OceanBase Distributed Database Helps Starpay Eliminate Downtime

There are only a few things in the world that are more costly than downtime.

Research indicates that large organisations can lose up to USD $9,000 per minute during system outages, with high-risk industries like finance and healthcare facing potential losses of over USD $5 million per hour if the problem persists.

Beyond financial repercussions, prolonged downtimes have the effect of eroding customer trust and loyalty, leading to churn and revenue loss. Worse comes to worst, dissatisfied users tend to often share their frustrations publicly, which can result in reputational damage.

Not to forget the indirect costs of implementing damage control.

Starpay, a rapidly growing digital payments company in the Philippines, prioritises reliability and seamless service. To meet the demands of its expanding customer base, the company ensures uninterrupted, real-time payment acceptance from over 40 banks and e-wallets, reinforcing trust and efficiency in every transaction.

Plus, with its user base skyrocketing from 600,000 to nearly 10 million within just a few years, it comes as no surprise that Starpay is facing increasing pressure to maintain uninterrupted service and avoid, at all costs, being on the main pages of news outlets but not for the good reasons.

Recognising that database modernisation was the key to sustaining growth and avoiding costly downtime, the company turned to OceanBase.

Such a strategic move resulted in remarkable improvements in transaction processing, cost efficiency, and overall system reliability, ensuring that the company could continue scaling without sacrificing performance, customer experience, or even indirect costs.

Scaling for Explosive Growth Pose Challenges
Starpay’s journey began with a consumer-focused e-wallet application, but it soon expanded into B2B services and merchant acquisition. This expansion saw its active user base grow, with more than a 20x increase between 2020 and 2024.

Such rapid growth brought significant challenges, particularly in database congestion and system reliability.

Database migration is often a complex and risky process. Adrienne Cajayon, CTO of Starpay in an interview shared that they really struggled with downtime when they were utilising the infrastructure at that time. Starpay’s transition involved two attempts, the first of which “took two to three hours,” as Adrienne said.

Being a company that facilitates millions of financial transactions, a minute of downtime could cost a fortune, but two to three hours? That is just brutal.

That was when she and the company realised the urgent need for a scalable, high-performing, and cost-efficient database became critical.

Quoting her, “So that’s where we started to look for a partner to help us expand our database as well as our infrastructure.”

Selecting the Right Database Solution
When selecting a new database solution, the CTO of Starpay mentioned that the company carefully evaluated several key factors.

First and foremost was cost efficiency. Adrienne stated that scaling up infrastructure often leads to rising operational expenses, so the number one thing that Starpay needed and was looking for was a solution that could manage costs effectively without sacrificing performance.

Another critical consideration was future-proofing. The database must have the ability to support Starpay’s continued expansion and evolving business needs, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Reliability and high availability were also paramount. Starpay’s CTO puts into focus that since financial transactions require uninterrupted service, system uptime was a non-negotiable factor.

Lastly, the database needed to integrate seamlessly with Starpay’s existing systems while significantly improving transaction speeds. By prioritising these aspects, Starpay managed to ensure that its chosen solution would effectively support its ambitious growth plans.

Achieving Breakthrough Performance with OceanBase Distributed Database
During its proof-of-concept (POC) phase with OceanBase, using AWS’s infrastructure, Starpay, as mentioned by Adrienne Cajayon, thought that the process would take an expected three-month period. However, the results were so remarkable that the POC took just one month.

Adrienne highlighted that one of the most striking improvements that they managed to get from using OceanBase’s tools was in the smoothness of the migration. As mentioned previously, it took Starpay two attempts, with the first one taking hours.

However, thanks to OceanBase’s expert support and solutions architecture, the second attempt was so seamless, with no downtime recorded and no issues with data concurrency or discrepancies.

“Right now we rarely have downtimes. The only downtimes we do have is when our partners or some banks need system maintenance,” Adrienne Cajayon shared.

Since onboarding with OceanBase, Starpay has not had to restart its database, an improvement that has led to continuous uptime and greater operational stability.

OceanBase also introduced automated optimisation suggestions, allowing Starpay to fine-tune its infrastructure with minimal intervention.

“It also has a functionality that provides suggestions on how it can optimise our system without downtimes,” she added.

By leveraging multiple distributed database nodes, Starpay ensures that optimisations happen seamlessly in the background without affecting the customer experience.

She did mention, however, that there were challenges, particularly in terms of the learning curve.

