Web 3.0 technologies and related solutions have been growing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, ever since its inception as a network in 2014 by Ethereum developer Gavin Wood. Though the concept of Web 3.0 was first mentioned as far back as 2006 in an article by John Markoff, it is the advent of blockchain technologies and the inception of the Bitcoin network that paved the way for the development and ideological foundation of the technology. In technological terms, the bedrock of Web 3.0 is being embodied by the deployment and successful fielding of complicated Decentralized Finance protocols that embody the core values of the blockchain and Web 3.0, namely — decentralization, permissionless, uninterrupted and global accessibility, as well as the employment of advanced technological modules, such as AI, semantics, and VR.

Among the earliest signs of the successful employment of Web 3.0 solutions are token exchange protocols, called swaps, or lending and borrowing protocols that do away with the need for intermediaries. The gradual spread and scaling of Web 3.0 is also being heralded by the launch and application of numerous new blockchain networks. Though largely similar at heart, each of the networks is endowed with a unique set of tools that can be tailored for optimal use cases.

New technologies and their applications, such as Non-Fungible Tokens in GameFi, are also starting to attract significant funds. The popularity of Web 3.0 and its growth can be compared with the adoption of the internet in the early 2,000s after ordinary people started gaining access to mass-produced and affordable digital devices like smartphones. Digital wallets are now being installed en masse to store at least a portion of funds and savings as a countermeasure to the rapid devaluation of fiat currencies globally. This transition to the digital economy, in turn, is forcing various stores, including major global brands, to start looking for new opportunities for capitalizing on the emerging digital assets market.

Accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for goods and services is but one of the ways of adopting the concept of decentralization and permeating the Web 3.0 environment. However, the solutions currently available on the market for accepting crypto payments can be characterized as primitive and often ineffective in terms of usability, convenience, transaction processing commissions, and other vital factors that would make them go-to solutions for adopting digital currencies.

The crypto payments processing market is one of the most lucrative and attractive segments of the decentralized economy. Statistics indicate that payment ecosystem market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.13% during the forecast 2021-2026. Considering that the blockchain market was valued at $1.7 trillion in 2021, with expected growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 85.9% from 2022 to 2030, the prospects for the development of cryptocurrency payments using the swath of altcoins and coins is immense.

At present, there are numerous cryptocurrency payment solutions available that are largely taken up by merchant service providers. Such solutions offer merchants the opportunity to connect crypto payment acceptance via API directly to their bank accounts from websites and terminals. The solution is further being augmented with possibilities of connecting bank cards for instant withdrawals of cryptocurrency to fiat from ATMs. This level of convenience is high enough for most merchants entering the market, but is insufficient to ensure a high enough degree of scaling and lacks the throughput and technical underpinning to cater to large retail chains and businesses.

The blockchain payments market further extends to the decentralized environment itself, where cryptocurrencies of various kinds, such as coins and tokens, are being used alongside NFTs to pay for digital assets and related services. The GameFi and Play-to-Earn markets are major examples of environments, where direct transfers between blockchain wallets are used to conduct transactions and transfer value. However, the cross-chain solutions available, especially those on NFT launchpads and marketplaces, charge exuberant commissions for transfers, making large and recurring transactions unprofitable due to gas price volatility.

Despite the slow adoption of crypto payments on a global scale, over 15,000 retail outlets and merchants already accept Bitcoin and other coins as a means of payment. Among them are major global brands like Microsoft, Walmart, Burger King, Wikipedia, PayPal, Amazon, Home Depot, AT&T, Newegg and many others. Such acceptance of cryptocurrency payments from major brands is confirmation of not only the viability of this type of payments, but also of the growing number of potential users willing to transact using digital currencies.

Traditional payment service providers like VISA and MasterCard, as well as other payment gateways, are considering the possibility of integrating cryptocurrency payments into their frameworks of services. The move is a clear transition in track with PayPal, which has experienced a colossal boost in user numbers and capitalization after announcing its support for Bitcoin. Another payment gateway – Stripe – a payment processor or gateway that allows customers to safely and efficiently transfer funds from their credit cards or bank accounts in a variety of currencies, is making headway with its integration of cryptocurrency payments, but this work is still in progress and they do not offer any means to accept crypto at the moment. The company is trusted by Google, Amazon, Zoom and others as a payment provider.

