Re: [Taler] Taler minimal infrastructure?

[Florian Jung]

  Hi, 
 
 I built a minimal setup like you described here: https://github.com/Windfisch/taler-podman 
 
 (If you're at the cccamp23, it will be used at the SOCO Village ;)) 
 
 You need the following: 
 
 - exchange + exchange-offline (can be in the same deployment if you do not care about security) 
 - libeufin-nexus (needed by the exchange to operate) 
 - libeufin-sandbox and its webui. (this is your "bank", and can be used to take money from your account into your wallet) 
 - merchant backend 
 - hand-written code or some preexisting POS app to actually sell stuff. (in case of a snack machine, you probably want to build something of your own. you can make all needed requests in the merchant backend and take note of the POST and GET requests that were made.) 
 
 (and of course, your users need the wallet app) 
 
 all of this, except for the POS terminal, is in the github link above. have a look at the dockerfiles to see how everything is set up. I tried to keep it simple. 
 
 A friend of mind built a web based POS terminal (works even on android 5 :D) here: https://github.com/SpitfireX/taler-pos 
 
 As for the emoney license: AFAIK (but i'm not a lawyer) you might be allowed to run this with real money and with a real bank account if you don't call it "money" but "vouchers" and if there's only one location where you can obtain taler and redeem them. "your local hackerspace" should be fine, "your local hackerspace and the two befriended hackspaces in the neighboring cities" is not. but again, i have no idea. 
 
 hope this helps, 
 Windfisch

13.08.2023 17:22:01 os.phoenix@posteo.de:

Hello,

what's min infrastructure to have the simplest Taler payment system? Like with a "private" own alternative "currency" (closed user group), sandbox infrastructure.
Or like the example: snack machine (Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH)?
https://media.ccc.de/v/36c3-oio-186-buying-snacks-via-nfc-with-gnu-taler

"Core-Komponenten"
- Taler Cashier
- Taler Wallet
- Taler Merchant API
- Taler Merchant POS
- Taler Merchant Backend Operator
- Taler Backoffice (404 Not Found, both web & PDF)
- Taler Bank (404 Not Found, both web & PDF)
https://taler.net/en/docs.html

Under:
GNU Taler Documentation: https://docs.taler.net/taler-user-guide.html#introduction
2.1.1. About GNU Taler

1. "This guide explains various ways how users can interact with a GNU Taler installation.
2.  It assumes that a bank, exchange and merchant backend are running and that the user has a GNU Taler wallet installed is able to create an account at the bank. Some operations also require access to the merchant backend."

A)
Is it right, at least it needs:

1. Taler wallet (User to user. User act also like "merchants" to each other?)
2. Taler Cashier
   

Can we say, the snack machine acts also as "user". (FAQ: "Taler supports push and pull payments between wallets (also known as peer-to-peer payments)")

So people (users) could exchange e.g. EUR into digital cash Taler and trade with each other in "Taler"?
The exchange would need to have all the rules implemented, right?

B)
Or it needs at least also a Merchant, or Exchange?

1. Taler wallet (users)
2. Merchant
3. Exchange

C)
To transfer e.g. EUR, one would need a "(EMI) E-Money Institution license" (EU Directive 2015/2366), right?

Thanks