Glossary
Account servicing entity (ASE)
An entity that provides and maintains a payment account for a payer and/or payee. An ASE is a regulated entity within the country or countries it operates. Examples include digital wallets, banks, and mobile money providers. Non-regulated entities should not use Rafiki in production environments due to the potential legal and compliance risks involved.
Auth service
A reference implementation of an Open Payments authorization server in Rafiki. The auth service manages grant authorization and authentication, allowing clients (e.g., third-party applications) to create payments and quotes. It issues access tokens and validates client access rights through communication with the resource server.
Authorization server
A server that grants delegated authorization and privileges, via GNAP, to a particular instance of client software in the form of access tokens, allowing the client to call the Open Payments APIs.
We’ve provided an opinionated version of a GNAP authorization server via the auth service, meaning that we’ve made certain decisions regarding the implementation and configuration of the server that may limit customization but ensure consistency and adherence to preferred practices.
Backend service
The core service in Rafiki responsible for managing business logic and external communication. The backend service exposes Open Payments API endpoints for account management, operates an Interledger connector for STREAM packet exchange, and provides a GraphQL Backend Admin API for managing accounts and settings.
Client
An application or service, such as a mobile or web app, that interacts with the authorization server to obtain grants and tokens. A client uses these tokens to access resources on a resource server to perform actions, such as retriving transaction history and setting up payments, on behalf of a user or system.
Frontend service
An optional internal interface in Rafiki, known as the Rafiki Admin, used to manage your Rafiki instance. The frontend service communicates with the Backend Admin API through a Remix web app, facilitating administrative tasks within the Rafiki environment.
Grant Negotiation and Authorization Protocol (GNAP)
The Grant Negotiation Authorization Protocol (GNAP) defines a mechanism for delegating authorization to a piece of software (client), and conveying the results and artifacts of that delegation to the software. This delegation can include access to a set of APIs as well as subject information passed directly to the software. For more information, refer to the specification.
Grant
A delegation of authorization from a resource owner to a client instance, allowing it to access protected resources or perform actions on the owner’s behalf. In Rafiki, this process is managed by the authorization server, which issues grants as access tokens. These grants permit third-party clients to interact with Open Payments APIs, such as creating payments or retrieving account information, based on the permissions granted by the resource owner.
Identity provider (IdP)
A system or service that stores and manages user identity information, authentication, and consent for Rafiki. Integration with an IdP is essential due to Rafiki’s use of the Open Payments standard. The IdP authenticates client requests, manages user interactions to gather consent, and facilitates the authorization process by presenting consent screens and redirecting users based on their decisions.
Incoming payment
An incoming payment resource is an object created by the recipient’s ASE, on their resource server, that represents a payment being received by an entity. This resource contains information about the incoming payment, such as the amount, currency, receiver’s wallet address, and payment status. It is used to track and manage payments that are expected to or have been received.
Interledger
An open protocol stack designed to facilitate the transfer of value across different currencies, platforms, and payment networks. Rafiki is a reference implementation of the Interledger stack, allowing you to quickly enable Interledger functionality on your users’ accounts, allowing you to join the Interledger network and enable Interledger functionality on your users’ accounts. For more information, refer to the Interledger specification.
ILP packet
A packet is a unit of data that carries payment information through the network. A single payment is broken into smaller packets of value which are then routed across the Interledger network.
Open Payments
An API standard and a set of APIs that allows third-party clients to securely retrieve account information and initiate payments from your customers’ accounts with their consent. By adhering to this standard, Rafiki enables integration with external applications and supports the secure and uniform management of payments, quotes, and account data through the Open Payments APIs. For more information, visit the Open Payments documentation.
Outgoing payment
An outgoing payment resource is an object created by the sender’s ASE, on their resource server, that represents a payment being sent by an entity. This resource contains information about the outgoing payment, such as the amount, currency, receiver’s wallet address, and payment status. Outgoing payment resources require explicit consent from the sender before the resource can be created.
Payment pointer
A type of wallet address for an account within the Interledger network. They’re similar to email addresses in that they’re used to determine which account to send a payment from and which account to deliver the payment to. Every payment pointer serves as a Simple Payment Setup Protocol (SPSP) endpoint and must resolve to an HTTPS URL.
Peer
A peer is a counterparty that a party transacts with in the Interledger Protocol. Peering relationships are established to exchange information and route payments efficiently across the network.
Protected resource
An Open Payments API that can be accessed by a client if and only if a valid and sufficient access token is provided.
Quote
A quote resource is an object created by the sender’s ASE, on their resource server, after the incoming payment resource is created by the recipient’s ASE. A quote resource represents a potential payment being received by an entity and contains information about the potential payment, but is mainly used to indicate the total cost, including any applicable fees, to make the payment. The quote resource also serves as a commitment from the sender’s ASE to deliver a particular amount to the receiver’s ASE and it only valid for a limited time.
Rafiki
Rafiki is open-source software that allows Account Servicing Entities (ASEs) to enable Interledger functionality on its users’ accounts. It serves as a packaged solution for facilitating payments over the Interledger network.
Resource server
A resource server is responsible for hosting and managing access to protected resources related to payments. It enforces access controls based on tokens provided by the authorization server, ensuring that only authorized clients can interact with payment-related resources like incoming payments, quotes, and outgoing payments through the Open Payments APIs.
Simple Payment Setup Protocol (SPSP)
The Simple Payments Setup Protocol is a basic protocol for exchanging payment information between payee and payer to facilitate payment over Interledger. For more details, refer to the SPSP specification.
Streaming Transport for the Real-Time Exchange of Assets and Messages (STREAM)
STREAM is a multiplexed Interledger Transport Protocol that provides for sending multiple “streams” of money and data between two parties using ILP. For more details, refer to the STREAM specification.
TigerBeetle
A distributed financial accounting database designed for mission-critical safety and performance. For more information, visit the official website.
Wallet address
A secure, unique URL that identifies an Open Payments-enabled account. It acts as an entry point to the Open Payments APIs, facilitating interactions like sending and receiving payments. Similar to how an email address serves as a public identifier for an email account, a wallet address is publicly shareable and used to interact with the underlying payment account without compromising its security. Wallet address URLs are treated as case-insensitive, meaning that both lowercase and uppercase variations of the same address will be recognized as identical.
Web Monetization
A browser API that allows websites to stream payments directly from visitors to site owners as they interact with the content. Rafiki supports Web Monetization payment flows natively, enabling seamless integration for websites looking to implement this feature and monetize their content via the Interledger network. For more details, visit the Web Monetization website.