A unified, intent-based payment layer bridging standard merchant checkout workflows with programmable, sub-cent settlement on Base L2.
Traditional card processing rails were built for domestic human retail. For borderless indie businesses and autonomous AI agents requiring real-time execution, legacy payment processors introduce structural bottlenecks.
Standard card processing combines domestic interchange fees, international card surcharges (1.5%), cross-border FX conversions (2%+), and flat dispute fees, leading to significant margin leakage for global transactions.
Traditional acquirers routinely delay payouts by 2 to 7 business days and often withhold 5% to 20% in rolling reserve deposits for 90 to 180 days, restricting working capital for fast-moving startups.
Autonomous AI agents and machine-to-machine workflows lack legal identity for bank accounts and cannot enter physical credit cards, CVVs, or SMS 2FA codes, making programmatic micro-transactions impossible on legacy rails.
Developers and independent sellers across emerging regions face strict banking prerequisites, international merchant registration burdens, or geographic exclusions when accessing global payment providers.
Legacy card networks allow retrospective disputes months after fulfillment. Merchants often bear disproportionate burden of proof, non-refundable dispute fees, and ongoing account risk on digital goods.
Businesses relying entirely on centralized processors risk sudden account holds or changes in accepted merchant categories. Funds reside in custodial holding accounts rather than merchant-owned wallets.
| Feature / Metric | Traditional Gateways | OwnPay Intent Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction Cost Structure | 2.9% - 4.5% + fixed fee (+ FX & cross-border fees) | Transparent 0.05%–0.25% (0.25% Starter, 0.10% Verified, 0.05% Enterprise, Base L2 sub-cent gas) |
| Settlement Speed | T+2 to T+7 business days | 1.8s median settlement in test environment |
| Funds Custody & Rolling Reserve | 5-20% rolling reserves & custodial hold | No OwnPay-imposed reserve (Direct non-custodial settlement) |
| Autonomous AI Agent Execution | None (Requires human OTP / 3DS) | Native HTTP 402 & Session Keys (Live) • MCP Tools (In Dev) |
| Global Access | Strict banking & jurisdiction limits | Permissionless non-custodial access on Base L2 |
| Payment Finality | 90-day dispute exposure & chargeback fees | Onchain settlement with programmable controls |
OwnPay separates payment declaration from onchain execution. A single unified intent payload defines who pays, recipient address, required fiat or token denomination, and cryptographic guardrails.
Whether triggered by a human customer through a hosted checkout page (/pay) or an autonomous AI agent calling a REST API endpoint, both generate the exact same standardized PaymentIntent structure.
Merchants can price goods in their domestic or customer currency (USD, EUR, GBP, BDT, INR, PKR, AED, CAD, JPY). The engine references real-time rate feeds to quote the exact Base USDC equivalent without currency risk.
High-frequency autonomous agents may retry API calls upon network timeouts. OwnPay embeds unique cryptographic nonces and idempotency keys to guarantee zero double-spending or duplicate charges.
Giving autonomous AI software direct access to capital is catastrophic without strict deterministic boundaries. OwnPay embeds verified policy checks directly into intent creation and execution.
Enforce strict mathematical caps on agent spend. If an LLM enters an infinite tool-calling loop or hallucinates, spending stops immediately at pre-configured thresholds.
Autonomous agents cannot send funds to arbitrary addresses. Spending is restricted exclusively to authorized smart contracts, verified merchant wallets, or pre-approved API domains.
Real-time anomaly monitoring triggers automated kill-switches. If abnormal transaction velocity or signature discrepancies occur, agent session keys are immediately invalidated.
We chose Base (Chain ID 8453) as our initial execution layer because modern micropayments require sub-cent fees, institutional stability, and Coinbase Smart Wallet ergonomics.
Transactions costing a fraction of a cent make $0.01 - $1.00 micropayments economically viable, unlike L1 blockchains or credit cards with 30¢ flat minimum processing fees.
Base L2 block signals and Flashblock pre-confirmations deliver real-time settlement feedback, allowing digital content, API keys, or physical orders to be released immediately.
OwnPay never holds custody of merchant revenue or imposes rolling reserve deductions. Settled USDC transfers directly into the merchant's smart account onchain.
Smart accounts enable gasless transactions via Base Paymaster, scoped session keys for autonomous agents, and passkey authentication for friction-free human onboarding.
Implementing the native web standard for pay-per-request API services, autonomous LLM compute, and agent tool execution with machine-readable negotiation.
Designed to unify traditional checkout experiences with programmable onchain settlement. Rather than forcing users into a single paradigm, OwnPay bridges fiat checkout abstractions with high-speed Base L2 settlement.
When an autonomous AI agent requests an unauthenticated API, the server returns 402 Payment Required containing the exact Base USDC amount and intent challenge. The agent signs and pays programmatically.
