At the end of 2023, Relevant Software received an email from a potential client. The industry was familiar, fintech, but the geography came as a surprise: the inquiry came from a company operating in the Caribbean.
«The client found us on his own through content on our website. He was looking for a team with real fintech experience and came across our articles on financial platforms, automation, data processing, and complex business systems. After reading several pieces and reviewing our case studies, he realized we spoke the same language, not only in terms of code, but also business, risks, scaling, and stability,» says Vadym Struk, Product Manager and Head of Business Analysis at Relevant Software.
At the time, the client was using an off-the-shelf fintech solution but was unhappy with it. The system performed poorly: some pages took up to 30 seconds to load, subscription fees were extremely high, and the product had serious scalability issues.
This was Relevant Software’s first project in this local market. However, the team already had solid fintech experience — just not at this scale or level of complexity. Their internal investments in AI expertise also proved valuable and were actively used in the project. A minor spoiler: after completing the first phase described in this article, loan processing time dropped by 10×, page load times fell to under three seconds, and maintenance costs were cut fourfold. What began with a single email has turned into a partnership that’s been going strong for over two years.
Working with Legacy Systems
Working with a client from the Caribbean didn’t intimidate Relevant Software, Vadym says. Geography wasn’t an issue; instead, the project represented an opportunity to enter a new market.
«In the digital world, it doesn’t really matter where the client is located: Europe, the US, or the Caribbean. When there’s strong expertise, clear communication, and trust, the right projects naturally find you, » he explains.
There were two major challenges:
- First, they had to essentially rebuild a large loan management platform without access to the original source code.
- Second, the timeline was tight: the entire project had to be completed within eight months.
For several years, the client had relied on a ready-made fintech solution — a modular platform builder. What looked great in presentations eventually turned into a monster held together by workarounds and mediocre code. Any change came with a high price tag, yet the overall solution remained rigid and difficult to evolve. Most critically, the team had zero access to the old system’s code.
«We only had a copy of the database and a general understanding of the business processes. That meant we had to reconstruct a lot from scratch — observe how the data behaved and how people worked with the system, then rebuild the logic based on that. It was a mix of engineering, analytics, and constant dialogue with the business,» Vadym explains.
It helped that the client had a technical background and could realistically assess complexity, risks, and trade-offs. Conversations were always on equal footing: what could be delivered on time, what made sense to postpone, and where additional effort was worth the investment. In real-world projects, trust on both sides is critical, and in this case, the client had a clear, pragmatic view of timelines, feasibility, and priorities.
This was especially important because there was a hard deadline: September 2024, when the client’s annual subscription to the old system was up for renewal. To avoid paying the expensive third-party platform renewal fee, the new system had to go live exactly on schedule. There was no option to pause the business or delay operations.«It was an extra dose of adrenaline. The responsibility to the business was enormous,» Vadym recalls.
On top of that, the team had to account for local regulations and internal company policies, which added additional layers of complexity.
Saving $100,000 and Scaling Faster
Working on the project felt like a race, with the deadline constantly closing in. Internally, the team half-jokingly called it «crunch mode.» There was no room for mistakes, but no one on the team was even thinking about that.
«Not every company has deep technical expertise, especially when it comes to complex products, scaling, or high-load architecture. In those cases, we become part of the client’s team — effectively acting as an external CTO or technology advisor. We don’t just execute; we think strategically. This is a partnership, not a ‘done and gone’ engagement. We’re as invested in the client’s results as we are in our own,» says Andrew Burak, founder of Relevant Software.
As agreed, the new platform went live at the end of August. The official release took place on August 24. On Friday, the company was still operating on the old system. By Monday, the entire business had fully migrated to the new platform. Rolling back wasn’t an option, but it wasn’t needed. The migration went smoothly.
After launch, the team focused on stabilization: fixing bugs, optimizing performance, and handling edge cases. Within about six weeks, the system reached full stability. From there, the project moved into standard product development mode: adding new features, making improvements, and responding to user feedback.
The results were exactly what the client was looking for:
- After moving to their own platform, the client completely abandoned the expensive third-party fintech solution and now saves approximately $100,000 per year in licensing fees.
- Platform performance improved dramatically.
Beyond that, many manual processes were automated using AI. The team implemented a support chatbot, risk analysis models, and automation for internal operations. A customer portal was launched, allowing users to submit loan applications independently, without manager involvement. OCR functionality was added as well: instead of manually filling out around 30 fields, customers now simply upload documents, and the system automatically extracts the required data, saving significant time.
As a result, the company nearly doubled its turnover within a year, without significantly expanding its team. Relevant Software’s partnership with the client continues today. Together, they are evolving the platform and introducing new capabilities that support sustainable business growth.
