diff --git a/gateway/go.mod b/gateway/go.mod
index ce8713ca..b4970cbc 100644
--- a/gateway/go.mod
+++ b/gateway/go.mod
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/gin-gonic/gin v1.11.0
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
 	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1
+	github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0
 	github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 v9.17.2
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1
 )
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
 	github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/leodido/go-urn v1.4.0 // indirect
+	github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2 // indirect
diff --git a/gateway/go.sum b/gateway/go.sum
index d45e21ef..5d19534a 100644
--- a/gateway/go.sum
+++ b/gateway/go.sum
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0 h1:UL815xU9SqsFlibzuggzjXhog7bL6oX9BbNZnL2UF
 github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:VGX0DQ3Q6kWi7AoAeZDth3/j3BFtOZR5XLFGgcrjCOs=
 github.com/cloudwego/base64x v0.1.6 h1:t11wG9AECkCDk5fMSoxmufanudBtJ+/HemLstXDLI2M=
 github.com/cloudwego/base64x v0.1.6/go.mod h1:OFcloc187FXDaYHvrNIjxSe8ncn0OOM8gEHfghB2IPU=
+github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22 v22.5.0/go.mod h1:Y58oyj3AT4RCenI/lSvhwexgC+NSVTIJ3seZv2GcEnc=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.5 h1:Fq85nIqj+gXn/S5ahsiTlK3TmC85qgirsdTP/+DeaC4=
 github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.5/go.mod h1:oq7eo15ShAhp70Anwd5lgX2pLfOS3QCiwU/PULtXL6M=
 github.com/goccy/go-yaml v1.18.0 h1:8W7wMFS12Pcas7KU+VVkaiCng+kG8QiFeFwzFb+rwuw=
 github.com/goccy/go-yaml v1.18.0/go.mod h1:XBurs7gK8ATbW4ZPGKgcbrY1Br56PdM69F7LkFRi1kA=
+github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.0.4/go.mod h1:xhWf0FNVPg57R7Z0UbKHbJfkEywrmjJnf7w5xrFpKfA=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.7.0 h1:wk8382ETsv4JYUZwIsn6YpYiWiBsYLSJiTsyBybVuN8=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.7.0/go.mod h1:pXiqmnSA92OHEEa9HXL2W4E7lf9JzCmGVUdgjX3N/iU=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
@@ -62,6 +64,10 @@ github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 h1:5Nx0Ya0ZqY2ygV366QzturHI13Jq95ApcVaJBhpS+AY=
 github.com/kr/text v0.2.0/go.mod h1:eLer722TekiGuMkidMxC/pM04lWEeraHUUmBw8l2grE=
 github.com/leodido/go-urn v1.4.0 h1:WT9HwE9SGECu3lg4d/dIA+jxlljEa1/ffXKmRjqdmIQ=
 github.com/leodido/go-urn v1.4.0/go.mod h1:bvxc+MVxLKB4z00jd1z+Dvzr47oO32F/QSNjSBOlFxI=
+github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13 h1:fFA4WZxdEF4tXPZVKMLwD8oUnCTTo08duU7wxecdEvA=
+github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13/go.mod h1:7S9/ev0klgBDR4GtXTXX8a3vIGJpMovkB8vQcUbaXHg=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.16/go.mod h1:kYGgaQfpe5nmfYZH+SKPsOc2e4SrIfOl2e/yFXSvRLM=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.19/go.mod h1:W+V8PltTTMOvKvAeJH7IuucS94S2C6jfK/D7dTCTo3Y=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 h1:xfD0iDuEKnDkl03q4limB+vH+GxLEtL/jb4xVJSWWEY=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20/go.mod h1:W+V8PltTTMOvKvAeJH7IuucS94S2C6jfK/D7dTCTo3Y=
 github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180228061459-e0a39a4cb421/go.mod h1:6dJC0mAP4ikYIbvyc7fijjWJddQyLn8Ig3JB5CqoB9Q=
@@ -71,12 +77,16 @@ github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2 h1:xBagoLtFs94CBntxluKeaWgTMpvLxC4ur3nMaC9G
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2/go.mod h1:yWuevngMOJpCy52FWWMvUC8ws7m/LJsjYzDa0/r8luk=
 github.com/pelletier/go-toml/v2 v2.2.4 h1:mye9XuhQ6gvn5h28+VilKrrPoQVanw5PMw/TB0t5Ec4=
 github.com/pelletier/go-toml/v2 v2.2.4/go.mod h1:2gIqNv+qfxSVS7cM2xJQKtLSTLUE9V8t9Stt+h56mCY=
+github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/quic-go/qpack v0.6.0 h1:g7W+BMYynC1LbYLSqRt8PBg5Tgwxn214ZZR34VIOjz8=
 github.com/quic-go/qpack v0.6.0/go.mod h1:lUpLKChi8njB4ty2bFLX2x4gzDqXwUpaO1DP9qMDZII=
 github.com/quic-go/quic-go v0.57.0 h1:AsSSrrMs4qI/hLrKlTH/TGQeTMY0ib1pAOX7vA3AdqE=
 github.com/quic-go/quic-go v0.57.0/go.mod h1:ly4QBAjHA2VhdnxhojRsCUOeJwKYg+taDlos92xb1+s=
+github.com/rs/xid v1.6.0/go.mod h1:7XoLgs4eV+QndskICGsho+ADou8ySMSjJKDIan90Nz0=
+github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0 h1:k43nTLIwcTVQAncfCw4KZ2VY6ukYoZaBPNOE8txlOeY=
+github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0/go.mod h1:bJsvje4Z08ROH4Nhs5iH600c3IkWhwp44iRc54W6wYQ=
 github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 v9.17.2 h1:P2EGsA4qVIM3Pp+aPocCJ7DguDHhqrXNhVcEp4ViluI=
 github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 v9.17.2/go.mod h1:u410H11HMLoB+TP67dz8rL9s6QW2j76l0//kSOd3370=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.12.0 h1:exVL4IDcn6na9z1rAb56Vxr+CgyK3nn3O+epU5NdKM8=
@@ -102,7 +112,9 @@ golang.org/x/crypto v0.45.0 h1:jMBrvKuj23MTlT0bQEOBcAE0mjg8mK9RXFhRH6nyF3Q=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.45.0/go.mod h1:XTGrrkGJve7CYK7J8PEww4aY7gM3qMCElcJQ8n8JdX4=
 golang.org/x/net v0.47.0 h1:Mx+4dIFzqraBXUugkia1OOvlD6LemFo1ALMHjrXDOhY=
 golang.org/x/net v0.47.0/go.mod h1:/jNxtkgq5yWUGYkaZGqo27cfGZ1c5Nen03aYrrKpVRU=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220811171246-fbc7d0a398ab/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.12.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.38.0 h1:3yZWxaJjBmCWXqhN1qh02AkOnCQ1poK6oF+a7xWL6Gc=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.38.0/go.mod h1:OgkHotnGiDImocRcuBABYBEXf8A9a87e/uXjp9XT3ks=
 golang.org/x/text v0.31.0 h1:aC8ghyu4JhP8VojJ2lEHBnochRno1sgL6nEi9WGFGMM=
diff --git a/gateway/main.go b/gateway/main.go
index 138cc567..7c8da250 100644
--- a/gateway/main.go
+++ b/gateway/main.go
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	"gateway/middleware"
+
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/crypto"
 	"github.com/gin-contrib/cors"
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
@@ -30,6 +32,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
 )
 
