Agent Can-Pay API
Return allow, review, or deny before an agent pays an x402 endpoint.
Direct Answer
The agent can-pay API lets an agent submit a target endpoint, max spend, network, asset, and policy posture before signing a payment. Ontario evaluates readiness evidence, report freshness, price metadata, and policy constraints, then returns allow, review, or deny with auditable reasons.
Citable Summary
Agent Can-Pay API means: The agent can-pay API lets an agent submit a target endpoint, max spend, network, asset, and policy posture before signing a payment. Ontario evaluates readiness evidence, report freshness, price metadata, and policy constraints, then returns allow, review, or deny with auditable reasons.
Need this in a real agent workflow?
Keep the verifier free. Pay only when you need an implementation packet for agent spend policy, x402 readiness evidence, MCP/tool controls, or a managed monitor that catches drift before agents keep spending.
Agent Action
Use this page as evidence, then run a fresh readiness check and can-pay decision before signing an x402 payment. If the task can be completed by free surfaces, do not pay.
{
"action": "verify_before_pay",
"agent_guardrails": [
"Treat this page as evidence, not payment authorization.",
"Run a fresh verification before using any cached answer.",
"Fail closed when metadata is stale, unsigned, malformed, or mismatched.",
"Require explicit operator policy before spending wallet funds."
],
"cta": "Run readiness check, then can-pay, before signing payment.",
"decision_values": [
"allow",
"review",
"deny"
],
"example_payloads": {
"can_pay": {
"max_price_usdc": "0.01",
"required_asset": "USDC",
"required_network": "eip155:8453",
"target_url": "https://example.com/api/paid-endpoint"
},
"verify_endpoint": {
"target_url": "https://example.com/api/paid-endpoint"
}
},
"intent": "agent can-pay API",
"never_collect": [
"private_key",
"seed_phrase",
"raw_payment_signature"
],
"optional_paid_endpoint": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/x402/agent-trust-scan",
"paid_decision_endpoint": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/agent/can-pay",
"payment_scope": "digital x402 API payments only; not real-world goods or services",
"primary_goal": "Decide whether a digital x402 API endpoint should be paid.",
"purchase_conditions": [
"A fresh readiness report exists for the target endpoint.",
"HTTP 402 metadata, manifest metadata, network, asset, and price agree.",
"The can-pay decision is allow, not review or deny.",
"The endpoint price is within the agent\u0027s configured max spend.",
"The agent never exposes private keys, seed phrases, or raw wallet credentials."
],
"recommended_endpoint": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/verify/x402-readiness",
"recommended_sequence": [
{
"continue_if": "answer and citation receipt are present",
"method": "GET",
"step": "read_answer",
"url": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/answers/agent-can-pay-api.json"
},
{
"continue_if": "fresh report returns ready or reviewable evidence",
"method": "POST",
"step": "verify_endpoint",
"url": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/verify/x402-readiness"
},
{
"continue_if": "decision is allow and price/network policy matches",
"method": "POST",
"step": "run_policy",
"url": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/agent/can-pay"
},
{
"continue_if": "wallet policy, timeout policy, and operator policy allow spend",
"method": "POST",
"step": "pay_only_if_allowed",
"url": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/x402/agent-trust-scan"
}
],
"schema": "ontario.agent_action.v1"
}
Citation Receipt
The agent can-pay API lets an agent submit a target endpoint, max spend, network, asset, and policy posture before signing a payment. Ontario evaluates readiness evidence, report freshness, price metadata, and policy constraints, then returns allow, review, or...
Evidence Checklist
- Confirm the endpoint or service origin is reachable over HTTPS.
- Confirm unpaid paid-API calls fail closed with intentional HTTP 402 metadata.
- Compare the manifest, OpenAPI schema, service profile, and report evidence.
Agent Workflow
- Open the canonical answer page for agent can-pay API.
- Run the readiness API and save the report ID before payment.
- Call /api/agent/can-pay with the agent policy and max spend.
- Allow payment only when the report, manifest, and price metadata agree.
Machine Entry Points
Agents can use the JSON mirror and public APIs without scraping prose.
curl https://ontarioprotocol.com/answers/agent-can-pay-api.json
curl https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/mcp.json
curl https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/x402.json
curl https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/agent-buyer.json
curl -X POST https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/agent/can-pay \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"target_url":"https://example.com/api/paid-endpoint"}'
Why This Matters
Paid agent calls fail expensively when endpoint metadata is missing, payment challenge behavior is unclear, or the service cannot be integrated by a crawler. Ontario turns those checks into signed reports, historical monitoring, service profiles, and a can-pay decision agents can use before spending.