Sergei Krasochkin is an experienced Software Developer with an impressive career in leading Russian technology companies. His professional journey includes working on the creation of the Christofari supercomputer and the ML Space platform at SberCloud, developing a corporate portal at Mail.ru Group, and leading the payment platform at Fyst, which processes over 100,000 transactions daily. Projects under his leadership have been recognized with the prestigious IT World Awards 2021. Currently, Sergei leads a team of six developers and is responsible for integrating with more than 50 banks and payment services. In this interview, he shares his experience in building a successful career in IT, talks about the latest trends in the Fintech industry, and gives valuable recommendations to aspiring professionals on how to develop in the field of technology.
Sergei, you’ve had an impressive journey from programmer to leading complex technology projects in the country’s leading companies. What key moments defined your professional development?
The key to my development was the experience of working in large technology companies. At SberCloud, I participated in the development of the Christofari supercomputer and the launch of the ML Space platform. Working at Mail.ru Group on the corporate portal gave me an understanding of building large-scale systems. Now at Fyst, I lead the development of the payment platform.
You mentioned working at SberCloud. Your participation in the creation of the Christofari supercomputer brought the project several prestigious awards, including the IT World Awards 2021. Tell us about the unique technical solutions you were able to implement in this project.
Within the Christofari project, I was responsible for developing a platform for collaborative ML development with acceleration up to +1700 GPU Tesla v100 and A100. The key focus of my work was integrating the supercomputer project with Intel technologies. This required solving a number of complex technical challenges. It was necessary to optimize machine learning frameworks for effective work with the heterogeneous CPU and GPU architecture. For this, we used specialized Intel libraries, such as MKL and Intel Distribution for Python, and also used profiling tools, for example, Intel VTune Amplifier. Also, an important task was ensuring high bandwidth and efficient data transfer between different components of the system. Here, we optimized data transfer channels and implemented a comprehensive monitoring system to quickly identify and eliminate bottlenecks. To increase the scalability and reliability of the entire infrastructure, containerization and orchestration technologies were used. This allowed us to effectively manage deployment and maintenance processes. As a result of these efforts, we managed to create a platform that not only provided extreme performance, but was also resistant to failures.
Now at Fyst, you lead the development of a payment platform that processes more than 100,000 transactions daily. How does your previous experience help in creating such a complex infrastructure?
When I joined the Fyst team, we faced the task of creating our own payment solution that could replace the third-party software previously used. My previous experience working with high-load systems at SberCloud and Mail.ru Group played a key role in the successful implementation of this project.
At Fyst, I hold the position of integration lead and lead a team of developers. We managed to achieve integration with more than 50 banks and payment services, which just allows our platform to process about 100,000 transactions daily. A deep understanding of the architecture of complex systems and the skills of managing distributed teams, gained in previous projects, helped me build a reliable and scalable infrastructure.
Security is a critical aspect of payment systems. As the head of integrations, what innovative solutions have you implemented to ensure the reliability of the platform?
Given the high responsibility for the safety of financial data, we paid special attention to the implementation of a reliable and secure architecture for the payment platform. The key solution was the introduction of a microservice architecture deployed on AWS infrastructure. This allowed us to achieve high scalability and fault tolerance of the system. In addition, we ensured full compliance of the platform with PCI DSS standards, which guarantee the security of storing and processing card data.
To quickly detect and respond to failures or anomalies, a comprehensive monitoring and alerting system was developed. It allows us to monitor key performance indicators of the platform around the clock and receive instant alerts about emerging problems. Separately, it is worth noting the integration with advanced anti-fraud services. This gives us the opportunity to effectively counter fraudulent transactions and ensure a high level of customer trust in our services. To summarize, all the technical solutions we have implemented are aimed at creating the most reliable, secure and fault-tolerant payment infrastructure capable of processing millions of transactions.
Sergei, you mentioned earlier that under your leadership, the team successfully integrated the system with more than 50 banks and payment services. How do you effectively manage such complex processes?
The key to success here was the competent organization of work processes and effective interaction within the team. As I said earlier, as the head of integrations, I am responsible for coordinating the work of a team of 6 people. To do this, we have established close interaction with the Operations Team, which monitors payment flows and responds quickly to emerging issues. I also maintain constant contact with analysts and accounting to ensure consistency of actions and timely provision of the necessary data.
An important role in effective management is played by the competent prioritization of tasks. I analyze the needs of the business, assess the complexity and implementation time of various integrations, and then determine the optimal sequence of their implementation. This allows us to implement the necessary integrations as quickly and efficiently as possible without disrupting deadlines.
And, of course, well-established development and testing processes are of great importance. We follow flexible methodologies, which ensures a high speed of implementing changes while maintaining the stability of the platform. It is thanks to this comprehensive approach that our team successfully integrated the payment platform with more than 50 banks and payment providers, ensuring the smooth operation of the service.
Let’s go back to the technical side of things. Your platform uses a microservice architecture on AWS. What innovative solutions have you implemented to optimize the system?
