Courses
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PaymentForge is sold as courses. The integrated course is the whole academy. Smaller bundles cover one area each. A bundle unlocks only its own chapters, so pick the area you need, or take everything with the integrated course.
The Integrated Course
The flagship. Everything in the academy, all 12 domains.
The complete PaymentForge academy in one course: all 68 chapters and all 493 narrated lessons, from what a payment is to payment hub architecture, ISO 20022 and SWIFT messaging, clearing and settlement, cards, compliance, APIs, exceptions, reconciliation and the BA and PO professional practice. Buy this and every chapter unlocks.
₹9,999
View details Buy nowPayment Architecture and APIs
Hubs, platforms, gateways and integration, the engineering view.
The architecture bundle. Payment hub architecture, API banking and open banking, payment gateway architecture, payment platform architecture, system design deep dive, payment data model and mapping, the payment hub enterprise architecture, and open banking, PSD2 and PSD3.
₹2,499
View details Buy nowBA and PO Professional Practice
Requirements, stories, mappings, tests and the capstone.
The professional practice bundle. The BA practical workshop, the capstone project, payment testing and certification, payment product management, and banking integration patterns. For learners who want to work as a payments BA, Product Owner or functional SME.
₹1,999
View details Buy nowCards and Domestic Payments
Authorisation, clearing, settlement, wallets and POS.
The card bundle. Card authorisation, clearing and settlement, 3D Secure, tokenization and chargebacks, card networks (Visa and Mastercard), digital wallets and POS systems, recurring payments and 3RI, and the card payments deep dive.
₹1,499
View details Buy nowClearing, Settlement and Liquidity
Clearing is not settlement. Learn the difference properly.
The plumbing underneath every payment. Clearing concepts and netting, settlement models, liquidity management and settlement risk. Short, focused, and the difference between a BA who guesses and one who knows.
₹999
View details Buy nowCompliance, Risk, Operations and Reconciliation
Sanctions, AML, exceptions, returns and the daily ops grind.
The control and operations bundle. Sanctions screening, AML, KYC and fraud prevention, payment security, payment reconciliation, payment exceptions and investigations, payment operations, reject and return in CBPR+, and payment operations architecture.
₹1,999
View details Buy nowCross-Border and Correspondent Banking
How international payments really work, end to end.
The cross-border bundle. Correspondent banking and nostro/vostro, serial versus cover payments, charges, FX and gpi tracking, cross-border exceptions, standby letters of credit, documentary collections and SWIFT category 4, and trade finance.
₹1,999
View details Buy nowEmerging Technologies and the Future
CBDCs, stablecoins, AI, and where payments goes next.
The future bundle. CBDCs, stablecoins and AI in payments, real-time payments architecture, payments in 2025 and beyond, and how 10 large banks do payments.
₹999
View details Buy nowPayment Foundations
What a payment is, and how the ecosystem fits together.
Start here. What a payment is, payment instruments and types, the payment ecosystem, the end-to-end lifecycle, and cheques and paper instruments. For anyone new to payments who wants the ground floor solid before touching messages or rails.
₹1,499
View details Buy nowISO 20022 and SWIFT Messaging
MT and MX messages, field by field, with real examples.
The messaging bundle. SWIFT MT messages, ISO 20022 fundamentals, the pacs.008 deep dive, MT to MX migration and CBPR+, the complete ISO 20022 catalogue, MT101, SWIFT reporting messages, MT103 optional fields, SWIFT fundamentals, pain.001 and pain.002, and ISO 20022 technical implementation.
₹2,999
View details Buy nowGlobal Payment Rails
India, US, Europe and UK rails, plus TARGET and TIPS.
How money actually moves in each market. India (UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS), US (Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS), Europe (SEPA and TARGET2), UK (Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS), the Indian payments deep dive, TARGET services, addressing in T2, TIPS in depth, and the SEPA credit transfer and direct debit deep dives.
