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Overview

0xmeta uses a flat $0.01 USDC fee per settlement with pre-settlement collection via standard ERC-20 approval. No setup fees, no merchant accounts, zero surprises. Verification is FREE - only successful settlements incur the $0.01 fee, collected BEFORE the settlement executes.

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Fee Structure

ServiceCostTimingNotes
Payment VerificationFREEImmediateUnlimited verifications
Settlement Execution$0.01 USDCPre-settlementFee collected BEFORE executing customer payment
Failed Fee Collection$0Pre-settlementSettlement blocked, customer not charged

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Pre-Settlement Fee Collection Flow

1. Customer authorizes $0.02 to merchant
2. Facilitator collects $0.01 from merchant (PRE-SETTLEMENT)
3. IF fee collection succeeds → Execute customer → merchant ($0.02)
4. IF fee collection fails → Block settlement, customer not charged
Critical: Fee is collected FIRST. No fee = no settlement.

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Example Pricing

// $0.01 Resource
// Merchant wants: $0.01
// Add facilitator fee: $0.01
// Customer pays: $0.02

{
  "GET /data": {
    accepts: [{
      price: "$0.02", // $0.01 resource + $0.01 fee
    }]
  }
}

// Flow:
// 1. Facilitator collects $0.01 from merchant (PRE-SETTLEMENT)
// 2. Customer → Merchant ($0.02, direct)
// Net: Merchant receives $0.01

// $0.10 Resource
// Merchant wants: $0.10
// Add facilitator fee: $0.01
// Customer pays: $0.11

{
  "GET /premium-data": {
    accepts: [{
      price: "$0.11", // $0.10 resource + $0.01 fee
    }]
  }
}

// Net: Merchant receives $0.10 (after $0.01 fee)

// $1 Resource
// Merchant wants: $1.00
// Add facilitator fee: $0.01
// Customer pays: $1.01

{
  "GET /analysis": {
    accepts: [{
      price: "$1.01", // $1.00 resource + $0.01 fee
    }]
  }
}

// Net: Merchant receives $1.00 (after $0.01 fee)

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How Fee Collection Works

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Pre-Settlement via transferFrom

Flow:
  1. Facilitator verifies customer authorization (FREE)
  2. Facilitator collects $0.01 fee from merchant’s pre-approved USDC balance (PRE-SETTLEMENT)
  3. IF successful: Facilitator executes customer → merchant payment ($0.02)
  4. IF failed: Settlement blocked, customer never charged
Merchant Setup: One-time USDC approval allows facilitator to collect fees via transferFrom before each settlement.

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Fee Collection Method

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Standard ERC-20 Approval Pattern with Pre-Settlement

One-time merchant setup: 
# Approve facilitator treasury for USDC spending
node approve-facilitator.mjs

# This executes:
USDC.approve(treasury, 100 * 10^6); // 100 USDC = 10,000 settlements
Per settlement (pre-settlement order): 
// 1. Verify customer authorization (FREE)
verifySignature(authorization, signature);

// 2. Collect fee from merchant FIRST (PRE-SETTLEMENT)
USDC.transferFrom(merchant, treasury, 0.01 * 10^6); // $0.01

// 3. IF fee collection succeeded, execute customer → merchant payment
if (feeCollected) {
    executeSettlement(authorization, signature);
} else {
    revert("Settlement blocked - customer not charged");
}
Key points:
  • ✅ Fee collected BEFORE settlement executes
  • ✅ If fee collection fails → settlement blocked
  • ✅ Customer payment only executes after fee is paid
  • ✅ No facilitator custody of customer funds
  • ✅ Merchant controls via approval amount
  • ⚠️ Merchant pays for settlement attempts (prevents free service)
For micropayments (less than $1), 0xmeta is 96-99% cheaper than traditional processors. Plus: Pre-settlement fee collection eliminates free service exploitation risk.

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Pricing Details

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What’s Included

Verification (FREE):
  • EIP-3009 signature validation
  • Amount verification
  • Token verification
  • Address validation
  • Unlimited verifications
Settlement ($0.01, pre-settlement):
  • Pre-settlement fee collection from merchant
  • On-chain settlement execution
  • Gas fees paid by facilitator
  • Settlement status tracking
  • Webhook notifications
Pre-Settlement Protection:
  • Customer never charged if fee collection fails
  • Settlement blocked if merchant has insufficient approval
  • No free service exploitation possible

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Merchant Economics

Calculate your net revenue: 
// Example: $0.01 resource
const resourcePrice = 0.01;  // What you want
const facilitatorFee = 0.01; // Fixed fee (PRE-SETTLEMENT)
const customerPrice = 0.02;  // What customer pays

// Per settlement:
merchantReceives = 0.02; // From customer (if settlement executes)
merchantPays = 0.01;     // To facilitator (BEFORE settlement)
netRevenue = 0.01;       // Your profit

