Offline payments
Person-to-person payments settled directly, in real time, device-to-device via NFC — no third party involved in settlement itself, unlike online payments which always go through desp.
Components (from src-business-architecture Table 1)
| Component | Provider | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Wallet | Eurosystem | Applet on the smartphone secure element, holds offline funds |
| Digital euro app | Eurosystem | Reference frontend using the Offline SDK |
| Offline SDK | Eurosystem | Mobile library a pilot-psp integrates into its own app for NFC P2P + funding/defunding/integrity-check calls |
| PSP backend infrastructure | Pilot PSP | Bridges app/SDK messages to the Offline Distribution Service, adds business logic |
| Offline Distribution Service | Eurosystem-provided sample, PSP-integrated/hosted | Exposes the inbound API the PSP backend calls; relays to Offline Issuance Service |
| Offline Issuance Service | Eurosystem | Issues/redeems offline value, runs integrity checks, debits/credits DCAs via Settlement |
| Trusted Service Manager | Eurosystem | Remote provisioning/lifecycle of the Offline Wallet — transparent to the PSP |
Implementation takeaway: the PSP only builds the “PSP backend infrastructure” row and integrates the Offline SDK + Offline Distribution Service — everything else is Eurosystem-run.
Lifecycle
- End user funds their Offline Wallet (online operation) — see funding-and-defunding.
- Periodic online integrity checks confirm the secure-element funds haven’t been tampered with (transparent, requires connectivity).
- P2P payment via NFC, offline, real-time, no PSP involvement in settlement itself.
- Defunding is also an online operation.
Related
funding-and-defunding · desp · pilot-psp · online-and-offline-payments