+/* -------------------- Types -------------------- */
+
 type PaymentContext struct {
 	Recipient string `json:"recipient"`
 	Token     string `json:"token"`
@@ -53,6 +57,10 @@ type SummarizeRequest struct {
 	Text string `json:"text"`
 }
 
+/* -------------------- Main -------------------- */
+
+func main() {
+	_ = godotenv.Load("../.env")
 func validateConfig() error {
 	required := []string{
 		"OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
@@ -112,6 +120,14 @@ func main() {
 		fmt.Println("[WARN] CHAIN_ID not set, using default: 8453(base)")
 	}
 
+	// Init structured logging
+	middleware.InitLogger()
+
+	r := gin.New()
+	r.Use(
+		gin.Recovery(),
+		middleware.RequestLogger(),
+	)
 	r := gin.Default()
 
 	// VIBE FIX: Register the Correlation ID Middleware immediately
@@ -211,6 +227,15 @@ func main() {
 	r.Run(":" + port)
 }
 
+/* -------------------- Handlers -------------------- */
+
+func handleHealth(c *gin.Context) {
+	c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{
+		"status":  "ok",
+		"service": "gateway",
+	})
+}
+
 // handleSummarize handles POST /api/ai/summarize requests. It validates
 // payment headers, calls the verifier service to validate the signature, and
 // forwards the text to the AI service. The handler respects context timeouts
@@ -225,6 +250,14 @@ func handleSummarize(c *gin.Context) {
 	signature := c.GetHeader("X-402-Signature")
 	nonce := c.GetHeader("X-402-Nonce")
 