Designing the open Model Context Protocol (MCP) server integration (@ownpay/mcp-remote) for Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, and LangChain—aligning with Base's 2026 agent infrastructure strategy.
request_payment & check_statusHow payments flow from initial intent creation to deterministic onchain finality across five streamlined protocol stages.
Human checkout link or AI agent HTTP 402 request invokes the gateway.
3-tier spending limits, whitelist checks, and nonce verification executed.
Dual-rail abstraction quotes Base USDC equivalent from real-time rate feed.
Sub-cent smart contract settlement credited directly to merchant wallet.
Real-time webhook fired to merchant and transaction indexed on BaseScan.
An honest, transparent execution trajectory grounded in current delivery and disciplined expansion.
Establishing the foundational Base-first payment flow, universal intent primitives, policy engine, and merchant notification infrastructure.
Expanding the Universal Payment Intent abstraction across high-liquidity EVM and non-EVM ecosystems with unified cross-chain routing.
Bridging physical point-of-sale commerce with onchain settlement even under intermittent or zero internet connectivity.
Full global scaling with native crypto-regulated market integrations, direct compliant fiat on/off-ramp rails, and decentralized protocol governance.
A transparent, non-custodial unit economics framework driven by payment volume, enterprise throughput, and developer infrastructure.
Zero monthly subscriptions ($0/mo, $0/yr). Sustainable transparent fee collected on successful settlement across human checkout links and agentic micro-transactions, offering up to 98% savings compared to legacy 2.9%–8% card take rates.
Dedicated high-frequency RPC relays, priority webhook queues, and multi-tenant sub-accounts for high-volume enterprise platforms running autonomous spending agents.
Advanced compliance guardrails, multi-signature approvals, spending velocity monitoring, and telemetry dashboards for organizations managing fleets of autonomous agents.
Private MCP server deployments, white-label checkout widgets, and localized off-ramp tooling for regional merchant aggregators and fintech platforms.
Dedicated financial infrastructure tailored specifically for merchants, software engineers, and autonomous AI builders.
Eliminate arbitrary account freezes, high dispute penalties, and multi-month rolling reserves.
Developer-first REST APIs & webhooks (Live Core) with client SDKs & adapters in active engineering.
Empower autonomous software agents to pay for compute, data, and tools safely.
OwnPay is not a short-term hype project or a speculative token launch. We are building durable financial infrastructure that creates lasting economic utility across human and autonomous machine commerce.
Structured around long-term value creation rather than short-term extraction. Every pool is calibrated to ensure alignment, multi-year contribution, and sustainable institutional stability.
| Allocation Category | Percentage | Strategic Purpose & Governance Mandate |
|---|---|---|
|
Founder / Co-founder
Combined Leadership Pool
|
35% | Long-term company vision, architectural governance, strategic execution, multi-year product development, and operational stewardship. |
|
Developer / Engineering / Ops
Long-Term Contributor Pool
|
25% | Core protocol engineers, frontend & backend architects, smart contract security auditors, SDK & MCP builders, infrastructure ops, and ongoing technical contributors. |
|
VC / Investors
Strategic Financing Framework
|
25% | Patient capital, institutional scale, market expansion, liquidity partnerships, and regulatory advisory. (Framework pool subject to formal financing terms and valuation). |
|
Strategic Ecosystem + Community
Ecosystem Growth & Grants
|
15% | Strategic enterprise integrations, developer bounties, security disclosure incentives, open-source grants, ecosystem ambassadors, and merchant adoption initiatives. |
|
TOTAL AUTHORIZED ALLOCATION
|
100% | Strict cap table discipline. Complete multi-stakeholder equilibrium. |
“OwnPay's allocation philosophy is designed around long-term value creation rather than short-term extraction. Ownership and participation should create long-term responsibility, contribution, alignment, and sustainable ecosystem growth.”
Great infrastructure is not built overnight, nor is it sustained by short-term sprints. We cultivate an engineering culture centered on resilience, craftsmanship, and real-world problem solving.
Launching a protocol is only the starting line. Maintaining high-availability payment rails, hardening non-custodial smart accounts, responding to security edge cases, and scaling cross-border settlement requires engineers and operators who stay through multiple development cycles.
Team members do not need identical personalities or opinions. Technical disagreement is healthy; mission fragmentation is not. What matters is unwavering alignment around security, reliability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
“OwnPay is being built to become a durable business that generates real economic value. Our long-term objective is to create sustainable opportunities for the people and organizations that genuinely contribute to its growth.”
OwnPay does not aim to replace the financial ecosystem; it aims to connect it—giving merchants, developers, payment networks, stablecoins, blockchains, and autonomous AI agents a programmable settlement layer.