₹2,499
View details Buy nowBundle map
Exactly what each bundle is for, and which chapters it contains. Every chapter belongs to exactly one bundle, plus the integrated course which holds all 68.
| Bundle | Chapters | Lessons | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Integrated Course | ch1, ch2, ch3, ch4, ch5, ch6, ch7, ch8, ch9, ch10, ch11, ch12, ch13, ch14, ch15, ch16, ch17, ch18, ch19, ch20, ch21, ch22, ch23, ch24, ch25, ch26, ch27, ch28, ch29, ch30, ch31, ch32, ch33, ch34, ch35, ch36, ch37, ch38, ch39, ch40, ch41, ch42, ch43, ch44, ch45, ch46, ch47, ch48, ch49, ch50, ch51, ch52, ch53, ch54, ch55, ch56, ch57, ch58, ch59, ch60, ch61, ch62, ch63, ch64, ch65, ch66, ch67, ch68 | 493 | ₹9,999 |
| Payment Architecture and APIs | ch25, ch30, ch35, ch36, ch38, ch48, ch26, ch65 | 58 | ₹2,499 |
| BA and PO Professional Practice | ch28, ch29, ch42, ch45, ch47 | 35 | ₹1,999 |
| Cards and Domestic Payments | ch21, ch22, ch31, ch32, ch34, ch63 | 43 | ₹1,499 |
| Clearing, Settlement and Liquidity | ch17, ch18, ch19, ch20 | 29 | ₹999 |
| Compliance, Risk, Operations and Reconciliation | ch23, ch24, ch43, ch40, ch41, ch44, ch58, ch68 | 56 | ₹1,999 |
| Cross-Border and Correspondent Banking | ch13, ch14, ch15, ch16, ch49, ch51, ch66 | 50 | ₹1,999 |
| Emerging Technologies and the Future | ch27, ch46, ch55, ch37 | 29 | ₹999 |
| Payment Foundations | ch1, ch2, ch3, ch4, ch64 | 36 | ₹1,499 |
| ISO 20022 and SWIFT Messaging | ch5, ch6, ch7, ch8, ch39, ch50, ch52, ch53, ch54, ch60, ch67 | 82 | ₹2,999 |
| Global Payment Rails | ch9, ch10, ch11, ch12, ch33, ch56, ch57, ch59, ch61, ch62 | 75 | ₹2,499 |
Curriculum: 12 Domains, 68 Chapters
Every chapter is its own page. Every lesson inside it has narrated audio and an animated diagram. Chapter numbers run across the whole academy, 1 to 68, so a domain can end on a high number: Domain 01 runs CH1 to CH4 and then CH64, because CH64 belongs to that domain even though it was numbered later.
Domain 01: Payment Foundations
What is a Payment
The basic building block of every payment system, explained from first principles
Payment Instruments and Types
How each instrument moves money, and when to use it
The Payment Ecosystem
The parties, the infrastructure and the rules that make payments work
Payment Lifecycle End to End
From initiation to final settlement, including what can go wrong
Cheques and Paper Instruments
Paper instructions, clearing and the pull model
Domain 02: Payment Messaging
SWIFT MT Messages
The classic SWIFT message types, field by field
ISO 20022 Fundamentals
The new global language for payments, and why it matters
pacs.008 Deep Dive
The customer credit transfer in ISO 20022, block by block
MT to MX Migration and CBPR+
Coexistence, translation, truncation and readiness
Complete ISO 20022 Catalogue
Every message a payments professional must know
MT101 in Depth
How corporations instruct banks to pay
SWIFT Reporting Messages Deep Dive
Statements, balances and confirmations, field by field
MT103 Optional Fields Deep Dive
52a, 57a, 53B, 70 and 71G: the fields that change everything
SWIFT Fundamentals
SWIFTNet, message types and the BIC
pain.001 and pain.002 in Depth
From customer instruction to status report
ISO 20022 Technical Implementation
How the standard is built, read and validated in real systems
Domain 03: Global Payment Rails
India: UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS
How money moves inside India, from a ten rupee UPI payment to a crore rupee RTGS transfer
US: Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS
How money moves in the United States, from overnight payroll batches to same second settlement
Europe: SEPA and TARGET2
One payment area for thirty plus countries, and the real time system behind it
UK: Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS
Three systems, three speeds, one of the oldest and most reliable payment landscapes in the world
Indian Payments Deep Dive: NACH, BBPS, FEMA
Mandates, bill payments, UPI architecture and cross-border compliance from a business analyst perspective