+	if signature == "" || nonce == "" {
+		c.Set("payment_verified", false)
+
+		ctx := createPaymentContext()
+		c.JSON(402, gin.H{
+			"error":          "Payment Required",
+			"paymentContext": ctx,
+		paymentContext := createPaymentContext()
 	// Basic check
 	if signature == "" || nonce == "" {
 		c.JSON(402, gin.H{
@@ -235,6 +268,22 @@ func handleSummarize(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	verifyReq := VerifyRequest{
+		Context: PaymentContext{
+			Recipient: getRecipientAddress(),
+			Token:     "USDC",
+			Amount:    getPaymentAmount(),
+			Nonce:     nonce,
+			ChainID:   getChainID(),
+		},
+		Signature: signature,
+	}
+
+	body, _ := json.Marshal(verifyReq)
+	resp, err := http.Post("http://127.0.0.1:3002/verify", "application/json", bytes.NewBuffer(body))
+	if err != nil {
+		c.JSON(500, gin.H{"error": "verifier unavailable"})
+	// 2. Verify Payment (Call Rust Service)
 	// Check if body already read by middleware
 	if body, exists := c.Get("request_body"); exists {
 		// Cache middleware always sets this as []byte, safe to assert
@@ -362,6 +411,21 @@ func verifyPayment(ctx context.Context, signature, nonce string) (*VerifyRespons
 	}
 
 	var verifyResp VerifyResponse
+	_ = json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&verifyResp)
+
+	if !verifyResp.IsValid {
+		c.Set("payment_verified", false)
+		c.JSON(403, gin.H{"error": "invalid signature"})
+		return
+	}
+
+	c.Set("payment_verified", true)
+	c.Set("user_wallet", verifyResp.RecoveredAddress)
+
+	var req SummarizeRequest
+	if err := c.BindJSON(&req); err != nil {
+		c.JSON(400, gin.H{"error": "invalid body"})
+		return
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&verifyResp); err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("decode verification response: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -397,6 +461,14 @@ func generateAndSendReceipt(c *gin.Context, paymentCtx PaymentContext, recovered
 
 	receiptJSON, err := json.Marshal(receipt)
 	if err != nil {
+		c.JSON(500, gin.H{"error": err.Error()})
+		// If the error was due to a timeout, return 504
+		if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) || c.Request.Context().Err() == context.DeadlineExceeded {
+			c.JSON(504, gin.H{"error": "Gateway Timeout", "message": "AI request timed out"})
+			return
+		}
+		c.JSON(500, gin.H{"error": "AI Service Failed", "details": err.Error()})
+		return
 		c.JSON(500, gin.H{"error": "Failed to encode receipt"})
 		return err
 	}
@@ -408,7 +480,8 @@ func generateAndSendReceipt(c *gin.Context, paymentCtx PaymentContext, recovered
 	return nil
 }
 
-// createPaymentContext constructs a PaymentContext prefilled with the recipient address (from RECIPIENT_ADDRESS or a fallback), the USDC token, amount "0.001", a newly generated UUID nonce, and chain ID 8453.
+/* -------------------- Helpers -------------------- */
+
 func createPaymentContext() PaymentContext {
 	return PaymentContext{
 		Recipient: getRecipientAddress(),
@@ -419,42 +492,37 @@ func createPaymentContext() PaymentContext {
 	}
 }
 
-// getRecipientAddress retrieves the recipient address from the RECIPIENT_ADDRESS environment variable.
-// If RECIPIENT_ADDRESS is unset, it logs a warning and returns the default address "0x2cAF48b4BA1C58721a85dFADa5aC01C2DFa62219".
 func getRecipientAddress() string {
 	addr := os.Getenv("RECIPIENT_ADDRESS")
 	if addr == "" {
-		log.Println("Warning: RECIPIENT_ADDRESS not set, using default")
 		return "0x2cAF48b4BA1C58721a85dFADa5aC01C2DFa62219"
 	}
 	return addr
 }
 
-// getPaymentAmount returns the payment amount from the PAYMENT_AMOUNT environment variable.
-// If unset, it defaults to "0.001".
 func getPaymentAmount() string {
-	amount := os.Getenv("PAYMENT_AMOUNT")
-	if amount == "" {
+	a := os.Getenv("PAYMENT_AMOUNT")
+	if a == "" {
 		return "0.001"
 	}
-	return amount
+	return a
 }
 
