A Decentralized Blockchain Framework for Secure, Transparent and Privacy-Preserving Toll Payment Systems

Abstract

Conventional FASTag and similar tolling networks rely on centralized clearinghouses that invite insider fraud, introduce single points of failure, and expose motorists’ movement data. This paper presents a fully decentralized architecture that migrates the entire transaction path-RFID tag detection, tariff computation, signature-verified debit, and final settlement-onto Ethereum via the ERC-4337 account-abstraction standard. Per-vehicle smart-contract wallets are deterministically generated from each vehicle identifier and execute an atomic UserOperation, producing an immutable audit trail while eliminating custodial databases. Anonymous authentication is achieved through a Groth16 zero-knowledge circuit derived from Anon-Aadhaar, which discloses only a one-time nullifier, thereby preventing replay attacks and preserving user privacy. A protocol-compliant Paymaster contract sponsors gas, enabling “tap-and-go” usability without requiring drivers to hold cryptocurrency. Existing UHF RFID hardware and EPC Gen-2 slotted-ALOHA anti-collision logic is preserved; scan events are simply notarized on-chain, rendering tampering computationally infeasible. By fusing account abstraction, zk-SNARK-based anonymous verification, and gas-sponsored execution, the proposed framework delivers a tamper-proof, privacy-preserving, and outage-resilient tolling solutionmodernizing infrastructure without imposing additional financial or technical burdens on motorists or operators.