The stablecoin factor is acting in favor of the cryptocurrency payments solution, as the given class of assets provides much-needed respite from crypto market volatility by pegging the value of digital currencies to fiat, such as the US Dollar. Stablecoins like USDT are the preferred means of payment for goods and services among freelancers, who trust stability and rely on low volatility for making sure their earnings are preserved, while the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies provides both transparency and instant payment security.

The role of decentralized exchanges and swap services is becoming decisive in ensuring the operability of the crypto payments market. Cryptocurrency holders and merchants rely on exchanges and swap services to transfer their earnings into fiat, since the vast majority of everyday service providers still rely on traditional currencies for transactions. This factor that limits the use cases of cryptocurrencies, makes crypto-to-fiat gateways an essential component of the payment framework. The commissions charged by DEXs and swaps often erode the earnings of cryptocurrency-accepting merchants, highlighting the problem of a lack of a holistic solution on the market that would act as a go-to service embodying all the principles of decentralization and Web 3.0.

Over the past years, as the market evolved and attained new heights in terms of capitalization, crypto enthusiasts and experts in the field of blockchain technologies have been waiting for digital assets to reach the level of breadth of use that would allow them to be used everywhere as a means of payment for goods and services along with traditional fiat currencies. Recent advances in the development of stablecoins, the introduction of regulations on the financial market, and breakthroughs in the evolution of blockchain technologies have provided the necessary infrastructure that would allow the development of such a holistic solution.

Many corporations are starting to accept the fact that they will start adopting digital financial assets as part of their development strategies. The fact that major global banks are working on the development of proprietary blockchain-based solutions is contributing to the popularization of the underlying assets. For example, in the UK, a property transaction was recently completed at a record value of 175 million pounds and the seller stated that the full amount of the transaction would be paid in BTC. Amazon and Starbucks are adopting cryptocurrency payments across their stores, which is leading smaller companies to start considering the possibility of implementing such opportunities as well to ride the adoption crest.

Traditional payment processors and gateways are also keeping tabs on the implementation of support for cryptocurrencies and the expansion of the payment options they support. Market leader Stripe resumed work on accepting payments in cryptocurrency in October of 2021 after a 3-year hiatus, when the company had offered its customers the option of paying with Bitcoin.

One of the factors that have had a positive influence on the increase in the need for crypto payments is that there is genuine interest on the part of buyers in using alternative payment methods. This is confirmed by a survey conducted by PaySafe in 2021 among buyers from different countries of Europe and America. The trend of transitioning to digital payments had emerged even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which only accelerated the popularization of contactless and digital payment methods. 38% of respondents who partook in the survey reported that they are familiar with digital payment methods other than bank cards, and 31% are inclined to pay not using bank cards, but other digital methods in the future. 23% of all respondents reported that they had already tried using a digital wallet.

Another factor contributing to the popularization of cryptocurrency payment methods is undoubtedly the fact that stablecoins are being used more widely. Unlike classical cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are not subject to exchange rate volatility by virtue of being tethered either to a fiat currency, such as Tether USDT, or due to the fact that they operate on the basis of algorithmic exchange rate management, as does MakerDAO. Many popular cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC are not convenient as a means of payments, as their rate can change abruptly and can, oftentimes, reduce consumer purchasing power.

The crypto payments market is facing a myriad of problems, which are all impeding the development and adoption of related solutions. The following acute issues can be identified in the crypto payment processing market.

Many solutions on the market suffer from a lack of true decentralization. The given fact means that the crypto payment gateway company controls all or part of the funds received from users for subsequent transfer to stores or service providers. Such a degree of centralization entails various risks associated with the inability of stores to receive their money in case the operating company encounters any issues with downtime, processing operability, lawsuits, or even bankruptcy. Non-custodial solutions, in turn, hand over control of the funds to the underlying logic of the blockchain that operates on the basis of a set of more smart contracts, thereby eliminating the single point of failure.