TARGET Services: T2, T2S and TIPS
Europe's new payment infrastructure after TARGET2
Addressing Payments in T2
The RTGS Directory and who can send what
TIPS in Depth: Instant Payments and Liquidity Transfers
How Europe settles in seconds, and keeps the liquidity flowing
SEPA Credit Transfer Deep Dive
Message flows, exchange periods and the 2024 transition
SEPA Direct Debit Deep Dive
Mandates, collections, returns and refunds
Domain 04: Cross-Border Payments
Correspondent Banking and Nostro Vostro
How banks pay each other across borders when they have no branch in the other country
Serial vs Cover Payments
Two ways to move money across borders, and why the choice changes the information, the cost and the risk
Charges, FX and gpi Tracking
Who pays the charges, how the exchange rate is set, and how SWIFT gpi lets everyone see where the money is
Cross-Border Exceptions
When a payment is rejected, returned, recalled or investigated, and who pays for it
Standby Letter of Credit
The guarantee that only pays when things go wrong
Documentary Collections and SWIFT Category 4
Getting paid with documents, not promises
Trade Finance Deep Dive
How banks help exporters and importers trade safely across borders
Domain 05: Clearing and Settlement
Clearing Concepts and Netting
How thousands of payments are sorted, matched and reduced to a single net position before any money moves
Settlement Models
RTGS, deferred net settlement and prefunded models, and how to choose between them
Liquidity Management
How banks fund payments through the day, manage queues and avoid gridlock
Settlement Risk
Herstatt risk, principal risk and how PVP and CLS protect the system
Domain 06: Card Payments
Card Authorization, Clearing and Settlement
The full journey of a card payment from the till to the bank accounts
3D Secure, Tokenization and Chargebacks
How modern cards fight fraud and how disputes are resolved when something goes wrong
Card Networks: Visa and Mastercard
How Visa and Mastercard authorize, clear and settle card payments
Digital Wallets and POS Systems
How wallets hold value, how terminals accept payments, and what a BA must document for merchant payments
Recurring Payments and 3RI
Subscriptions, system-triggered payments, and the myCommerce project
Card Payments Deep Dive
From card types to clearing and settlement
Domain 07: Compliance and Risk
Sanctions Screening
How banks check every payment against OFAC, UN and EU lists, and what happens when a name matches
AML, KYC and Fraud Prevention
The AML lifecycle, KYC and customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, fraud patterns and machine learning
Payment Security
Authentication, encryption and trust at every hop
Domain 08: Payment Architecture
Payment Hub Architecture
Hub components, how they connect, and the design patterns that keep payments safe and fast
Payment Gateway Architecture
How gateways move money from checkout to bank settlement
Payment Platform Architecture and Your Career
Designing platforms, earning the premium, and planning your next steps
System Design Deep Dive
How payment systems are architected inside banks
Payment Data Model and Mapping
From channel to settlement: one canonical model
Payment Hub: Enterprise Architecture
Eighteen components, one payment, end to end
Domain 09: APIs and Integration
API Banking and Open Banking
REST APIs, ISO 20022 APIs, PSD2 and open banking, API security, webhooks and payment initiation
Banking Integration Patterns
Connecting core banking, ledgers, gateways and partners
Open Banking, PSD2 and PSD3
How regulated access to bank accounts changed payments
Domain 10: Payment Operations
Payment Reconciliation
Proving every payment settled where it should
Payment Exceptions and Investigations
When payments go wrong: find it, fix it, prove it
Payment Testing and Certification
Prove it works before real money moves
Payment Operations
Running the payment factory day after day
Reject and Return in CBPR+
pacs.002 and pacs.004: the rules that decide everything
Payment Operations Architecture: State, Resilience and Control
