Building the Future of Payments Infrastructure on AWS
How Akua launched a PCI-ready platform with Kubernetes, automation, and a secure AWS Landing Zone
Scaling a payment platform in Latin America means more than processing transactions. It requires security, compliance, performance, and the ability to ship fast without breaking governance.
Akua partnered with binbash to build a production-ready AWS platform designed to accelerate PCI-DSS readiness, streamline developer workflows, and support multi-rail payment processing at scale.
Scaling payments while preparing for PCI compliance
Akua needed an infrastructure capable of supporting growing transaction volumes across multiple payment rails, while aligning with strict PCI-DSS requirements.
The main challenges included:
Building a scalable platform across multiple environments
Achieving compliance readiness for sensitive payment data
Automating infrastructure to reduce time-to-market
Optimizing costs without sacrificing availability or performance
Their goal wasn’t just to migrate workloads — it was to create a foundation for long-term platform growth.
A Well-Architected AWS platform powered by binbash Leverage™
binbash implemented a secure, automated, multi-account AWS architecture using the Leverage™ framework.
Key components included:
Multi-account AWS Landing Zone with Organizations and SCP governance
Kubernetes EKS clusters across Dev, Prod, and Credit Card environments
CI/CD automation integrated with GitLab
Centralized networking with Transit Gateway, Network Firewall, and VPN access
IAM Identity Center for secure access management
Encryption and logging aligned with PCI-DSS standards
The deployment was completed in just three months, positioning Akua for integration with major payment processors.
Secure, scalable, and automation-driven
The architecture introduced:
Multi-account workload isolation
Infrastructure-as-Code using Terraform and Pulumi
Automated GitLab runners for deployment pipelines
Observability with New Relic and QuickSight dashboards
Cost monitoring through AWS Budgets and CloudWatch
The diagram on page 3 of the case study illustrates the AWS Landing Zone structure, showing dedicated accounts for management, tools, development, and production — all connected through centralized networking and security layers.
This design allowed Akua to operate like a platform company from day one.
Enabling self-service for engineering teams
A major milestone was the creation of Akua’s Internal Developer Platform.
Through Port.io, Pulumi, and automation workflows, engineering teams gained:
Self-service infrastructure deployment
Multi-environment resource provisioning
Faster feature delivery cycles
Reduced operational overhead
The IDP shifted the focus from infrastructure management to product innovation.
Faster operations, stronger governance, better scalability
Key outcomes included:
Accelerated readiness for PCI-DSS certification
Reduced deployment times through automation
Increased developer productivity via the IDP
Seamless scalability across environments
Improved operational visibility and cost control
The new platform positioned Akua to support growing payment volumes without increasing infrastructure complexity.
Security and Compliance by Design
The platform incorporated security as a foundational layer:
CloudTrail, Config, and GuardDuty for centralized monitoring
Encrypted storage with Amazon KMS
MFA and least-privilege IAM policies
Network inspection via AWS Network Firewall
PCI-aligned architecture ready for certification workflows
Instead of retrofitting compliance later, Akua built it into the platform from the start.