Note: The name of the code will soon be updated to “Mojaloop.” The code itself will remain the same.
What is Level One Project? Level One Project is open-source software for building interoperable digital payments platforms on a national scale. It makes it easy for different kinds of providers to link up their services and deploylow-cost financial services innew markets.
How does it work? Most digital financial providers run on their own networks, which prevents customers who use different services from transacting with each other. Level One Project functions like a universal switchboard, routing payments securely between all customers, regardless of which network they’re on. It consists of three primary layers, each with a specific function: an interoperability layer, which connects bank accounts, mobile money wallets, and merchants in an open loop; a directory service layer, which navigates the different methods that providers use to identify accounts on each side of a transaction; a transactions settlement layer, which makes payments instant and irrevocable; and components which protect against fraud.
Who is it for? There are many components to the code, and everyone either directly or indirectly working with digital financial transactions—fintech developers, bankers, entrepreneurs, startups—is invited to explore and use whatever parts are useful or appealing. The software as a whole is meant to be implemented on a national scale, and so it will be most applicable to mobile money providers, payments associations, central banks, and country regulators.
Developers at fintech and financial services companies can use the code in three ways: adapt the code to the financial services standards for a country, use the code to update their own products and services or create new ones, and improve the code by proposing updates and new versions of it for other users.
For example:
- A central bank may commission the use of the software by their commercial partners to speed up the deployment of a national payment gateway.
- A major payment processor can use the software to modernize their current offering, to achieve lower transaction costs without major R&D investments.
- A fintech startup can use the code to understand practically how to comply with interoperable payment APIs.
- A bank can use the code to modify their internal systems so that they easily interoperate with other payment providers.
Why does it exist? Providers trying to reach developing markets with innovative, low-cost digital financial services have to build everything on their own. This raises costs and segregates services from each other. Level One Projectcan be used as a foundation to help build interoperable platforms, lowering costs for providers and allowing them to integrate their services with others in the market.
Who’s behind it? Level One Project was built in collaboration with a group of leading tech and fintech companies: Ripple, Dwolla, Software Group, ModusBox and Crosslake Technologies. Level One Project was created by the Gates Foundation’s Level One Project, which is aimed at leveling the economic playing field by crowding in expertise and resources to build inclusive payment models to benefit the world’s poor.It is free to the public as open-source software under the [insert name of new license and link to file here].
What platforms does Level One Project run on? The Level One Project platform was developed for modern cloud-computing environments. Open-source methods and widely used platforms, like node.js, serve as the foundation layer for Level One Project. The microservices are packaged in Docker and can be deployed to local hardware or to cloud computing environments like Amazon Web Services or Azure.
Is it really open-source? Yes. All core modules, documentation and white papers are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Level One Project relies on commonly used open-source software, including node.js, MuleCE, Java, and PostgreSQL. Level One Project also uses the Interledger Protocol to choreograph secure money transfers. The licenses for all of these platforms and their imported dependencies allow for many viable uses of the software. See github.com/LevelOneProject/xyxyx for a list of imported dependencies and their license terms.
How can I contribute to Level One Project? You can contribute by helping us create new functionality on our roadmap or by helping us improve the platform. For our roadmap, go to the Roadmap.md. We recommend starting with the onboarding guide and sample problem. This has been designed by the team to introduce the core ideas of the platform and software, the build methods, and our process for check-ins.