Proposal: HTML5 web-payment API #5197

Hi,

currently online payment is quite inconveniently. Usually you have to copy a Bitcoin-address or use some service-specific browser plug-in.

I suggest to extend the RPC-interface with a web-payment API:

1. A HTML5/Javascript-based website just uses Javascript in the browser to send a transaction-request to Bitcoin-Core-QT via loopback device.
2. Bitcoin-Core-QT pops into foreground, shows the transaction details and asks the user for permission and wallet password.
3. User accepts transaction/enters wallet password
4. Bitcoin-Core-QT sends transaction and goes into background.

That way any website could just use Javascript to check if Bitcoin-Core-QT-RPC is available and create a transaction request. If Bitcoin-Core-QT-RPC is not available, the website can show the necessary transaction details to the user for manual processing.

Any other application or program can use the web-payment-API for In-App-payment, too.

ToDo:

1. Define 127.0.0.1:8332 and [::1]:8332 as web-payment API-socket
2. Define web-payment RPC-requests which work without RPC-login
3. Programming

What you're asking for has been implemented already:

• Bitcoin URLs (BIP0021)
• The payment protocol: BIP0070, BIP0071, and BIP0072.

With the advantage that it works cross-platfom, cross-wallet, and doesn't rely on cross-origin requests to localhost.

Agreed @christophebiocca . This is basically a reinvention of bitcoin URIs/the payment protocol with a different technical realization.

Though maybe ideas such as payment-protocol-over-websockets would be useful in some circumstances, I don't know.

But as most people use different wallets than bitcoin-qt by now, this is not the right place for a blue-skies proposal like this. I'd suggest the bitcoin-development mailing list for discussion, more wallet authors are there.