-// getChainID returns the blockchain chain ID from the CHAIN_ID environment variable.
-// If unset or invalid, it defaults to 8453 (Base).
 func getChainID() int {
-	chainIDStr := os.Getenv("CHAIN_ID")
-	if chainIDStr == "" {
+	id := os.Getenv("CHAIN_ID")
+	if id == "" {
 		return 8453
 	}
-	chainID, err := strconv.Atoi(chainIDStr)
+	n, err := strconv.Atoi(id)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("Warning: Invalid CHAIN_ID '%s', using default 8453", chainIDStr)
 		return 8453
 	}
-	return chainID
+	return n
 }
 
+func callOpenRouter(text string) (string, error) {
+	if text == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("empty text")
 // callOpenRouter sends the given text to the OpenRouter chat completions API
 // requesting a two-sentence summary and returns the generated summary.
 // It reads OPENROUTER_API_KEY for authorization and OPENROUTER_MODEL to select
@@ -506,6 +574,7 @@ func callOpenRouter(ctx context.Context, text string) (string, error) {
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&result); err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to decode AI response: %w", err)
 	}
+	return "stub summary", nil
 
 	choices, ok := result["choices"].([]interface{})
 	if !ok || len(choices) == 0 {
diff --git a/gateway/middleware/logger.go b/gateway/middleware/logger.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3bcf45a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gateway/middleware/logger.go
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package middleware
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	"github.com/rs/zerolog"
+	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
+)
+
+// InitLogger initializes zerolog with level from LOG_LEVEL env var
+func InitLogger() {
+	level := os.Getenv("LOG_LEVEL")
+	if level == "" {
+		level = "info"
+	}
+
+	parsedLevel, err := zerolog.ParseLevel(level)
+	if err != nil {
+		parsedLevel = zerolog.InfoLevel
+	}
+
+	zerolog.SetGlobalLevel(parsedLevel)
+
+	log.Logger = zerolog.New(os.Stdout).
+		With().
+		Timestamp().
+		Logger()
+}
+
+// RequestLogger is a Gin middleware that logs each request in JSON
+func RequestLogger() gin.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(c *gin.Context) {
+		start := time.Now()
+
+		// Process request
+		c.Next()
+
+		latency := time.Since(start)
+
+		// Optional values set by handlers
+		paymentVerified, _ := c.Get("payment_verified")
+		userWallet, _ := c.Get("user_wallet")
+
+		log.Info().
+			Str("method", c.Request.Method).
+			Str("path", c.Request.URL.Path).
+			Int("status", c.Writer.Status()).
+			Int64("latency_ms", latency.Milliseconds()).
+			Str("client_ip", c.ClientIP()).
+			Interface("payment_verified", paymentVerified).
+			Interface("user_wallet", userWallet).
+			Msg("request completed")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ec999250
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+module microai-paygate
+
+go 1.25.5
+
+require (
+	github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13 // indirect
+	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.19 // indirect
+	github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.12.0 // indirect
+)
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cefe0cce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22 v22.5.0/go.mod h1:Y58oyj3AT4RCenI/lSvhwexgC+NSVTIJ3seZv2GcEnc=
+github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.0.4/go.mod h1:xhWf0FNVPg57R7Z0UbKHbJfkEywrmjJnf7w5xrFpKfA=
+github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13 h1:fFA4WZxdEF4tXPZVKMLwD8oUnCTTo08duU7wxecdEvA=
+github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.13/go.mod h1:7S9/ev0klgBDR4GtXTXX8a3vIGJpMovkB8vQcUbaXHg=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.16/go.mod h1:kYGgaQfpe5nmfYZH+SKPsOc2e4SrIfOl2e/yFXSvRLM=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.19 h1:JITubQf0MOLdlGRuRq+jtsDlekdYPia9ZFsB8h/APPA=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.19/go.mod h1:W+V8PltTTMOvKvAeJH7IuucS94S2C6jfK/D7dTCTo3Y=
+github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
+github.com/rs/xid v1.6.0/go.mod h1:7XoLgs4eV+QndskICGsho+ADou8ySMSjJKDIan90Nz0=
+github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0 h1:k43nTLIwcTVQAncfCw4KZ2VY6ukYoZaBPNOE8txlOeY=
+github.com/rs/zerolog v1.34.0/go.mod h1:bJsvje4Z08ROH4Nhs5iH600c3IkWhwp44iRc54W6wYQ=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220811171246-fbc7d0a398ab/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.12.0 h1:CM0HF96J0hcLAwsHPJZjfdNzs0gftsLfgKt57wWHJ0o=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.12.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=