Welcome to Qolo's comprehensive payment platform. Our platform is designed to support flexible implementations of your unique payment program needs through a carefully structured system of interconnected components.

Platform Architecture

The Qolo platform consists of several core components that work together to create a complete payment solution:

Company: An entity registered on the Qolo platform that operates financial programs and manages accounts.
Program: A structured set of business rules and configurations defining how accounts, wallets, and cards function within a company.
Person: An individual or entity associated with a wallet, accounts, and cards under a program.
Wallet: A container assigned to a person and program, holding multiple accounts and cards.
Account: A Qolo-maintained ledger linked to a wallet for storing and managing funds.
Card: A payment instrument linked to a Qolo wallet and accounts for transactions.
Outside Instrument: An external bank account or payment card linked to a Qolo account for fund transfers.
Account Instrument: A Qolo-issued DDA that can receive external funds and credit the associated Qolo account.

Entity Relationship Summary

A Company operates a Program, which defines how Persons interact with Wallets, Accounts, and Cards. Outside Instruments enable fund transfers, while Account Instruments allow direct funding of Qolo accounts.

Company

A Company represents an entity registered on the Qolo platform that operates financial programs, facilitates transactions, and manages accounts and wallets. In the Qolo platform, Company follows a hierarchical structure.

Company Hierarchy

A Company can have multiple sub-companies beneath it, and each sub-company can have further sub-companies, forming a multi-level hierarchy with no predefined limit.
Each sub-company is linked to one or more Programs or sub-programs to manage specific financial services.

Example

A fintech service provider is registered as the top-level Company on Qolo. Under this company:

Clients of the fintech service provider are created as level 2 sub-companies, allowing each client to have its own independent programs.
Subsidiaries of clients can be created as level 3 sub-companies, enabling further business segmentation.

Top-level Companies are created by Qolo. Clients can only create sub-companies by specifying an existing company as the parent during the creation process.

Program

A Program defines a company's financial structure, including accounts, wallets, cards, KYC requirements, and transaction rules. Just like the Company in the Qolo platform, Programs too follow a hierarchical structure, enabling flexible financial management and custom configurations.

Program Hierarchy

Programs can have sub-programs, with no limit on the number of levels.
Each sub-program is linked to a Company or sub-company, ensuring structured financial operations.
Sub-programs are also used for reporting, allowing for consolidated reports at different hierarchy levels.
Access Control: Companies linked to a specific sub-program can access all data for that program and its child programs. However, they cannot access data from other sub-programs at the same level or from parent programs above them in the hierarchy.

Example:

A fintech service provider creates a corporate expense management solution as its top-level Program. Under this program:

Each level 2 sub-program corresponds to a client of the fintech service provider, allowing each client to run a program with distinct rules and strategies.
Level 3 sub-programs further refine rules, such as distinguishing KYC-required programs from non-KYC programs or setting different transaction limits.

The hierarchical structure of Programs is highly flexible, adapting to various business use cases and operational requirements.

Program Funding Account

The Program Funding Account serves as the primary source of funds for all accounts and cards issued under a client’s Program. This account represents the client’s own funds and is essential for ensuring seamless financial operations within the Program.

Purpose and Functionality

Primary Funding Source:
The Program Funding Account is used to load funds onto individual accounts or cards issued under the client’s Program.

Polar Debits:
When a client initiates a transfer to a Person’s account or card, the system automatically deducts the corresponding amount from the Program Funding Account.

Sufficient Balance Requirement:
Clients must ensure that their Program Funding Account maintains an adequate balance at all times.
If the account balance is insufficient, funding requests will fail, preventing money from being added to issued accounts or cards.

Funding the Program Funding Account:
Clients can replenish their Program Funding Account using Wire or ACH transfers to a designated bank account provided by Qolo. Once the funds are received, they are credited to the client's Program Funding Account, making them available for future transactions.

Individual Accounts - Funding and Authorization

Individual accounts issued under a client’s Program serve as the primary accounts that hold funds for cardholders and facilitate transactions. These accounts can be funded and authorized in two distinct ways, depending on the Program setup and business requirements.

Types of Individual Account Funding Models

1. Standard Funding Model

In the Standard model, funds must be preloaded into an individual's account before the associated card can be used for spending.

How It Works:

The client is responsible for transferring funds from the Program Funding Account to the individual’s account before any transactions can be authorized.
Alternatively, the individual may fund their account independently via external sources, such as linked bank accounts (via ACH) or other payment methods.
The card linked to the account will only be approved for transactions if sufficient funds are available in the account at the time of authorization.

Use Cases:

Prepaid programs where individuals should have a fixed available balance before spending.
Programs that require clients to control fund disbursement based on preset limits or schedules.
Corporate expense programs where funds are allocated in advance based on employee budgets.

2. Interact Funding Model

The Interact model offers a more dynamic funding approach, where individual account funding from the Program Funding Account happens in real-time during transaction authorization.

How It Works:

When an individual attempts a transaction, the system checks with the client’s Program Funding Account to determine if funds are available.
Instead of requiring a preloaded balance, funds are automatically moved from the Program Funding Account to the individual’s account at the time of transaction authorization.
The client has control over the authorization decision, meaning they can approve or decline the transaction based on specific rules, available funds, or risk assessments.

Use Cases:

Pay-as-you-go models where clients prefer to fund transactions only when necessary.
Programs requiring real-time transaction control, such as fraud prevention or spend monitoring.
Corporate programs where managers or administrators need the ability to review and approve transactions dynamically.

Choosing the Right Model

The Standard model is best suited for programs where users need preloaded funds before making purchases.
The Interact model is ideal for clients who require real-time funding and decision-making control over transaction authorizations.

For more details on Interact funding and authorization, refer to the Interact Guide.