introduction.tex (4708B)
1 \section{Motivation} 2 3 Which payment systems do you use in your daily live and why? Probably one you know it is universally accepted, reliable, secure and the payment goes through more or less instantly. 4 5 In March 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) found that an \textbf{easy onboarding} procedure is one of the most important factors influencing the acceptance of the Digital Euro as a new payment system \cite{panetta-speech-march-30}. If the process of onboarding new users is straightforward, this will have a positive effect on the universal acceptance of digital cash using GNU Taler. The ECB asserts that universal acceptance, or the ability to "pay anywhere," is the most significant attribute of an effective digital payment instrument for consumers across the EU, regardless of age \cite{study-new-digital-payment-methods}. Therefore, an easy onboarding procedure is a crucial feature for digital cash to be adopted by the public. 6 7 The findings of the European Central Bank also extend to the GNU Taler, the software-based microtransaction and electronic payment system. For the GNU Taler to be widely accepted as a payment system, it is of utmost importance that the onboarding process for new users be as straightforward and user-friendly as possible. For this reason, it is essential that a variety of methods exist for the withdrawal of digital cash in Taler. 8 9 This thesis develops an additional withdrawal method by implementing a framework that allows cashless withdrawals in GNU Taler. Currently, it is possible to withdraw digital cash from a bank that operates a Taler Exchange and integrates the respective API. At the time of writing, only two banks are engaged in the process of establishing a Taler Exchange; GLS bank \cite{taler-bank-gls} and MagNet bank \cite{ngi-taler}. Furthermore, at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, an exchange is operated allowing the withdrawal of digital cash at the secretariat using cash. 10 11 To make the access to digital cash using Taler easier and allow a faster uptake of the payment system Taler, a framework for cashless withdrawal of digital cash is proposed and implemented in order to open new doors for the integration and adoption of the Taler payment system within society. 12 13 To make the withdrawal using a credit card or other means of payment possible, the GNU Taler facilities must be extended and integrated with established payment service providers. The integration must enable the communication between the Taler ecosystem and payment service providers and their terminals. 14 15 To address this communication gap, this thesis introduces a new component, called cashless2ecash (C2EC), which establishes a reliable connection between the Taler ecosystem and payment service provider's terminals. The C2EC component enables the Taler Exchange to issue digital cash to a customer. Therefore the Exchange is not putting his trust on cash received but rather on the promise of a a terminal provider to put the received digital cash in a location, controlled by the Exchange eventually (e.g. a bank account owned by the Exchange). 16 17 Designing the user-experience along established patterns will lead to a better uptake of GNU Taler by enabling money to flow from existing payment systems into GNU Taler's digital cash. 18 19 \section{Perspectives} 20 To support readers and implementers, three perspectives shall be kept in mind. They have different views on the process but need to interact with each other seamlessly. 21 22 \subsection{Taler Exchange (C2EC)} 23 The perspective of the Taler Exchange includes all processes within C2EC component including the interfaces for the terminal application, terminal backend and the wallet of the customer. The Taler Exchange wants to allow withdrawal of digital digital cash only to users who pay the equivalent value to the Exchange. For this the Taler Exchange must make sure the payment is final on the side of the payment service provider. Otherwise the Exchange is at risk of loosing money. 24 25 \subsection{Terminal Application} 26 The perspective of the terminal application includes all processes within the application which interacts with the user, their wallet and credit card allowing the withdrawal of digital cash. The terminal application wants to conveniently allow the withdrawal of digital cash. Fees must be considered, since the withdrawal process is a service which costs the payment service provider money in form of integration and maintenance efforts. To cover its costs, the provider might want to add some fees on the withdrawal. 27 28 \subsection{Taler Wallet} 29 The wallet holds the digital cash owned by the customer. The wallet wants to eventually collect the digital cash from the Taler Exchange.