Payments API

Move money globally with Chain's Payments API. Fund accounts from bank transfers, send payouts to recipients, and manage payees — all with automatic fiat-to-stablecoin conversion.

Create Funding Request

Create a funding request to move money from a linked bank account into your Chain wallet. Funds are automatically converted to USDC.

POST/v1/funding

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Description
`amount`required	`number`	Amount in source currency (must be positive).
`currency`required	`string`	Source currency code: "USD", "GBP", or "EUR".
`bank_account_id`required	`string`	Linked bank account ID.
`wallet_id`	`string`	Destination wallet ID. Uses primary wallet if omitted.
`memo`	`string`	Optional memo for the transaction (max 500 characters).

Scope required

This endpoint requires the funding:write scope and a verified business.

Example request

curl -X POST https://api.chain.com/v1/funding \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 10000,
    "currency": "USD",
    "bank_account_id": "ba_abc123",
    "wallet_id": "wal_xyz789",
    "memo": "Monthly treasury funding"
  }'

Response

{
  "id": "fund_123abc",
  "status": "processing",
  "amount": 10000,
  "currency": "USD",
  "estimated_usdc": 9985.50,
  "exchange_rate": 0.99855,
  "spread_bps": 15,
  "bank_account_id": "ba_abc123",
  "wallet_id": "wal_xyz789",
  "initiated_at": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

List Funding Transactions

Retrieve a list of all funding transactions for your business.

GET/v1/funding

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	`number`	Results per page (default 20, max 100).
`starting_after`	`string`	Cursor for pagination — funding ID to start after.
`status`	`string`	Filter by status.

Create Payout

Send funds from your wallet to a registered payee. Supports both fiat payouts (USDC is automatically converted to the recipient's local currency) and direct USDC payouts.

POST/v1/payouts

Parameter	Type	Description
`amount`required	`number`	Amount to send (must be positive).
`currency`required	`string`	Currency code: "USD", "GBP", "EUR", or "USDC".
`payee_id`required	`string`	Registered payee ID.
`payout_type`required	`string`	"fiat" for bank payouts or "usdc" for on-chain transfers.
`wallet_id`	`string`	Source wallet ID. Uses primary wallet if omitted.
`reference`	`string`	Payment reference (max 500 characters).

Example request

curl -X POST https://api.chain.com/v1/payouts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 5000,
    "currency": "USD",
    "payee_id": "payee_abc",
    "payout_type": "fiat",
    "wallet_id": "wal_xyz789",
    "reference": "Invoice #1234"
  }'

Fiat payout response

{
  "id": "po_456def",
  "payout_type": "fiat",
  "status": "processing",
  "amount": 5000,
  "currency": "USD",
  "usdc_amount": 5012.30,
  "payee_id": "payee_abc",
  "deposit_address": "0x...",
  "instructions": "Funds will be delivered within 1-2 business days.",
  "created_at": "2026-01-15T11:00:00Z"
}

USDC payout response

{
  "id": "po_789ghi",
  "payout_type": "usdc",
  "status": "processing",
  "amount": 2500,
  "currency": "USDC",
  "usdc_amount": 2500,
  "payee_id": "payee_xyz",
  "on_chain_tx_hash": "0xabc...",
  "created_at": "2026-01-15T11:30:00Z"
}

List Payouts

Retrieve a list of all payout transactions for your business.

GET/v1/payouts

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	`number`	Results per page (default 20, max 100).
`starting_after`	`string`	Cursor for pagination.
`status`	`string`	Filter by status.

Register Payee

Register recipients before sending payouts. Payees undergo risk screening and can receive funds via bank transfer or USDC wallet address.

POST/v1/payees

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`required	`string`	Payee display name (max 200 characters).
`type`required	`string`	"individual" or "business".
`country`required	`string`	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (e.g. "US", "GB").
`preferred_currency`	`string`	Preferred payout currency: "USD", "GBP", or "EUR".
`bank_details`	`object`	Bank account information for fiat payouts.
`bank_details.account_holder_name`	`string`	Name on the bank account.
`bank_details.account_number`	`string`	Bank account number.
`bank_details.iban`	`string`	IBAN for European accounts.
`bank_details.sort_code`	`string`	Sort code (UK accounts).
`bank_details.routing_number`	`string`	Routing number (US accounts).
`bank_details.swift_code`	`string`	SWIFT/BIC for international transfers.
`wallet_address`	`string`	Crypto wallet address for USDC payouts.
`wallet_blockchain`	`string`	Blockchain network (default: "ethereum").

Example response

{
  "id": "payee_abc123",
  "name": "Acme Corp",
  "type": "business",
  "country": "US",
  "preferred_currency": "USD",
  "has_bank_details": true,
  "has_wallet_address": false,
  "status": "active",
  "created_at": "2026-01-15T10:00:00Z"
}

List Payees

Retrieve all registered payees for your business.

GET/v1/payees

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	`number`	Results per page (default 20, max 100).
`starting_after`	`string`	Cursor for pagination.
`status`	`string`	Filter by status.

Bank Accounts

Link bank accounts via Plaid for secure funding. Create a link token to initiate the Plaid flow, or list your already linked accounts.

POST/v1/bank-accounts

Creates a Plaid link token to begin the bank account linking flow. No request body required.

Response

{
  "link_token": "link-sandbox-abc123...",
  "expiration": "2026-01-15T14:30:00Z"
}

GET/v1/bank-accounts

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	`number`	Results per page (default 20, max 100).
`starting_after`	`string`	Cursor for pagination.

Payment Statuses

Status lifecycle

All payments progress through a lifecycle. Use webhooks to get real-time status updates.

Status	Description
`pending`	Payment created, awaiting processing.
`processing`	Payment is being processed by the banking network.
`completed`	Funds have been delivered successfully.
`failed`	Payment failed — check the error field for details.
`cancelled`	Payment was cancelled before completion.