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What is a Facilitator?

The facilitator is an optional but recommended service that simplifies the process of verifying and settling payments between clients (buyers) and servers (sellers). The facilitator is a service that:
  • Verifies payment payloads submitted by clients
  • Settles payments on the blockchain on behalf of servers
By using a facilitator, servers do not need to maintain direct blockchain connectivity or implement payment verification logic themselves. This reduces operational complexity and ensures accurate, real-time validation of transactions.
The facilitator does not hold funds or act as a custodian - it performs verification and execution of onchain transactions based on signed payloads provided by clients.

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Facilitator Responsibilities

Verify Payments

Confirm that the client’s payment payload meets the server’s declared payment requirements

Settle Payments

Submit validated payments to the blockchain and monitor for confirmation

Provide Responses

Return verification and settlement results to the server, allowing the server to decide whether to fulfill the client’s request

Protocol Compliance

Ensure standardized verification and settlement flows across services

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Why Use a Facilitator?

Using a facilitator provides several key benefits:
While it is possible to implement verification and settlement locally, using a facilitator accelerates adoption and ensures correct protocol behavior.

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Interaction Flow

The following diagram shows how clients, servers, and facilitators interact in the x402 protocol:

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Step-by-Step Breakdown

  1. Client makes an HTTP request to a resource server
  2. Resource server responds with a 402 Payment Required status and payment details
  3. Client creates a payment payload based on the selected payment scheme
  4. Client sends the request with X-PAYMENT header containing the payment payload
  5. Resource server verifies the payment via the facilitator’s /verify endpoint
  6. Facilitator performs verification and returns a verification response
  7. If valid, the resource server fulfills the request
  8. Resource server settles payment via the facilitator’s /settle endpoint
  9. Facilitator submits the payment to the blockchain
  10. Facilitator waits for blockchain confirmation
  11. Facilitator returns execution response to the server
  12. Resource server returns the requested resource with settlement details