A distinctive feature of blockchain technology, among other things, is that the data hashed on the blockchain is publicly available. This is also true for data that describes transfers between participants in the blockchain network. In the context of crypto payment processing systems, this leads to the fact that the entire cash flow of a particular store can be easily calculated if the store does not use a sufficiently advanced payment processing platform, or unless it implements payment acceptance using its own systems. Most of the solutions on the market do not offer any tools for solving this problem, essentially eliminating privacy and the confidentiality of financial transactions.

Despite the fact that the Ethereum network is the undisputed leader in terms of blockchain network popularity with support for numerous smart contracts, many other blockchain networks have recently been developed that offer various improvements and new approaches to transaction processing. In particular, they offer cheaper and faster transactions, as well as convenient migration mechanisms for EVM support and the Solidity programming language. Many projects have started using networks such as Polygon, Optimism, the Binance Smart Chain, Solana, and a number of others, and the number of users of such solutions and underlying networks is growing rapidly.

Considering the fragmentation of decentralized environment user bases, it is no longer a simple matter for stores to implement a straightforward and streamlined payment acceptance system for compiling funds from improvised open sources. In addition, crypto payment processing platforms need to support many networks and add new ones that are gaining popularity. Some solutions available on the market allow users to work only with a single blockchain network, or claim to work on different networks, but, in fact, do not provide stores with any convenient means of aggregating funds from different networks.

The presence of a large number of different tokens, including stablecoins, is leading to a palpable problem of choice. Many stores are ready to accept payment in tokens that are convenient for ensuing conversion into fiat or others that can be used in their operating activities. On the other hand, the buyers are often inclined to pay with the tokens they hold, rather than the ones the store is willing to accept. This creates a problem of dissuasion and mismatch reminiscent of a barter system or a lack of a unified consensus on payment terms.

In order to carry out transactions on the blockchain, users need to pay network fees. The size of such commissions varies depending on various conditions, for example, on the current load on the network. For example, the cost of transactions on the Ethereum network has recently been so high that transfers of sums less than $100 were unprofitable, since most of this funds was spent on commission charges. This unsightly fact means that it is not economically feasible to organize the acceptance of micro-payments on the Ethereum network, despite its dominance as a popular infrastructure.

Decentralization, lack of regulation and control, as well as full anonymity and lack of accountability act as a magnet for scammers that flock to the decentralized assets market. Crypto payment processing systems and connected stores must ensure the purity of transactions passing through them in order not to become a link in the money laundering chain of funds obtained by criminal means. The consequences of interacting with wallets, which are defined as risky, may be the imposition of restrictions on the part of services working at the junction of fiat-crypto, which are required to follow national banking regulations in terms of KYC / AML. In addition, such centralized issuers of stablecoins as Tether (USDT) have their own mechanisms for blocking and blacklisting addresses.

Blockchain technologies are becoming more popular, however, many users are still unfamiliar with the basic principles of their functioning, do not have the necessary software at hand, and do not keep funds on the blockchain. This situation prevents the mass use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. Such a low degree of education in blockchain technologies is one of the main reasons why new users are untrusting of decentralized networks and are unwilling or incapable of seeing the benefits they provide. Such a low degree of onboarding and the slow adoption of crypto payments among the vast layer of the unbanked is slowing the adoption of associated solutions by merchants, financial systems and global retail chains.

Combined, the issues plaguing the decentralized payments market are acute and cannot be solved without a comprehensive approach that requires a holistic, accessible, convenient and affordable solution for fast-tracking the adoption of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment among broader audiences.

The solution to some of the problems of the market can be found in the development of a cryptocurrency processing platform that would take full advantage of the virtues of decentralization, while at the same time being convenient and welcoming for both stores and their customers.

To solve the problem of decentralization, many payment processing functions should be translated to smart contract based logic, giving merchants complete control over the funds received without the involvement of a third party. The reliance of automated execution of contracts and payment transfers would also negate fraud and make transparency and trust inextricable parts of the transaction process.

In terms of the confidentiality of the total turnover of funds, various approaches can be used that complicate the statistical analysis of transactions passing through the smart contract for processing transactions. This would mask the financial status of the merchant and ensure confidentiality.

Crypto processing service providers should support at least a few popular blockchain networks to maximize user reach. It is also important for them to integrate support for decentralized exchanges to streamline the exchange of tokens in real time for the convenience of all parties involved. Such an approach would allow the client to pay using the tokens that they have on the balances of their wallets. At the same time, the store would be able to accept payment in the tokens they deem convenient for immediate conversion or subsequent use in operations.

