PAYLOAD

Payload - Private Payroll System

Payload is a privacy-first payroll platform built on Ethereum that enables employers to pay their employees anonymously while maintaining full regulatory compliance. By leveraging Railgun as a compliant privacy backend layer, Payload ensures that salary payments remain completely private—employers cannot see employee balances, and third parties cannot track payment flows on the blockchain.

Key Features: For Employers:

• Pay employees in USDC or PayPal USD (PYUSD) with complete privacy
• Batch payroll processing to multiple employees simultaneously
• Import employee lists via CSV for easy onboarding
• Track payment history and download Proof of Innocence (POI) certificates
• Full transaction history with POI compliance verification
• No visibility into employee wallet balances or spending habits

For Individuals:

• Receive salary payments into an abstracted private RAILGUN wallet (0zk address)
• Complete financial privacy—employers cannot see your balance or transactions
• Flexible withdrawal options:
  • Unshield to public Ethereum address
  • Send privately to other RAILGUN users
  • Cash out to PayPal wallet (for PYUSD)
  • Withdraw to bank account via Circle or Bridge off-ramp integrations
• View complete payment history with POI verification
• Shield additional tokens from Ethereum to RAILGUN for enhanced privacy

How It Works:

1. Shielding: Employers and employees can "shield" USDC or PYUSD tokens from their public Ethereum wallets into RAILGUN's privacy pool, making them completely private.
2. Private Transfers: Once shielded, employers can send salaries to employees' RAILGUN addresses (0zk addresses). These transactions are executed using zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring complete privacy while maintaining blockchain security.
3. Proof of Innocence (POI): Every transaction includes a zkSNARK proof verifying that the funds don't originate from sanctioned addresses or illicit sources. This ensures regulatory compliance while preserving privacy.
4. Unshielding: Employees can "unshield" their private balances back to public Ethereum addresses whenever they want to use the funds in DeFi, send to exchanges, or cash out via traditional payment rails to a bank or Paypal sccounts.

Privacy Guarantees:

• Employers cannot see employee wallet balances
• Transaction amounts and recipients are cryptographically hidden
• All transfers use zero-knowledge proofs for privacy
• On-chain observers cannot link payments to specific individuals
• Employee spending habits remain completely private

Supported Tokens:

• USDC (USD Coin)
• PYUSD (PayPal USD)

Payload will integrate with existing payroll platforms (Rise, Deel, Gusto, Rippling, ADP) via RESTful APIs, enabling them to offer private on-chain payments as an alternative payment method. Features include webhook notifications, CSV import/export for data compatibility, and SSO support for enterprise deployments. This allows traditional payroll providers to add privacy-preserving crypto payments without rebuilding or users switching their infrastructure.

Technology Stack:

• Frontend: Next.js 14, TypeScript, TailwindCSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Blockchain: Ethereum (Sepolia testnet for development)
• Privacy Layer: RAILGUN Protocol
• Wallet Integration: MetaMask
• Smart Contracts: ERC-20 token handling, RAILGUN shielding/unshielding
• Backend API: Handles Railgun interactions (this is not secure, but is made in hackathon for demo purposes)
• DB: Handles abstracted user railgun wallets and records and persists employee details for employers.