Use CasesPremium Content

Premium Content Access

Gate premium content behind micro-payments without subscription fatigue. Let users pay only for what they consume.

Overview

Traditional content monetization has problems:

  • Subscription fatigue: Users don’t want another monthly fee
  • All-or-nothing: No way to access single articles/videos
  • High friction: Credit card forms, account creation

T402 solves this with pay-per-access:

  • One-click payments: Pay with a connected wallet
  • No accounts needed: Wallet is the identity
  • Flexible pricing: Charge per article, per minute, per page

Use Cases

Articles & Blog Posts

app.use(paymentMiddleware({
  'GET /article/:id': {
    price: '$0.10',
    network: 'eip155:8453',
    payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS,
    description: 'Premium article access'
  }
}))

Video Content

// Price per minute of video
'GET /video/:id': {
  price: (req) => {
    const video = getVideoMetadata(req.params.id)
    const pricePerMinute = 0.01
    return `$${video.duration * pricePerMinute}`
  },
  network: 'eip155:8453',
  payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS
}

E-books & Documents

// Price per page or chapter
'GET /book/:id/chapter/:chapter': {
  price: '$0.25',
  network: 'eip155:8453',
  payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS,
  description: 'Book chapter access'
}

Implementation Example

React Frontend with Paywall

import { usePayment } from '@t402/react'
 
function PremiumArticle({ articleId }) {
  const { pay, isPaying, hasPaid } = usePayment()
  const [content, setContent] = useState(null)
 
  const accessArticle = async () => {
    const response = await pay(`/api/article/${articleId}`)
    if (response.ok) {
      const data = await response.json()
      setContent(data.content)
    }
  }
 
  if (hasPaid && content) {
    return <article>{content}</article>
  }
 
  return (
    <div className="paywall">
      <h2>Premium Article</h2>
      <p>This article requires a one-time payment of $0.10</p>
      <button onClick={accessArticle} disabled={isPaying}>
        {isPaying ? 'Processing...' : 'Pay $0.10 to Read'}
      </button>
    </div>
  )
}

Server-Side Access Control

import express from 'express'
import { paymentMiddleware, verifyPayment } from '@t402/express'
 
const app = express()
 
// Protect premium routes
app.use('/premium/*', paymentMiddleware({
  'GET /premium/article/:id': {
    price: '$0.10',
    network: 'eip155:8453',
    payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS
  }
}))
 
// Free preview
app.get('/article/:id/preview', (req, res) => {
  const article = getArticle(req.params.id)
  res.json({
    title: article.title,
    excerpt: article.content.substring(0, 200),
    price: '$0.10',
    requiresPayment: true
  })
})
 
// Full content (protected)
app.get('/premium/article/:id', (req, res) => {
  const article = getArticle(req.params.id)
  res.json({
    title: article.title,
    content: article.content,
    author: article.author
  })
})

Pricing Strategies

Per-Item Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing:

Content TypeSuggested Price
Short article$0.05 - $0.10
Long article$0.10 - $0.25
Video (per min)$0.01 - $0.05
E-book chapter$0.25 - $0.50
Full e-book$5.00 - $15.00

Bundle Pricing

Offer discounts for multiple items:

'GET /bundle/weekly': {
  price: '$1.00', // 10 articles for price of 5
  network: 'eip155:8453',
  payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS,
  description: 'Weekly content bundle (10 articles)'
}

Time-Based Access

Grant temporary access:

'GET /access/daily': {
  price: '$0.50',
  network: 'eip155:8453',
  payTo: process.env.WALLET_ADDRESS,
  description: '24-hour unlimited access',
  // Store access grant with expiry
  onPayment: (event) => {
    grantAccess(event.payer, '24h')
  }
}

User Experience Tips

Show Value First: Always show a preview or excerpt before asking for payment.

  1. Clear pricing: Display price prominently before the paywall
  2. Preview content: Show enough to demonstrate value
  3. One-click purchase: Minimize friction with connected wallets
  4. Receipt/proof: Provide transaction confirmation

Multi-Chain Support

Accept payments on user’s preferred network:

'GET /article/:id': {
  price: '$0.10',
  networks: ['eip155:8453', 'ton:-239', 'tron:728126428'],
  payTo: {
    'eip155:8453': '0x...',    // Base
    'ton:-239': 'UQ...',        // TON
    'tron:728126428': 'T...'    // TRON
  }
}

Next Steps

API MonetizationMicro-Payments