Visa proposes automatic payments using Starknet

Visa says that self-service wallets can use a unique “account abstraction” method to set up automatic recurring payments on StarkNet because existing smart contracts do not allow this feature.

Account abstraction

Payment processor Visa recently proposed a solution called “account abstraction” that uses smart contracts to enable automatically scheduled payments on Ethereum.

This solution involves the creation of smart contracts that act as intermediaries between user accounts and contract accounts and enables the creation of self-sufficient wallets that can make automatic recurring payments without the need for users to actively participate.

Use of the Blockchain Network.

This move will allow recurring payments to be made entirely on the blockchain network, which currently lacks that capability, according to Visa.

There are currently two types of accounts on the Ethereum network: externally owned accounts (EOA), controlled by private keys, and contract accounts (CA), which are essentially smart contracts.

However, by using account abstraction, it is possible to create smart contracts that can initiate transactions on behalf of the EOA and enable the creation of self-custodial wallets for automatic recurring payments, Visa said.

Account Abstraction (AA)

This is a proposal that seeks to combine user accounts and smart contracts into a single account type on the Ethereum blockchain.

With a delegated account, users can delegate the ability to make payments to pre-approved smart contracts known as “automatic payment contracts,” Visa says.

In theory, it could work like this: when a user visits a merchant’s website and agrees to allow automatic payments, the address of the automatic payment contract is added to the user’s authorization list.