To solve the KYC/AML problem of both buyers and merchants, payment processing platforms can use various address and transaction scoring solutions, such as Chainalysis, Elliptic, and others. The broad availability of KYC and AML solutions is making their use both simple and convenient, thus allowing merchants to rely on legal and approved methods of compliance in their respective jurisdictions.

In order to improve the overall user experience for buyers who are not yet familiar with cryptocurrencies, it is advisable for merchants to try to hide as much of the technical details as possible from plain view. These would include gas payments, seed phrases, and others. Streamlining the payment process to click-and-pay is the key to ensuring the acceptance of cryptocurrencies on par with fiat transfers via bank cards as a convenient and reliable means of payment.

SMARTy Pay aims to provide consumers of decentralized assets and services with a holistic platform for accepting and processing crypto payments simultaneously across various blockchain networks, making it easy for all market participants to start accepting any available digital currencies as a means of payment. The SMARTy platform is an easy to integrate and understandable tool based on a technologically complex system leveraging the most advanced of modern achievements and developments in the Web 3.0 industry.

The main advantages that SMARTy will be able to provide its users is complete non-custodiality and decentralization of all processes on the platform, ensuring the transparent and user-oriented functioning of the ecosystem. By being a multi-chain platform, SMARTy will support a wide range of blockchain networks, acting as both an on-ramp and an off-ramp for funds from numerous blockchains.

The SMARTy platform ensures the confidentiality of the turnover of connected stores and provides support for modern DeFi exchange protocols, thereby facilitating the transfer of funds and allowing its users to take advantage of many of the decentralized financial instruments available for improving service quality and gaining additional income.

The SMARTy Payment page includes a convenient and straightforward wallet creation page for on-the-fly wallet setup for non-crypto savvy users. Such instant onboarding makes the SMARTy service the go-to solution for new entrants into the decentralized market.

Using SMARTy Pay technology, merchants can effectively accept payments on their websites in a seamless and convenient fashion, thus gaining access to a huge audience of potential customers and the funds that are already circulating in the Web 3.0 ecosystem. The SMARTy Pay platform will rely on its native SMARTy Token for offering an extended range of options and functions to users as a means of payment for such.

The SMARTy Pay platform will consist of a number of products tailored to suit any type of merchant operating in digital space with online payment facilities.

The traditional way to pay for goods and services is for the store to issue an invoice to the customer. SMARTy Pay provides the ability to quickly and securely issue billing in one or more currencies through a convenient API or through the control panel integrated into the store’s web page. When the account status changes, the store webmaster will be notified via the corresponding API.

Various reports and analytics are available to the store in the administrative panel. The SMARTy Pay solutions also makes it possible to maintain a directory of customers manually in case the store is a small business that does not have the ability to set up complex integration. The URL to the issued invoice can be sent to the buyer by email, or redirected from an e-commerce system to the invoice payment page.

The bill payment page is designed based on the fact that the buyer may not be an advanced crypto user. For this class of clients, the system will offer to create a wallet on-the-fly using a Google account or email, and will allow them to quickly top up their balances through the integrated OnRamp service. If the user is already familiar with cryptocurrencies, they will be asked to connect one of the popular wallets, such as MetaMask or Binance Wallet.

The exchanger built into the DEX payment page will allow users to seamlessly exchange the tokens that the buyer has for the tokens necessary to pay the bill and at the most favorable rate on the market.

SMARTy Pay provides a subscription payment model for stores and services that accept recurring payments. This module is well suited for pay-as-you go stores, streaming services, services with premium access to content, and others.

The subscription template is created by the store in the SMARTy Pay control panel, where its parameters. such as the name, period, and maximum debit amount, are set. As for the buyers, they can create a subscription instance, which is a smart contract with the write-off logic inscribed into it. SMARTy Pay periodically initiates debit operations from the client’s address through a subscription smart contract in favor of the store, thereby ensuring uninterrupted and timely payments.

Recharge payments are a convenient tool for stores that have some kind of internal account for customers and provide them with a degree of autonomous functionality. This payment scheme does not imply the creation of an account with a fixed amount of funds as a starting or maximum balance. Instead, the user receives only the exact amount of tokens they want to have on their balances.

