Faez Hasnan

Simplifying Bill Payments with a Serverless Aggregator System

Introduction

In a fast-paced world, managing multiple bills can be a daunting task. To provide an opinion to this challenge, we present a case study on a full-stack serverless bill payment aggregator system. This system leverages the React.js in the frontend and Node.js in the backend, while being entirely serverless and hosted on AWS. By using Terraform for resource management, the project ensures appropriate scalability and cost-efficiency. This case study explores the business problem, solution, and the benefits of a serverless infrastructure, which has reduced platform operating costs to less than USD 10 a month.

Problem Statement

The primary challenge faced by many individuals and businesses is the absence of a streamlined method to consolidate and make payments for multiple bills. Traditional payment methods require manual tracking, individual payments, and often lack an integrated approach. This fragmented process not only consumes valuable time and effort but also increases the risk of missing payment deadlines and incurring late fees. The need for an efficient aggregator service becomes apparent in order to simplify and automate this process.

Solution and Implementation

Our proposed solution is a serverless bill payment aggregator system that ensures an automated payment experience. The frontend is developed using React, providing an intuitive user interface for managing bills and making payments. The backend is powered by Node.js, which serves as the brains of the system, orchestrating the payment processes.

The infrastructure of the system is entirely serverless, built on AWS, and managed using Terraform. This serverless architecture eliminates the need for provisioning and managing servers, providing automatic scalability and reducing maintenance overhead. AWS Lambda functions handle the backend logic, while other AWS services such as API Gateway, S3, and DynamoDB are utilised for functionality and auxiliary capabilities.

A Documentation-First Approach

To ensure clarity and ease of integration, a documentation-first approach was adopted for the API development, hosted in SwaggerHub. Comprehensive documentation was created to outline the functionality, endpoints, request/response payloads, and error handling mechanisms of the API. This approach allows for third-party integrations if required. Developers can refer to the documentation to understand the system's capabilities and integrate the bill payment aggregator into their existing workflow.

Reliable Bill Payment Process

The core functionality of the system is its ability to aggregate multiple bills into a single payment. When a payment is initiated, the backend system retrieves the specified bills, validates the payment details, and securely processes the transactions through a payment gateway. The system reducing the risk of missed payments or erroneous transactions. Real-time status updates and notifications provide users with confidence and transparency throughout the payment process.

Cost-Effective Serverless Infrastructure

The serverless architecture implemented using AWS and Terraform offers significant cost savings. By leveraging the pay-as-you-go model, the system scales seamlessly based on demand, eliminating the need to provision and pay for idle resources. This cost-effective approach reduces platform operating costs to an astonishing USD 2 a month, making it an attractive solution to maintain and operate in the long run.

Conclusion

The serverless bill payment aggregator system described in this case study addresses the problem of managing multiple bills by offering an intuitive and automated payment experience. By utilizing React and Node.js in a serverless infrastructure hosted on AWS, the system provides scalability, reliability, and cost-efficiency. The documentation-first approach ensures easy integration, while the ability to aggregate bills into a single payment simplifies the payment process for users. With an operating cost of only USD 2 a month, this solution presents a viable and affordable option.