SpendEat: Mesh Payment Ecosystem
A resilient closed-loop payment system for festivals enabling transactions without internet connectivity.
The Challenge
Music festivals often suffer from network congestion, making card payments unreliable. Organizers needed a robust digital payment solution that could function 100% offline, eliminating cash handling risks while ensuring transaction integrity.
The Solution
Built a custom mesh-networking payment solution (Proof-of-Concept):
- Offline Mesh: Custom IoT devices for merchants and a user wallet app communicating via peer-to-peer mesh networking (BLE/WiFi Direct) to sync transaction data.
- Blockchain Ledger: Local ledger on devices that eventually settles to the main blockchain when connectivity is restored, preventing double-spending.
- User Experience: "SpendEat" virtual wallet app allowing instant top-ups and lightning-fast QR payments.
Results & Impact
- Resilience: Demonstrated successful transaction processing with zero internet availability.
- Speed: Transaction finality < 2 seconds in offline mode.
- Innovation: Validated the viability of decentralized mesh payments for high-density events.