Patrick McKenzie

Biweekly newsletter about intersection of tech and finance. Deep dives into the plumbing that moves money and the businesses that build those pipes.

Visit bam.kalzumeus.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Oct 2021 – Nov 2022

Credit cards make money through net interest, interchange, fees, and marketing contributions.

SWIFT operates a messaging protocol which ties banks together with correspondent banks. This collaboration enables most international wires.

Debit cards are a core piece of financial infrastructure and drive much of the innovation happening in fintech.

Tech firms and financial institutions, working together, have in the recent past made core financial services much better for consumers.

Gift cards are a loosely-regulated quasi-financial product and frequently misunderstood. Here's how they operate under the hood.

Mortgages are popularly thought of as loans, but to understand the industry, it's better to model them as complex manufactured products.

How and why small, local banks power the fintech apps you use.

Ever wondered how bank branches work at a nuts-and-bolts level? Let's dig into the logic and economics of them.

Many people believe some transactions are final. The reality is a bit more complicated, and involves technical, social, and legal factors.