“But OceanBase was able to support us all the way through, to have a successful, seamless, and uninterrupted migration,” Adrienne said.

3000 TPS and 30% Cost Reduction
OceanBase’s distributed database also helped Starpay to see massive improvements in terms of transaction speed. Adrienne said that they usually run at one transaction per second (TPS).

However, throughout the tests conducted, the company managed to see an exponential increase, reaching a resounding 3000 TPS during peak times.

The number is far more than the 6x increase in transactions per second that OceanBase claims. Even then, having considered that Starpay is utilising APIs from other partners, Adrienne said that her company is looking at a manageable and respectable 700 TPS.

Cost reduction was another major advantage that the CTO highlighted. Starpay observed a 30% decrease in infrastructure costs, with long-term projections suggesting continued financial efficiency. This reduction played a crucial role in keeping operational expenses manageable while scaling services to a rapidly growing user base.

Beyond cost savings, the adoption of OceanBase’s distributed database has led to significant operational and service improvements.

The improved uptime and availability have strengthened Starpay’s business continuity planning. With a distributed model, Starpay no longer relies on a single point of failure, ensuring that service remains operational even if a node experiences issues.

Scalability also proved to be a key benefit that Starpay gained from the synergy with OceanBase. Adrienne noted that even as Starpay hit its projected user growth targets, its infrastructure costs still remain at a stable rate.

The outcome underscored the effectiveness of OceanBase’s distributed database model, allowing Starpay to scale operations without incurring exponential costs.

Leveraging Data for Business Intelligence and Innovation
Previously in Starpay, it generally took an entire day just to generate financial reports. It has pretty-much caused delays within the company’s critical business operations.

As Adrienne noted, more merchants mean more reports to create and more settlements that need to be done.

However, through OceanBase’s Hybrid Transactional and Analytical Processing (HTAP) capabilities, Starpay’s data-driven decision-making has been significantly enhanced.

“But now, we are able to get all the real-time data we need for finance operations, thanks to OceanBase,” Adrienne explained.

Beyond operational efficiency, HTAP has also given Starpay deeper insights into merchant behaviours and transaction trends.

“We are better at strategising on where we can position ourselves, what transaction volumes we need to watch for, and when the right time is to scale,” she said.

These insights allow Starpay to plan proactively, ensuring that they meet the growing demands without unnecessary infrastructure spending.

Future-Proofing for Long-Term Growth
With its database transformation in place, the CTO of Starpay highlighted that the company is well-positioned for further expansion. Starpay is increasingly shifting to the B2B sector.

“Before we were really focused on user-centric and consumer-centric products, but right now we have transitioned and put ourselves into the B2B market because of the data that we have,” she said.

The company is aiming to transition itself to a more API-driven wallet-as-a-service approach. She also announced that there has been a new Head of Information incoming at Starpay, which further solidifies their long-term strategy.

“The impact of having a new Head of Information has given us added insights of where we can grow as well as where we position ourselves in the next 5 years,” Adrienne added.

It has also given Starpay the opportunity to evaluate what tools are needed as well as what type of scalability and future-proofing Starpay must add to its database.

Such strategies ensure that Starpay remains competitive in a rapidly evolving fintech landscape.

A Partner That Tailors To Your Needs
One of the defining aspects of Starpay’s collaboration with OceanBase has been the strong partnership and dedicated support they have received.

Unlike a standard vendor-client relationship, OceanBase has taken the time to understand Starpay’s unique challenges and business goals, offering tailored solutions that align with its long-term strategy.

Echoing this sentiment, OceanBase’s Chief Technology Officer, Charlie Yang, expressed enthusiasm about working with partners like Starpay in their journey toward technological modernisation.

He said that as database technologies evolve, OceanBase remains committed to continuously improving database performance and cost efficiency, all while being able to deliver more advanced features for their customers who are from varying sectors.

“Together with Starpay, we aim to explore database innovations and best practices in the Philippines market, enhancing the overall technological landscape of the industry,” Charlie Yang said, emphasising the broader impact of their collaboration.

Adrienne Cajayon, CTO of Starpay, also highlighted the significance of this partnership. “It’s rare to find a partner that prioritises your success the way OceanBase does,” she noted.

“They’ve always treated us as if we were their only customer, offering transparency, patience, and solutions that truly meet our needs,” she concluded.

Source: Fintech Philippines