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Card lifecycle

Every card follows a controlled lifecycle:
  1. Created — card issued with a funded amount and spending limit
  2. Active — card is ready to use, authorization hold placed on payment method
  3. Used — merchant transaction recorded
  4. Closed — card deactivated, actual spend captured, unused funds released

Card types

Standard cards

Created via POST /v1/cards. Remain active until explicitly closed or auto-remediated after 6 days.

Guard cards

Created with guard: true. Auto-expire after 15 minutes. Limited to 5 per 10 minutes. Designed for spending guard workflows where agents need short-lived cards.

Approval-required cards

Created with require_approval: true or triggered by approval rules. Status starts as pending_approval. Card is not issued until approved via Telegram, Slack, or the approval page.

Billing model

AgentPay uses authorize-capture billing:
  • Creation: Authorization hold for amount + max_fee on your payment method
  • Close (used): Capture actual_spend + fee, release remainder
  • Close (unused): Cancel hold entirely, $0 charged
You never pay more than what your agent actually spends.

Tier limits

Statuses