Pickauni
Built the online Marketplace, User authentication and Wallet services for Pickauni.
Overview
Pickauni is an innovative platform that bridges the gap between higher education and student financial support. The platform enables students to apply to universities across the UK through partnerships with various institutions, and provides a unique cashback system where students receive rewards after paying their course fees. These cashback rewards can be used to purchase food and other essentials from partnering merchants within the platform’s integrated marketplace.
Key Features
University Application System
- Partner Universities: Direct partnerships with various UK universities for streamlined applications
- Application Management: Complete application workflow from submission to acceptance
- Course Selection: Browse and apply to different courses across partner institutions
- Fee Processing: Secure payment processing for course fees
Cashback & Wallet System
- Automatic Cashback: Students receive cashback rewards after paying course fees
- Digital Wallet: Secure wallet system to store and manage cashback funds
- Transaction History: Complete record of all wallet transactions and cashback earnings
- Balance Management: Real-time balance updates and spending tracking
Marketplace Integration
- Merchant Partners: Network of partnering merchants offering food and essential items
- Product Catalog: Browse and search through available products and services
- Cashback Payments: Use wallet funds to purchase items from partner merchants
- Order Management: Complete order processing and tracking system
Our Contributions
We were responsible for building critical backend services that power the platform’s core functionality:
Authentication Microservice
- Centralized Auth: Built the authentication service used across all platform microservices
- User Management: Complete user registration, login, and profile management
- Security: Implemented secure authentication flows and session management
- Integration: Provided authentication services for course application and marketplace systems
Shopping Marketplace Service
- Product Management: Built the complete marketplace backend for merchant products
- Order Processing: Implemented order creation, payment processing, and fulfillment workflows
- Merchant Integration: Developed APIs for merchant onboarding and product management
- Search & Discovery: Built product search and recommendation systems
Wallet Microservice
- Cashback Processing: Automated cashback distribution after course fee payments
- Transaction Management: Secure handling of all wallet transactions and balance updates
- Payment Integration: Integration with marketplace for seamless cashback spending
- Financial Reporting: Transaction history and financial reporting capabilities
Technical Architecture
Backend Services
- Language: Go for high-performance microservices
- Database: PostgreSQL for reliable data storage and complex queries
- Messaging: NATS for inter-service communication and event-driven architecture
- API Design: REST APIs for authentication service, GraphQL for shopping service
- Microservices: Modular architecture with dedicated services for auth, wallet, and marketplace
Infrastructure & Deployment
- Cloud Platform: AWS for scalable and reliable infrastructure
- Containerization: Docker for consistent deployment environments
- Database Management: PostgreSQL with proper indexing and optimization
- Message Queue: NATS for reliable message passing between services
- Monitoring: Comprehensive logging and monitoring across all services
Integration & Communication
- Service Mesh: Secure communication between microservices
- Event-Driven: Asynchronous processing for cashback distribution and order fulfillment
- API Gateway: Centralized API management and routing
- Data Consistency: Proper transaction management across distributed services
Project Impact
Pickauni creates a unique ecosystem that benefits students, universities, and merchants. Students get financial support through cashback rewards, universities gain access to a streamlined application platform, and merchants reach a targeted student demographic. The robust microservices architecture ensures scalability, reliability, and maintainability as the platform grows across the UK education market.