Earlier this summer, Ripple joined global companies and nonprofits as a member of the Open Payments Coalition to launch PayString, the universal payment identifier. Today PayString has the potential to reach 125 million consumers through nearly 50 members of the Open Payments Coalition which includes new partners AirTM, Atomic and CoinPayments.
As part of the Open Payments Coalition, we are committed to enabling an open and inclusive future of digital payments. To achieve our vision, known as the Internet of Value (IoV), one of the first steps is to make PayString more accessible for developers worldwide. In order to continue to build on the momentum, today we announce updates and new features for PayString.
PayString Bolsters Security with Verifiable PayString
As digital payments continue to rise in use, it is important that end-to-end encryption and security continues to be a priority for payments. That’s why PayString has now been updated as of version 1.3.0 with Verifiable PayString. This means non-custodial wallet users can now make use of a fully trustless model, so receivers no longer need to implicitly trust their PayString provider. This has several benefits for non-custodial wallets as it helps to decentralize trust and reduce reliance on their PayString server.
Similar to the threat model of phishing attacks in email, a scammer can make it appear like a user is sending money to a friend or family member, when in actuality it is not a secure PayString address. With Verifiable PayString, users can verify who a sender is before completing a transaction. On the receiving end, PayString users can send a unique, secure signature through end to end encryption messaging to verify themselves as a valid PayString user. This method gives senders the confidence they need to ensure their transaction has completed securely.
PayString Sandbox
PayString is an open standard that allows for interoperability between payment networks. To ensure we create the simplest platform for crypto wallets and exchanges to enable PayString, we’ve launched PayString Sandbox. Frequently, developers find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to implementing new solutions. Often they work in businesses facing barriers to entry when it comes to applying new innovations such as a lack of resources or leaders who are resistant to change.
PayString Sandbox provides developers the ability to test PayString before setting up their own PayString servers. With the ability to test PayString, developers can get familiar with the technology before actually implementing it. This will also help to reduce adoption friction during the actual implementation process.
PayString AWS Lambda
When AWS Lambda was first unveiled in 2014, it was met by an ecstatic crowd, excited to be a part of the next generation of computing. Since then, the serverless architecture market has skyrocketed, catalyzed by the growth in cloud adoption. Therefore, it’s no surprise that developers are using AWS Lambda every day.
Now with PayString AWS Lambda, more developers will have access to PayString via a standard-compliant platform, without the added cost of a setting up and managing a separate server. PayString AWS Lambda works just as the PayString server would, but this gives developers deploying less advanced or intensive deployment to implement PayString quickly and cost-effectively.
These new updates are just the first step for the Open Payments Coalition. We are excited to continue driving the future of digital payments forward with PayString, listening to building open solutions that are accessible and free to use by anyone. Ripple is proud to be among this coalition of industry leaders helping to establish this much-needed open standard for interoperability, so that IoV can become a reality.
To learn more about PayString and its new updates and features, visit paystring.org.