In order to use recharge payments, the buyer needs to create a special smart contract through the SMARTy Pay platform, which is linked to the user’s account in the store. Next, the tokens are sent to the address of the underlying smart contract through the usual ‘Send to address’ function via MetaMask or a similar wallet. When the funds are received, SMARTy Pay notifies the store that the balance has been topped up, and the buyer sees the receipt in the store’s internal account. This product can be especially useful for marketplaces, online games, casinos and other businesses that provide their users with extensive personal accounts.

In the process of accepting tokens as a means of payment for goods and services, the store accumulates these funds in the SMARTy Pay system. A special smart contract is used for these purposes. The store retains the option of either withdrawing the accumulated funds to any other wallet address or to an exchange. Store owners can also use SMARTy Pay Payouts in order to arrange payouts for their customers.

The first step in this process is the formation of a payout list, the main parameters of which are the recipient’s address and the amount to be sent. This list can be generated through the API, or through the store’s administrative management console. Next, the store owner can start the payment procedure at any time and track the progress of its implementation.

The given functionality is convenient as a means of implementing refunds for goods, as well as in services where users can earn tokens, for example, in casinos or online games.

As a comprehensive payment services provider with extensive functionality tailored for both merchants and buyers, the SMARTy Pay offers all parties to the transaction a number of distinct advantages. Among the most evident and valuable are the following:

Non-custodiality and decentralization as a means of ensuring the transparency and full retention of control over funds on the part of system users.

Multi-chain support for allowing users from various blockchain networks to seamlessly transfer their funds and take full advantage of cross-chain connectivity.

Confidentiality of the turnover of connected stores for concealing financial data from competitors and ensuring compliance with financial regulations.

Support for modern DeFi exchange protocols and swaps to allow users to take advantage of favorable exchange rates, as well as additional decentralized financial services.

Payment page with wallet creation on-the-fly for convenient onboarding of new users and conversion of new audiences into potential customers.

Built-in wallet for making transfers seamless and negating the need for connecting external wallets, thus reducing risks and maintaining system integrity.

Gas compensation upon payment for reducing losses on both the buyer and merchant sides, thus fostering a more favorable environment for increasing the volume of transactions and purchases.

Full range of payment methods, including invoices, subscriptions, recharge payments, and others to cater to any format of merchant store and consumer accountability requirements.

Payout support for facilitating cryptocurrency transfers for refunds and other purposes to improve overall adoption of digital currencies.

Support for different types of crypto wallets to enhance user convenience and form a more inclusive environment for various decentralized market users.

SMARTy Pay uses a wide range of modern technologies, including those that have appeared due to the development of the DeFi ecosystem, such as decentralized swaps and cross-chain bridges. By combining these technologies with our own original solutions and ideas, we have managed to create a user-friendly, flexible and secure product.

Being a non-custodial crypto-processing service, the basic business logic that SMARTy Pay uses for accepting and processing payments, as well as for enacting the settlement mechanism, is based on a set of smart contracts. The use of such an underlying basis allows the SMARTy Pay platform to achieve the following goals:

Sound implementation of payment processing logic guaranteed by the underlying blockchain consensus mechanisms.

The presence of a separate API at the blockchain level for interaction between the processing module and various dApps.

Storage of funds received from customers on a single smart contract, the store can request them at any time while the blockchain network is functioning.

In order to receive payment from the client, the store issues an invoice and the client pays it. The invoicing technology applied in SMARTy Pay involves creating a special address from an extended public key that is securely generated for the store at the registration stage using BIP-32 HD Wallet technology, and for using the given address as a payment identifier later on. The address can be generated via the API, or offline under certain conditions. To pay the bill, the client needs to call the payment method in the SMARTy Pay smart contract. This can be done using any web3-compatible wallet, such as MetaMask, Binance Wallet and others, or through the use of the SMARTy wallet built into the payment page. The smart contract logic will check all the necessary account parameters and debit the client’s address, while the funds received as payment will be held on a single SMARTy Pay smart contract. This kind of accumulation of funds allows all parties to the transaction to save on gas costs when the store withdraws the funds from the system.

