A lot of technology gets built through layering new systems on top of old ones to the point where some stacks look like an archeological dig at Troy. There is nothing wrong with that approach per se, except that over time some of the lower layers become a constraint on what can be done above them. A classic example of that has been operating systems. Sometimes they have to be revised, for instance to account for the move from 32-bit to 64-bit architectures. Sometimes they have to be replaced altogether as in the case of Apple’s Mac OS.
I am excited that today our portfolio company Dwolla has taken an important step forward in helping modernize the payments stack. They have just announced the integration of FiSync with BBVA. FiSync is realtime financial interconnect layer that offers an alternative to the aging batch oriented ACH system. BBVA integrating is important because they are the first large bank to do so. That is an important start down a path to realtime that the Federal Reserve has been calling for.
