x402 Settlement Schemes on Arc
Payments Protocol Notes / 0.001300 USDCreceipt evidence
0x055b3c77...cc8ba4
creator amount0.001300USDC
accrued -> claimable on-chain
Payments Protocol Notes
This receipt binds a source payment to the answer that used it; FeeRouter-routed receipts accrue into creator-claimable balances. The previous hash links it into the append-only attribution ledger.
payment statusaccrued -> claimable on-chain
settlement modeforum-routed
amount0.001300 USDC
receipt hash0x055b3c7714afb3c864d99298a0b22da2c0dc193e09d5e28f751a4f644fcc8ba4
previous hash0xd8f9bb7fb019d5a59c28f85318165e130d9751b57f1a838f337c9e6666d32675
query id0x614b5aeedf5d4f07
source idx402-settlement-schemes
creator wallet0x7777...7777
created at2026-07-06T13:33:01.540Z
payment resourceforum-fee-router:0xeff9bc359e8f2a5eabce55af3f1bb24f98eabf59
query payment hash0xf4fef6b73b7500e9f4cd7902f8638251ca77f7cd142fa3534f1288a3a91101c8
payer0x4164F5B52ecc6F847f03071A287b0B59954cbcEe
Arc tx0xddd688ed...3ad999
FeeRouter split165
FeeRouter createSplit0x239b744b...443490
FeeRouter pay0xddd688ed...3ad999
contributorssingle recipient
canonical URLhttps://x402.org/
content fetched at2026-07-06T13:33:01.540Z
source content hash0x0aa8f1d5326c79583e7d6686b0be480bbcf9dc516f123df84174d01ba60ed004
source excerpt hash0x73ba7ecb49bae825c4bbe8a00893c8c9fc983094c4b2ac78197903350c9cda90
ownership proofseed-demo
ownership signernot verified
answer context
How can autonomous agents settle sub-cent payments for content on Arc, and what bounds how much an agent is allowed to spend?
Autonomous agents can settle sub-cent payments for content on Arc through the Circle Gateway-batched x402 settlement scheme, which pools multiple signed USDC authorizations for gasless sub-cent settlement rather than requiring individual on-chain transactions. Agent spending is bounded by Forum-style mandates that establish enforceable budget limits, with all transactions published as receipts to make spend controls verifiable rather than merely advisory. Sub-cent citations accrue to a claimable FeeRouter balance that creators withdraw with a single claim call, which keeps per-citation gas costs from swamping the payment.
Open answer evidencereader paymentx402 settled
amount0.010000 USDC
payer0x328c...Ddbc
payment hash0xf4fef6b7...1101c8
creator payouts (reader-paid)0.004400 USDC
protocol retained (reader-paid)0.005600 USDC
budget utilization44.0%
Directly answers both parts of the question: explains x402 settlement mechanisms for sub-cent payments on Arc (exact scheme and Circle Gateway-batched scheme) and describes how authorization signing bounds spend.Seed/demo content from Payments Protocol Notes. Title: x402 Settlement Schemes on Arc. Excerpt: x402 turns HTTP 402 into a real payment step: a resource returns payment requirements, the client signs an EIP-3009 USDC authorization, and the server settles it. The 'exact' scheme settles that authorization directly on Arc as a single USDC transfer, so the reader's debit is a verifiable on-chain transaction. The Circle Gateway-batched scheme instead pools many signed authorizations for gasless sub-cent settlement, referenced by a Gateway payment id rather than one Arc tx. Tags: x402, eip-3009, settlement, arc, usdc. Canonical URL: https://x402.org/.