Upfront Payments Architecture
The Merso Upfront payment system consists of the same high-level components as the PNPL system, reusing the same API layer and Token Pool infrastructure, but with a simplified smart contract architecture that does not require wrapped assets or loan logic.
🏗️ System Architecture
The Merso Upfront system is built on a multi-layered architecture that integrates traditional web technologies with blockchain infrastructure, similar to PNPL, but optimized for atomic, one-time payments.
At the top layer, game companies interact with the Merso dashboard and API, which provide configuration, monitoring, and analytics for upfront NFT purchases. This layer is shared with PNPL and does not require any additional integration.
The middle layer hosts the Upfront payment smart contract, which coordinates payment execution and NFT transfers. This contract interacts directly with the MersoTokenPool to process payments, but does not manage loans, installments, or collateralized assets.
The bottom layer represents the blockchain infrastructure where original NFTs, payment tokens, and user wallets reside. NFTs are transferred directly to users upon successful payment.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GAME COMPANIES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Dashboard │ │ API Access │ │ Analytics │ │
│ │ (Web App) │ │ (JWT Auth) │ │ & Reports │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MERSO UPFRONT PROTOCOL │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ MersoUpfront │◄──►│ TokenPool │ │
│ │ (Per Game) │ │ (Per Game) │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BLOCKCHAIN LAYER │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Game NFTs │ │ Payment │ │ User │ │
│ │ (Original) │ │ Tokens │ │ Wallets │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘🔗 Smart Contract Architecture
Contract Structure
The Upfront payment system is built on two core smart contracts, designed to execute atomic NFT purchases with minimal overhead and no conditional ownership states.
The MersoUpfront contract acts as the central orchestrator for upfront payments.
Responsibilities:
Executes full payment transactions (100% of NFT price)
Coordinates payment settlement via the TokenPool
Transfers original NFTs directly to users
Enforces atomicity (payment and NFT transfer succeed or fail together)
This contract is deployed per game, allowing configuration of accepted tokens, collections, and pricing logic.
On the other hand, the MersoTokenPool contract is shared with the PNPL system and handles liquidity management for approved payment tokens across supported chains.
Responsibilities:
Manages pools of approved ERC-20 payment tokens
Routes payments from users to game companies
Ensures sufficient liquidity for supported assets
Unlike PNPL, the TokenPool is used only for immediate settlement, with no loan or repayment logic.
Summary
The Upfront architecture reuses the same API, dashboard, and TokenPool infrastructure as PNPL, while simplifying the on-chain logic to support atomic NFT purchases with immediate ownership.
This design minimizes integration complexity, reduces gas costs, and ensures a familiar marketplace experience for both players and game companies.
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