The Problem
Local servers are a liability
Traditional payment architectures use an MQTT broker or local server to route messages between devices. The operator machine publishes a command, the broker forwards it to the POS terminal, and the result takes the same path back.
This means extra hardware on-site, another service to maintain, and a single point of failure that can take down every terminal at once.
The Solution
No servers required
With peer-to-peer, there is no local server required. Devices connect directly over whatever network is available: Bluetooth, LAN, or Wi-Fi. Devices on the same local network connect directly without internet.
Additionally, servers and relays in the cloud need to hold no extra state beyond authentication. This means that even if the cloud service goes down, devices can continue to operate and sync data.
Case Study
Highway Toll Booths
Paycode used iroh to bring tap-to-pay to highway toll booths running Windows 7 hardware. They connected Kotlin Android POS devices to .NET 6 terminals with no additional servers.
“iroh was super easy to use… I started hacking and was able to integrate it into our Kotlin PoS app and have a published .NET NuGet package for our client to use in that month.”