When invoicing, the store indicates which tokens it is ready to accept as payment. As a rule, the assets that can be accepted are a list of stablecoins. The client, in turn, may have other types of tokens at their disposal. SMARTy Pay uses a wide range of integrations with smart contracts of decentralized exchanges, and allows the client to convert the tokens in their wallet into the ones needed for payment when paying the bill, and thus immediately pay it.

The subscription technology applied in SMARTy Pay allows merchants to accept recurring payments from their customers. The creation and confirmation of a subscription by the client entitles SMARTy Pay to deduct a certain amount from the client’s address or wallet for a time period. This right is fixed in the form of logic inside the smart contract of a particular subscription instance. The subscription-contract logic cannot be changed without the client’s digital signature. In order to write off any funds, the user will need to call the current payment processing method in the smart contract. This can be done either by the store itself or through the SMARTy Pay platform, which will control the timely debiting of funds and their transfer to the main processing smart contract. When this method is called, a pseudo invoice will be created and paid, similar to what is created when invoicing.

Recharge payments are used in stores that have a certain internal account for users that they can use to pay for goods and services. By adhering to the principle of decentralization, the logic of accepting recharge payments is implemented entirely on the blockchain. A separate copy of the smart contract is created for each user. As for the store, the address of the given smart contract is associated with the internal account of a particular user. The client can transfer any amount in tokens to the address of the smart contract in question and SMARTy Pay will inform the store about the receipt of funds. When the store decides to withdraw its funds from the system inside the recharge smart contract, a pseudo-invoice will be generated and paid for the amount of accumulated recharge payments.

Paying an invoice, subscription, or recharge payment is technically a transaction on the blockchain. This means that the associated data is publicly available to anyone. The technology applied in SMARTy provides an additional layer of security and confidentiality to all transactions. Despite the fact that the transactions are publicly available for viewing, it is not possible for an outside observer to correlate in the interests of which store a particular payment was made. This is achieved through the use of a unique invoice identifier, which is linked to the store’s public key using hierarchically deterministic address technology – HD BIP32, and also due to the fact that all funds are accumulated on a single processing smart contract.

In order to make transactions in the blockchain network, the one who initiates the operation must pay a certain commission. In the context of the interaction between the buyer and the store, the initiator of the purchase is the buyer, which leads to the need for the buyer to bear additional costs. SMARTy Pay allows stores to improve the user experience and reduce the costs borne by transferring the gas commission to the store. To do this, the store must configure a special gas wallet and transfer native tokens to it, which will later be used to offset gas costs.

The SMARTy Pay development team will employ a marketing model that relies on promotional tools that have proven to be effective in advancing the popularity of service projects among active merchants and potential buyers in the decentralized industry.

One of the main factors acting in favor of the SMARTy Pay service is the fact that modern users have difficulty in starting to use digital currencies. The availability of a go-to crypto payment solution will greatly simplify the onboarding process and allow users and merchants to refer to the SMARTy Pay service as a hub of digital asset transfers. Given the growing popularity of the decentralized environment and the massive opportunities for information dissemination across the web, SMARTy Pay will be able to attract users by showcasing the advantages it offers in light of the fragmented decentralized network and the lack of holistic payment solutions on it.

The main instruments the project intends to utilize are direct links and keyword searches to ensure maximum relevance of the project in search queries and to raise its ranking in search results. The most effective social networks to be targeted as promotional platforms are Telegram, Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Among the most effective instruments to be employed for promoting the SMARTy Pay social network will be:

SEO promotion;

Keyword search optimization;

Advertising via bloggers on social networks YouTube and Instagram;

Targeted website banners;

Targeted email newsletters;

Outreach to businesses, producers, distributors, and other similar services;

Other marketing techniques — engagement marketing via smart use of content, participatory, hands-on events, and engrossing branding material used for generating project value perception among potential users.

In addition, the development team plans to engage in active participation in leading events, conferences and exhibitions. Apart from constant displays of the SMARTy Pay platform in influencer feeds and social media channels, the team will be launching promotions and bonuses for both average users and businesses to maintain their engagement.

The development team is also currently working on establishing working relations with numerous potential partners to ensure the availability of instant applications and use cases for the SMARTy Pay platform upon launch, leveraging the partners’ user bases.