# Grant Application - Zcash Privacy Payment Rail & NFC Programmable Cards **URL:** \ **Category:** Applications\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-privacy-payment-rail-nfc-programmable-cards/57930 "2026-09-30T13:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ONEONUORA](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/oneonuora/32/42064_2.png) [@ONEONUORA](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ONEONUORA)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-privacy-payment-rail-nfc-programmable-cards/57930/1 "2026-09-30T13:56:24Z")
We’re building ZecPOS Core — an open-source payment rail designed to make shielded ZEC practical for everyday commerce. The idea is simple: a customer should be able to pay a merchant with shielded ZEC, while the merchant gets a familiar checkout experience without sacrificing the privacy that makes Zcash unique. We’re working on: **Shielded ZEC payments** using the Orchard shielded pool **Merchant checkout** for real-world payments **Fast payment detection & confirmation** with diversified payment addresses **ZEC retention + optional fiat settlement** for merchants **Selective disclosure** using Zcash viewing keys when reporting is required **NFC/Tap-to-Pay infrastructure** for ZEC payments **Open-source, self-hostable infrastructure** that other wallets, merchants and payment providers can build on Blink will be the first production deployment, but the goal is bigger than Blink. We want to contribute a reusable payment layer to the Zcash ecosystem — infrastructure that makes it easier for developers and businesses to build real-world commerce around shielded ZEC. **Zcash gives us private money. We’re building the rails to spend it.** We’d love feedback from the Zcash community, especially developers and builders working around Orchard, wallets, payments, lightwalletd, selective disclosure and Zcash UX. What would you want to see in an open-source Zcash payment rail? [https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/456](https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/456) ---
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-privacy-payment-rail-nfc-programmable-cards/57930/2 "2026-09-30T14:44:38Z")
This project seems to have major overlap with the CipherPay project by @Kenbak , [https://www.cipherpay.app/en](https://www.cipherpay.app/en) . The differences seem in integration with Blink and potentially the NFC components? Is there something I’m missing that set this apart from this previously funded open source Point of Sales systems? Source code for CipherPay: [Atmosphere Labs · GitHub](https://github.com/atmospherelabs-dev) ---
**Author:** ![ONEONUORA](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/oneonuora/32/42064_2.png) [@ONEONUORA](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ONEONUORA)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 6:52am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-privacy-payment-rail-nfc-programmable-cards/57930/3 "2026-10-01T06:52:55Z")
Thanks for the question, @readymouse, and for pointing us to CipherPay, we have reviewed it. From what we understand, CipherPay is a web-checkout payment processor. ZecPOS Core targets a different layer: the settlement, custody and in-person payment stack beneath a checkout. Specifically: Fiat settlement with ZEC retention. Merchants choose what percentage stays as shielded ZEC and what settles to local fiat through aggregated treasury batches. This needs a signing service, KMS-backed key management and destination policies, which are separate from invoice detection. NFC tap-to-pay. NTAG 424 DNA SUN verification with counter-based replay protection, bringing contactless payments to shielded ZEC. Android POS with a self-custody upgrade path. ---
**Author:** ![ZCG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zcg/32/33712_2.png) [@ZCG](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ZCG)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-application-zcash-privacy-payment-rail-nfc-programmable-cards/57930/4 "2026-10-14T13:03:53Z")
Thank you for your proposal. After review by ZCG and a period for community input on the forum, the committee has decided not to fund this submission. We’re grateful for the effort you put into your application and hope you’ll remain an active part of the Zcash community. [Minutes](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-grants-meeting-minutes-10-12-2026/58182)