A Meshtastic Banking System for the Apocalypse

You hear a lot of talk in prepper communities about how commerce might work after the fall of society. That talk usually focuses on gold as currency and commodities that might be good for barter. But why should we limit ourselves? Just because we’ll be living in a toxic wasteland and hunted by mutants, that doesn’t mean we can’t be civilized. That’s why Roni Bandini developed this Meshtastic banking system.

Meshtbank is a payment node that works off-grid without internet or consistent power, so dwellers of a post-apocalyptic future can continue to conduct secure transactions.

After the apocalypse, traditional banking will definitely be out. Cryptocurrency won’t work either, as that requires internet for that fancy blockchain stuff that everyone used to be so chatty about. But Meshtbank could still work, as it acts as a central ledger for transactions that occur through digital terminals across a Meshtastic network.

This Meshtbank only requires a few components: a Seeed Studio XIAO nRF528040 with an SX1262 LoRa radio module, a DFRobot FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 development board, a DFRobot Fermion 2” LCD screen, and a small lithium battery. Though to keep using the Meshtbank, you will need a way to keep that battery charged. We suggest a solar panel or a Fallout-style nuclear reactor.

Unless Bandini knows something we don’t, it seems unlikely that a Meshtbank will be necessary. But if the worst does happen, this would make a lot more sense than relying on bottlecaps.