Basic Fundamentals of Banking
Designed for Great Campus engineers - who are ready for their first job at our Fintech industry to spark real collaboration and high-energy learning.
The 2AM Server Outage
Present this scenario: Your fintech app goes down unexpectedly at 2AM. The database is fine, but users can't transfer money. Four engineers send you their guesses: core banking server failure, payment gateway timeout, network packet loss, or scheduled batch job conflict. Everyone predicts the culprit before the big reveal.
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Why this works
When people commit to a guess in a realistic, high-pressure moment, the final answer becomes memorable. It turns banking from abstract theory into real-world engineering problems.
Code Review Budget Dilemma
Set this dilemma: You have to choose — either spend engineering time optimizing transaction speed or improving security checks on data privacy. Split the room into two sides to debate which ‘feature’ gets priority and why banking cares about both. Everyone votes, then you reveal what most real banks choose.
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Why this works
Connecting banking fundamentals to classic engineering tradeoffs makes the concepts tangible. Debate and voting creates real engagement and helps participants see both sides.
Payment Pipeline Poker
Draw a pipeline on the board: user request, bank server, API gateway, settlement engine, notification. Each participant gets a card with a banking function (e.g., authentication check, fraud scan, funds reservation). They place their card where it fits in the pipeline. Quick reveal: some functions are placed wrong — then walk through the correct flow.
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Why this works
Physically moving cards and seeing the flow helps break abstract banking concepts into clear steps. Misplacing functions leads to memorable corrections.
Bug Triage: Transaction Glitches
Hand out sticky notes: each note describes a real banking bug (duplicate transfer, failed reversal, wrong currency conversion, stuck pending status). Everyone silently picks the bug they find most confusing and sticks it on the board. The host picks two for live triage — the room predicts how banks actually resolve them, then reveals the standard fix.
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Why this works
Low-pressure voting lets everyone participate, and live triage shows the real-world complexity behind basic banking issues.
Scaling Bank Systems Showdown
Ask: If your backend needs to handle both payday spikes and daily tiny transactions, which scaling strategy do you pick — vertical scaling, horizontal scaling, caching, or sharding? Everyone votes using colored cards, then compare the group's picks to what large banks actually do.
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Why this works
Voting and comparing solutions to real industry choices helps engineers see banking as a technical system, not just finance. The payoff is learning practical scaling wisdom.
My Commit, My Risk
Invite participants to say one risk they’d worry about before deploying a new banking feature (e.g., data loss, audit failure, user privacy breach, money stuck in limbo). Pair up and share a story about a time their code almost caused a real break. Close with: what would they do differently in a banking environment?
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Why this works
Personal reflection plus peer connection makes banking integrity feel real. It turns abstract risk management into participant stories and active learning.
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