How payments are tracked, recovered and controlled in operations
Domain 11: Emerging Technologies
CBDCs, Stablecoins and AI in Payments
Central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, crypto payments, AI in fraud detection and operations, and cross border innovation
Real-Time Payments Architecture
Money in seconds, available always
Payments in 2025 and Beyond
One leg out, open banking and crypto
Domain 12: Professional Masterclass
BA Practical Workshop
From stakeholder interviews to signed-off requirements: the working toolkit of a payments business analyst
Capstone Project
You are the BA on a bank migration from SWIFT MT to ISO 20022: scope it, map it, test it, and take it live
How 10 Large Banks Do Payments
Inside the payment operations of the world largest transaction banks
Payment Product Management
From idea to a payment product customers pay for
Guided Learning Paths
Your 8-Session Learning Path
Your 8-Session Learning Path
Follow the sessions in order. Each session maps to the chapters below. Sessions 7 and 8 are hands-on: you write requirements, user stories, mappings, and test cases, the way a payments BA does on a real project.
Session 01: Payment Fundamentals and Ecosystem
Global payments landscape, ecosystem and key stakeholders, domestic, cross-border, SEPA, instant and card payments, overview of payment systems and business scenarios.
What is a Payment → Payment Instruments and Types → The Payment Ecosystem → Payment Lifecycle End to End → Cheques and Paper Instruments → Card Payments Deep Dive →
Session 02: Payment Lifecycle and Processing
End-to-end payment lifecycle, initiation, clearing and settlement, domestic and cross-border process flows, key payment events and exception scenarios.
Payment Lifecycle End to End → Clearing Concepts and Netting → Settlement Models → Cross-Border Exceptions → Payment Exceptions and Investigations → Trade Finance Deep Dive →
Session 03: ISO 20022 and SWIFT Messaging
Introduction to SWIFT and ISO 20022, message structure and important fields, key messages pacs.008, pacs.009, pacs.002, pacs.004, business purpose and interpretation.
SWIFT MT Messages → ISO 20022 Fundamentals → pacs.008 Deep Dive → Complete ISO 20022 Catalogue → pain.001 and pain.002 in Depth → ISO 20022 Technical Implementation →
Session 04: CBPR+ and Payment Message Mapping
CBPR+ framework and ISO 20022 migration, SWIFT MT103 to ISO 20022 pacs.008 mapping, business events that trigger payment messages, message fields, validations and real-world scenarios.
MT to MX Migration and CBPR+ → Capstone Project → Payment Data Model and Mapping →
Session 05: SEPA Schemes and Instant Payments
SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit, SEPA Instant Payments and UPI overview, scheme rules, processing timelines and cut-off times, business requirements, compliance and exception handling.
Europe: SEPA and TARGET2 → India: UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS → US: Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS → UK: Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS → TARGET Services: T2, T2S and TIPS → TIPS in Depth: Instant Payments and Liquidity Transfers → SEPA Credit Transfer Deep Dive → SEPA Direct Debit Deep Dive →
Session 06: Payment Controls, Compliance and Operations
KYC, AML and transaction monitoring from a BA perspective, sanctions screening, PEPs and watchlists, fraud detection concepts and risk-based rules, payment exceptions, investigations and repair, accounting, reconciliation and operational controls.
Sanctions Screening → AML, KYC and Fraud Prevention → Liquidity Management → Settlement Risk → Payment Reconciliation → Reject and Return in CBPR+ → Open Banking, PSD2 and PSD3 → Payment Operations Architecture: State, Resilience and Control →
Session 07: Business Analyst Practical Workshop
Requirements gathering and business process modelling, As-Is and To-Be payment process flows, business rules and processing conditions, Jira user stories and acceptance criteria, introduction to API analysis and interface specifications.
