Background:

Venmo, a mobile payment service owned by PayPal, had been using an outdated legacy Django templated web app for its core application. This was proving to be inefficient and ineffective in meeting the needs of Venmo’s millions of users. In order to keep up with customer demand and improve user experience, our team was tasked with migrating the existing web app to a modern Next.js framework that would integrate GraphQL and Apollo Client as its data layer.

Problem:

The challenge we faced was to develop a platform that could effectively meet the diverse needs of millions of Venmo users while providing a seamless experience. We needed to create an efficient, secure, and user-friendly platform that could handle high traffic webviews for critical app flows like verifying a funding instrument.

Solution:

As the most senior engineer on the project, I led my team in rebuilding the core application from scratch using Next.js for the frontend and GraphQL/Apollo Client for the data layer. We developed various features including authentication, account creation flow, sending money flow, and more. We also optimized performance by implementing caching strategies and reducing API calls.

We worked diligently over the course of 12 months to ensure all features were properly tested before launch. We launched the new platform in December 2021 after rigorous testing and quality assurance measures.

Impact:

400+ monthly active users increase
Improved user experience through faster loading times
Increased security through robust authentication measures

Team:

Rick Astley, Senior Engineer - Led team in rebuilding core application from scratch using Next.js for frontend & GraphQL/Apollo Client for data layer; Developed authentication & account creation flow; Optimized performance by implementing caching strategies & reducing API calls; Launched new platform after rigorous testing & QA measures.

Rebuilding Venmo with Next.js & GraphQL