million customers, including the savings of 8 billion in 2022. The benefits enjoyed by customers and the continued commitment to accessibility will be explored.
**Conclusion**
In conclusion, New Bank's journey from a small team in a little house to a major player in the Brazilian banking industry is a testament to their innovative approach and commitment to customer satisfaction. We have explored the disruptive nature of their offerings, the introduction of PIX, the challenges faced, and the strategies employed to overcome them. New Bank's focus on stability, efficiency, and cost-consciousness has positioned them as a leader in the sector, benefiting millions of customers in Brazil.