Session 08: End-to-End BA Simulation and Capstone Project
SWIFT MT103 to ISO 20022 pacs.008 message mapping, API business data, rules and validations, user stories and acceptance criteria, UAT scenarios and end-to-end test cases, hands-on BA deliverables and capstone exercises.
Fourteen Learning Stages
Fourteen Learning Stages
The curriculum is organised in twelve domains and fourteen stages. A stage is a learning goal: follow the stages in order, and each one builds on the last. Stages 1 to 13 teach the subject; stage 14 is where you prove it on real projects.
Stage 01: Foundations
What a payment is, the instruments, the ecosystem, and the lifecycle. Start here if payments are new to you.
What is a Payment → Payment Instruments and Types → The Payment Ecosystem → Payment Lifecycle End to End → Cheques and Paper Instruments →
Stage 02: Payment Systems and Instruments
How payment systems are built, the rails in India, the US, the UK and Europe, and how cheques and paper instruments still work.
Payment Instruments and Types → India: UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS → US: Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS → Europe: SEPA and TARGET2 → UK: Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS → Indian Payments Deep Dive: NACH, BBPS, FEMA → Cheques and Paper Instruments →
Stage 03: Banking Architecture
How banks actually build payment systems: channels, hubs, gateways, platforms, data models and enterprise design.
Payment Hub Architecture → Payment Gateway Architecture → Payment Platform Architecture and Your Career → System Design Deep Dive → Payment Data Model and Mapping → Payment Hub: Enterprise Architecture →
Stage 04: Messaging and ISO 20022
SWIFT MT, ISO 20022, CBPR+, message catalogues, technical implementation, and MT to MX mapping.
SWIFT MT Messages → ISO 20022 Fundamentals → pacs.008 Deep Dive → MT to MX Migration and CBPR+ → Complete ISO 20022 Catalogue → MT101 in Depth → SWIFT Reporting Messages Deep Dive → MT103 Optional Fields Deep Dive → SWIFT Fundamentals → pain.001 and pain.002 in Depth → ISO 20022 Technical Implementation →
Stage 05: Domestic Payment Processing
UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, NACH, Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS, SEPA, TARGET2, TIPS, Faster Payments, CHAPS and BACS.
India: UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS → US: Fedwire, FedNow, ACH, CHIPS → Europe: SEPA and TARGET2 → UK: Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS → Indian Payments Deep Dive: NACH, BBPS, FEMA → TARGET Services: T2, T2S and TIPS → Addressing Payments in T2 → TIPS in Depth: Instant Payments and Liquidity Transfers →
Stage 06: Cross-Border and Correspondent Banking
Correspondent banking, serial vs cover, charges, FX, gpi, exceptions, standby letters of credit, collections and trade finance.
Correspondent Banking and Nostro Vostro → Serial vs Cover Payments → Charges, FX and gpi Tracking → Cross-Border Exceptions → Standby Letter of Credit → Documentary Collections and SWIFT Category 4 → Trade Finance Deep Dive →
Stage 07: Clearing Settlement and Liquidity
Netting, settlement models, liquidity management and settlement risk.
Clearing Concepts and Netting → Settlement Models → Liquidity Management → Settlement Risk →
Stage 08: Cards and Alternative Payment Methods
Card authorisation, clearing and settlement, 3D Secure, tokenisation, chargebacks, networks, wallets, POS and recurring payments.
Card Authorization, Clearing and Settlement → 3D Secure, Tokenization and Chargebacks → Card Networks: Visa and Mastercard → Digital Wallets and POS Systems → Recurring Payments and 3RI → Card Payments Deep Dive →
Stage 09: Compliance and Risk
Sanctions screening, AML, KYC, fraud prevention, payment security, open banking and PSD3.
