Your agent submits. Your rules decide.
Your agent submits invoices and transfer requests over REST or MCP. Two independent checks and the limits you set decide what is paid, and anything new waits for a person. The agent never holds payment authority.
Your agent
POST https://api.openmerchant.dev/v1/transfer_requests
Authorization: Bearer pr_sk_test_…
{
"idempotency_key": "inv-8812",
"invoice_number": "INV-8812",
"due_on": "2026-10-12",
"currency": "USD",
"total_minor_units": 740000,
"document_ids": ["pr_idoc_01KB2Q3R4S5T6V7W8X9Y0ZA1BC"]
}
A moment later
GET /v1/transfer_requests/pr_vinv_01KB2Q4F8G9H0J1K2M3N4P5Q6R
{
"id": "pr_vinv_01KB2Q4F8G9H0J1K2M3N4P5Q6R",
"kind": "invoice_payment",
"status": "awaiting_human",
"total_minor_units": 740000,
"currency": "USD",
"approval_id": "pr_aprv_01KB2Q5X7Y8Z9A0B1C2D3E4F5G"
}
What your agent can do, and what it never can.
Your agent can
- Submit an invoice, from facts or a PDF
- Choose a verified payout account
- Collect a new vendor’s payout details
- Follow each request to paid or returned
Your agent never can
- Approve a payment
- Pay a new vendor or new bank details
- Raise or remove your limits
- Cancel or retry a payment
Waits for you
- Every new vendor
- New or changed bank details
- Anything over your limits
- Anything a check flags
Connect in one line.
Point any MCP client at the server with your secret key, or call the same operations over REST.
Any MCP client
{
"mcpServers": {
"openmerchant": {
"url": "https://api.openmerchant.dev/mcp/v1",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer pr_sk_test_…" }
}
}
}
Questions developers ask.
Can my agent approve a payment?
No. The API and the MCP tools have no approve, pay, cancel, or retry operation. A signed-in person approves in the dashboard.
Do API invoices follow the same rules as email invoices?
Exactly the same: the two independent checks, your per-payment and daily limits, and the holds for new vendors and new or changed bank details.
How does my agent know what happened?
Read the transfer request. Its status moves from received, through the checks, to scheduled and paid, or to awaiting_human when it needs a person.
Which key does my agent use?
Your account’s secret key, issued per mode in the dashboard under Developers, where you can rotate it at any time. A test-mode key runs the whole flow without moving money.
Which payments are supported?
ACH to US bank accounts, in US dollars, from a Mercury account or a financial account provided through Stripe for eligible businesses. OpenMerchant is a technology company, not a bank.
Give your agent a way to pay vendors.
Create an account, take a key from Developers, and submit your first invoice.
Eligible businesses can use a financial account provided through Stripe to fund supported vendor payments. Availability and account approval are subject to program requirements. Review applicable terms, fees and disclosures before use.
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