From first principles to implementation depth.
Six domains, ordered so each one builds on the last. Every topic explains itself at five depths — start simple, go as deep as your work demands.
Payments foundations
Money, accounts, ledgers, the people and institutions in every payment, and the lifecycle an instruction follows from capture to posting.
Clearing & settlement
How obligations between banks are calculated and how they are finally discharged — gross versus net, RTGS versus deferred settlement, and the liquidity that makes it work.
SWIFT & MT
The SWIFT network, BICs, the MT message family, and how correspondent banks route customer and institution transfers serially or with cover.
ISO 20022 & CBPR+
The ISO 20022 message model, the pain, pacs, and camt families, cross-border usage guidelines, and what translation from MT really involves.
SEPA & instant payments
The Single Euro Payments Area: SCT and SCT Inst lifecycles, R-transactions, scheme timelines, and Verification of Payee.
Operations & architecture
What payment operations teams actually do, how payment hubs are built, the accounting behind every transfer, and how exceptions get investigated.
Or follow a role-based path
ALL 7 PATHS →- Payments business analystBusiness analysts who gather requirements, write user stories, and translate between product, operations, and engineering teams on payment projects.
- Payment operations specialistOperations staff who monitor payment queues, repair failed items, investigate exceptions, and reconcile accounts day to day.
- ISO 20022 specialistAnalysts and engineers who design, map, or validate ISO 20022 messages and need authoritative depth on the model and its message families.
- SWIFT specialistPractitioners who work with SWIFT messaging daily — building, validating, or investigating MT messages and the correspondent flows they ride on.