Choosing a microservice architecture based on AWS was a key decision that allowed us to optimize the Fyst payment platform in several important parameters. First, it’s automatic payment routing. We have developed an intelligent system that analyzes transaction history, approval rate, commissions, and other factors to automatically redirect payments along optimal routes. This can significantly increase payment throughput and reduce costs. We also integrated advanced payment methods, such as Google Pay and Apple Pay. This gives our customers the opportunity to offer them to their end users, which improves their customer experience. An important element of optimization was the introduction of comprehensive analytical tools. They provide the possibility of in-depth analysis of payment flows, identification of patterns, and prompt adoption of management decisions based on data. All these solutions have allowed us to create a highly efficient and flexible payment platform capable of successfully competing in the market.
Yes, these are indeed very effective solutions that increase the company’s competitiveness. And how is the work with analytics organized in your system? After all, with such a volume of transactions, it must be a very complex structure.
Working with analytics on the scale of our payment platform is indeed a serious challenge. But we approached this issue comprehensively and created a multi-level reporting and analytics system.
We have developed a set of reports that allow various departments of the company, such as finance, operations, and business analytics, to receive the data they need. This can be information about transaction dynamics, approval levels, commissions, and much more. Such detail helps to identify trends and make informed management decisions in a timely manner. We have also introduced special tools for a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of payment routes. They give the opportunity to assess the throughput, conversion, and profitability of each of the used integrations with banks and payment providers. This allows us to optimize routes and rates to increase profitability.
In addition, we work with anonymized transaction data, forming analytical extracts on their basis. This gives the business valuable information for making strategic decisions, without disclosing confidential information. This comprehensive approach to data management and analytics allows us to effectively control and optimize key processes on the payment platform, despite its scale and high load.
You touched on the topic of interaction with various payment systems. Given your experience integrating with Google Pay and Apple Pay, how do you assess the future of payment technologies? What trends, in your opinion, will determine the development of the industry in the coming years?
Of course, payment technologies will develop rapidly in the coming years. The main trends that will determine this development, I would highlight several key areas. First, this is the continuation of active work to improve the security of payment transactions. The introduction of advanced authentication methods, fraud prevention and data protection will remain in the focus of attention of market leaders. Customers increasingly value the reliability and confidentiality of their financial transactions.
In addition to this, further development of the integration of cryptocurrency payments into traditional financial systems is expected. Although this segment is not yet massive, we are already seeing interest in it from major players. Solving issues of regulation and ensuring security will open up new opportunities for business.
Also, the personalization of financial services will become increasingly important. Thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, payment services will be able to offer customers the most individual solutions, based on a deep analysis of their preferences and behavior. Additionally, it is worth noting the development of Open Banking, which will give the opportunity to create innovative financial products based on open APIs. And, of course, we will see the emergence of new payment tools that are more convenient and integrated into everyday processes.
In general, the industry is moving towards creating the most personalized, secure, and seamless customer experience. Companies that manage to implement advanced payment technologies earlier than others will gain serious competitive advantages.
It’s interesting to hear your opinion as an expert who has worked in both traditional IT giants and innovative Fintech projects. What did your experience working in such different companies as SberCloud and Mail.ru Group give you? How does this help in current projects?
Working in these technology companies really gave me a unique experience, which now helps a lot in implementing projects in the Fintech industry. I gained a deep understanding of how high-load and scalable systems are structured. Creating the Christofari supercomputer at SberCloud and the corporate portal at Mail.ru Group taught me how to effectively manage complex architectures, ensuring their uninterrupted operation under extreme loads. In addition to this, working in distributed teams allowed me to develop coordination and people management skills. I learned how to build effective communications, motivate specialists, and achieve synergy in the work of diverse departments. This is extremely important in the current project at Fyst, where I have to interact with teams of developers, analysts, operators, and business units.
Also, the experience of integrating with various technological solutions, whether it be Intel or third-party payment systems, gave me a deep understanding of how modern IT systems work. This allows me to effectively implement innovative approaches and quickly adapt to new tasks. Ultimately, it is the combination of management skills, technical expertise, and understanding of business processes that makes me a specialist capable of effectively implementing complex projects in the dynamically developing Fintech industry.
To conclude our conversation, Sergei, what advice would you give to young specialists who are just starting their journey in Fintech development?
First of all, it is very important to deeply understand the specifics of the financial industry and its regulation. Knowing the intricacies of payment systems, security requirements and regulatory acts will allow you to solve problems in this area much more effectively. It is necessary to constantly improve technical skills. The Fintech industry is developing rapidly, and it is necessary to be aware of the latest technologies, architectural solutions and development tools. Only a combination of deep subject knowledge and IT expertise will ensure the competitiveness of a specialist. You should not underestimate soft skills either. The ability to communicate effectively, work in a team, manage projects and make informed decisions in conditions of uncertainty are critical for career growth. Develop these skills along with technical competencies.
And finally, it is important to be open to continuous learning and development. Fintech is a dynamic industry where it is necessary to constantly adapt to the changing realities of the market. Only those specialists who demonstrate a willingness to learn and implement innovations will be able to achieve long-term success in their careers.
Sergei, thank you for such an informative interview and valuable advice. I wish you further success in conquering new heights!
Thank you for your interesting questions! I was pleased to share my thoughts and insights. I hope this interview will help readers better understand the features of working in the IT field and inspire them to develop in this direction.