Sanctions Screening → AML, KYC and Fraud Prevention → Payment Security → Open Banking, PSD2 and PSD3 →
Stage 10: Technology APIs and Integrations
API banking, open banking, integration patterns and banking APIs.
API Banking and Open Banking → Banking Integration Patterns → Open Banking, PSD2 and PSD3 →
Stage 11: Operational Processing and Reconciliation
Reconciliation, exceptions and investigations, testing, operations, reject and return in CBPR+, and the operational architecture: payment state machines, correlation, idempotency, retries, dead-letter queues, ledger posting versus settlement, and resilience.
Payment Reconciliation → Payment Exceptions and Investigations → Payment Testing and Certification → Payment Operations → Reject and Return in CBPR+ → Payment Operations Architecture: State, Resilience and Control →
Stage 12: BA/PO Practice
The BA workshop, the capstone project, product management and how large banks do payments.
BA Practical Workshop → Capstone Project → How 10 Large Banks Do Payments → Payment Product Management →
Stage 13: Advanced Architecture and Emerging Payments
CBDCs, stablecoins, AI in payments, real-time architecture and what comes next.
CBDCs, Stablecoins and AI in Payments → Real-Time Payments Architecture → Payments in 2025 and Beyond →
Stage 14: End-to-End Capstone Projects
Six capstone projects that pull everything together. Each one ends with the deliverables a real project produces.
Guided Learning Tracks
Guided Learning Tracks
Some topics span several chapters. Follow a track in order and the pieces connect.
India Payments Track: One Comprehensive Track
India is covered as a single track, from everyday rails to the deep mechanics. Start with the rails, then go deep on mandates, bill payments and regulation.
India: UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS → Indian Payments Deep Dive: NACH, BBPS, FEMA →
Card Payments Track: One Complete Track
Card processing and card networks are one track: how a card payment is authorised, cleared and settled, how the networks move the messages, and how wallets and POS fit in.
Card Authorization, Clearing and Settlement → 3D Secure, Tokenization and Chargebacks → Card Networks: Visa and Mastercard → Digital Wallets and POS Systems →
Payment Hub vs Payment Gateway vs Payment Platform
A payment gateway sits at the front: it takes a payment from a channel, tokenises and screens it, and hands it on. A payment hub is the enterprise engine inside the bank: it validates, enriches, screens, routes, processes, clears, settles and reconciles every payment type across every rail. A payment platform is the whole enterprise design: hub plus gateways, channels, core banking, ledger, APIs and operations. Component-level design lives in the hub chapter; enterprise-level design lives in the platform chapter.
Payment Gateway Architecture → Payment Hub Architecture → Payment Hub: Enterprise Architecture → Payment Platform Architecture and Your Career → System Design Deep Dive →
Liquidity Management and Nostro / Vostro
Liquidity management and nostro/vostro accounts are separate chapters that cross-reference each other: liquidity is about having the right funds at the right moment, and nostro accounts are where those funds sit for cross-border payments.
Liquidity Management → Correspondent Banking and Nostro Vostro →
Cross-Border Payments and FEMA
Cross-border payment processing and FEMA compliance are linked but different: processing moves the money, FEMA decides whether the movement is permitted and what must be reported. Learn the processing first, then the regulation that governs it.
Correspondent Banking and Nostro Vostro → Indian Payments Deep Dive: NACH, BBPS, FEMA →
4 Key Strategies to Understand Cross-Border Payments
A short guided path for anyone new to cross-border payments. Four strategies, in order.
- Strategy 1: Get an overview of payment systems models, including open loop models. The Payment Ecosystem →
- Strategy 2: Grasp correspondent banking and account relationships between banks in different currency zones. Correspondent Banking and Nostro Vostro →
- Strategy 3: Understand the role of the SWIFT network and SWIFT standards. SWIFT MT Messages → SWIFT Fundamentals →
- Strategy 4: Banks access the FX market. Charges, FX and gpi Tracking →