In the last lesson, we talked about why fintech design is different. Three structural reasons — asymmetric stakes, an invisible rulebook, and design decisions that carry legal weight.
Now we're going to start filling in that rulebook.
Three acronyms govern the vast majority of what you'll design in fintech: KYC, AML, and PCI-DSS. If you've heard these in meetings and nodded along, today you stop nodding and start knowing.
We're going to do each one the same way: what it is, why it exists, and — most importantly — what it means for your specific design decisions in Figma. No legal text. No theory for its own sake. Everything connects back to something you'll actually build.
By the end of this lesson you'll also have completed a matching exercise and filled in your own vocabulary card — a living reference document you'll keep for the rest of the course.
Let's start with the one you'll encounter first in almost every fintech product.