EZ-Pay

Our project presents a comprehensive payment solution called ez-pay, designed to simplify the complexity of traditional crypto payment systems by leveraging programmable wallets and payment APIs. Built for a hackathon, this app provides a seamless and intuitive way for users to send and receive cryptocurrency, overcoming the challenges often associated with manual crypto transactions.

Problem Overview: Complexity of Traditional Crypto Payments Traditionally, making a crypto payment involves numerous steps, as outlined:

Wallet Creation: Users must generate a wallet and manage complex elements such as private keys and seed phrases. Transaction Setup: This requires buying crypto from exchanges, verifying wallet addresses, selecting gas fees, and waiting for blockchain confirmations. Security and Recordkeeping: Users must securely store their private keys and monitor transaction trends. This process is not only cumbersome but prone to user error, making it difficult for businesses and everyday users to adopt crypto payments easily.

Solution: ez-pay The ez-pay application transforms the user experience by streamlining the entire crypto payment process into three simple steps:

Login: The user logs into the app using email authentication. Select Receiver and Input Amount: Users select the recipient and enter the amount they wish to send OR Just click the payment link sent by others Press Send: With one click, the crypto transaction is completed. This simplicity is achieved through programmable wallets and payment APIs that abstract away the manual steps associated with crypto payments.

Key Features of ez-pay: Seamless Crypto Payments: Users can generate payment requests using links or QR codes, allowing recipients to pay easily without managing complicated wallet addresses. Developer-Controlled Wallets: These wallets are automatically created and managed through Circle's Web3 services, eliminating the need for users to manually handle private keys or seed phrases. Gasless Transactions: The app supports gasless transactions, reducing the burden of transaction fees for users. Confidential and Secure: With integrated encryption (through smart contract technology), users and businesses are ensured that sensitive payment information is protected. For Businesses: Payment API: Businesses can create payment requests with protected payment information, streamlining the process of receiving payments. Post-Payment Automation: Once a payment is completed, external applications or business services can seamlessly trigger post-payment activities such as product delivery or order processing. Architecture: The architecture (shown in the diagram) demonstrates the flow:

Frontend: The app uses Next.js for frontend and email authentication via mail. Circle Web3 Service: Wallet creation is powered by Circle’s Web3 API, which manages programmable wallets. Programmable Wallets: Users have individual wallets (Wallet A, Wallet B) that interact with encrypted smart contracts for secure payments. Smart Contract Deployment and Encryption: Utilizing Fhenix for smart contract deployment and encryption, ensuring that transactions are confidential and secure. Final Thoughts: ez-pay is designed to eliminate the complexity of crypto payments by providing a streamlined user experience with advanced security features. By allowing users to send crypto in just a few clicks and enabling businesses to integrate payment APIs seamlessly, ez-pay positions itself as an innovative solution for the growing crypto economy.

1. Frontend: Built with Next.js We used Next.js to build the frontend of the application. This was chosen for its simplicity, scalability, and ease of integrating authentication mechanisms like user Sign-In. The frontend allows users to: • Log in via email authentication using email. • Easily navigate the wallet creation, payment request generation, and transaction process. Next.js benefits: • Server-side rendering (SSR) helped us optimize performance. • The flexible routing system allowed us to easily handle user interactions and display real-time updates about transaction statuses.

2. Authentication: Gmail Integration We implemented email authentication using email, allowing users to log in with their email accounts. This step was crucial for securing the application and making the user onboarding process simple, especially for users unfamiliar with crypto wallets.

3. Programmable Wallets: Circle Web3 Service One of the core components of ez-pay is the Circle Web3 Service. Circle’s service allowed us to seamlessly create programmable wallets without requiring users to manually manage private keys or seed phrases. How Circle Web3 helped: • Automated Wallet Creation: Once the user authenticates, Circle’s API automatically generates and manages their wallet, significantly reducing the complexity users usually face. • Gasless Transactions: Circle also provides mechanisms to support gasless transactions, allowing users to transfer crypto without worrying about transaction fees. This made the app much more user-friendly.

4. Payment APIs and Smart Contracts: Fhenix Smart Contract Encryption We built the crypto payment functionality using smart contracts for security, with Fhenix providing encryption for these contracts. The smart contracts are deployed on the blockchain and allow users to: • Create and send payment requests securely. • Process payments with a single click, thanks to automation embedded in the smart contracts. The encryption technology provided by Fhenix ensures that the payment process is secure, protecting sensitive payment information during the transaction. Smart Contract Highlights: • Automation: Once a payment request is generated, the smart contract automatically processes the transaction once the user confirms it. • Confidentiality: Smart contract encryption protects payment details, making the app highly secure and privacy-focused.

5. Developer-Controlled Wallets The wallets in ez-pay are developer-controlled, meaning that while the app handles the creation and management of wallets, users do not need to directly interact with private keys. This was a major benefit of using Circle’s programmable wallets, as it removed the biggest friction point in crypto payments—wallet management.

6. Secure Payment Flow: Links and QR Codes To make the user experience frictionless, we introduced payment requests using links and QR codes. Users can generate a payment request and send it to others, allowing them to make payments without the hassle of manually inputting wallet addresses or selecting gas fees. • Links/QR Codes: Once the recipient scans the QR code or clicks the link, the app opens a pre-filled transaction form, requiring only one click to confirm the payment.

Technologies Used: • Next.js: For building the frontend and managing user interactions. • Email Authentication: For simple, secure login. • Circle Web3 API: For programmable wallet creation and gasless transactions. • Fhenix: For secure smart contract encryption and deployment. The project came together through a combination of web technologies, blockchain services, and security-focused encryption. Each component played a crucial role in ensuring that the payment process is not only fast and easy but also secure and reliable. By integrating Circle’s Web3 services and Fhenix encryption, we were able to hack around the traditional complexities of crypto payments and deliver a seamless experience for both users and businesses.