// At 1000 successful settlements:
grossRevenue = 0.02 * 1000; // $20.00
totalFees = 0.01 * 1000;    // $10.00 (paid pre-settlement)
netRevenue = 0.01 * 1000;   // $10.00
Important:
  • Fee is collected BEFORE each settlement
  • If settlement fails after fee collection, you paid $0.01 for the attempt
  • Test thoroughly on testnet to minimize failed settlements
0.01−0.01 - 0.10
  • API calls
  • Data queries
  • Simple computations
Fee impact: 10-100% Pre-settlement: Essential for preventing free API abuse 0.10−0.10 - 1.00
  • Analysis reports
  • Generated content
  • Premium features
Fee impact: 1-10% Pre-settlement: Good protection against exploitation 1.00−1.00 - 10.00
  • Research reports
  • AI-generated media
  • Complex computations
Fee impact: 0.1-1% Pre-settlement: Minimal overhead, strong protection $10.00+
  • Enterprise features
  • Bulk data access
  • Subscription equivalents
Fee impact: less than 0.1% Pre-settlement: Negligible overhead, excellent protection

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Approval Requirements

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How Much to Approve

Calculation: 
Approval Amount = Expected Settlements × $0.01
Examples:
  • 100 USDC = 10,000 settlements
  • 500 USDC = 50,000 settlements
  • 1000 USDC = 100,000 settlements
Best practice: Approve 100-1000 USDC (avoid infinite approval) Pre-settlement consideration: Ensure you have sufficient USDC balance, as fees are collected before settlements execute.

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Managing Approval

Check allowance: 
node check-allowance.mjs

# Output:
# Settlements Remaining: 9,550
# Note: Fee collected pre-settlement
Top up allowance: 
node approve-facilitator.mjs
Revoke access: 
APPROVAL_AMOUNT=0 node approve-facilitator.mjs

# Effect: All settlements blocked at pre-settlement fee collection

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Pre-Settlement Fee Collection Scenarios

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Scenario 1: Normal Operation

1. Customer authorizes $0.02 to merchant
2. Facilitator collects $0.01 from merchant ✅
3. Facilitator executes customer → merchant $0.02 ✅
4. Merchant net: +$0.01 ✅

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Scenario 2: Insufficient Allowance

1. Customer authorizes $0.02 to merchant
2. Facilitator attempts fee collection ❌ (no approval)
3. Settlement BLOCKED 🚫
4. Customer NOT charged ✅
5. Merchant NOT charged ✅

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Scenario 3: Insufficient USDC Balance

1. Customer authorizes $0.02 to merchant
2. Facilitator attempts fee collection ❌ (no balance)
3. Settlement BLOCKED 🚫
4. Customer NOT charged ✅
5. Merchant NOT charged ✅

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Scenario 4: Fee Succeeds, Settlement Fails

1. Customer authorizes $0.02 to merchant
2. Facilitator collects $0.01 from merchant ✅
3. Facilitator attempts settlement ❌ (expired auth, etc.)
4. Merchant paid: -$0.01 (for the attempt)
5. Customer NOT charged ✅
Why scenario 4 is fair: Merchant received verification and settlement attempt services worth $0.01. Pre-settlement prevents free service exploitation.

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Volume Pricing

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Custom Rates for High Volume

If you process 10,000+ settlements per month, contact us for custom pricing: Email: [email protected] Volume tiers:
  • 10K-100K settlements/month
  • 100K-1M settlements/month
  • 1M+ settlements/month
We offer discounted rates for high-volume merchants. Minimum $0.001 per settlement for enterprise customers. Note: All volume pricing uses pre-settlement fee collection for consistency and protection.

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Fee Transparency

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On-Chain Verification

Every fee collection is a standard blockchain transaction: 
# View pre-settlement fee collection transaction
https://basescan.org/tx/{fee_tx_hash}

# View settlement transaction (executed AFTER fee)
https://basescan.org/tx/{settlement_tx_hash}

# Verify timing: fee_tx timestamp < settlement_tx timestamp

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Settlement Response

Every settlement response includes complete fee breakdown: 
{
  "success": true,
  "details": {
    "settlement_id": "stl_abc123",
    "fee_amount_wei": 10000, // $0.01 fee
    "fee_tx_hash": "0x...",
    "fee_collection_status": "collected",
    "fee_collection_timestamp": "2025-01-29T10:15:00Z",
    "settled_amount": "20000", // $0.02 customer payment
    "settlement_tx_hash": "0x...",
    "settlement_timestamp": "2025-01-29T10:15:45Z",
    "merchant_received": 20000,
    "description": "$0.01 fee collected pre-settlement, then $0.02 customer payment executed"
  }
}
Verify pre-settlement: fee_collection_timestamp is before settlement_timestamp.

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FAQ

Flat fees work better for micropayments:
  • 2.9% of 0.10=0.10 = 0.003 (unsustainable)
  • Plus fixed $0.30 = totally uneconomical for small payments
$0.01 is the minimum viable fee for on-chain operations while keeping micropayments feasible.Pre-settlement: Guarantees we get paid for service, enabling sustainable flat-rate pricing.
Merchant pays the fee via pre-settlement collection.Why: x402 requires customers pay merchants directly (trust-minimization). We can’t split customer payments.Solution: Merchant pays fee BEFORE settlement via pre-approved transferFrom. Add fee to your prices.Customer pays: 0.02∗∗Youreceive:∗∗0.02 **You receive:** 0.02 (from customer) You pay: 0.01(tofacilitator,pre−settlement)∗∗Net:∗∗0.01 (to facilitator, pre-settlement) **Net:** 0.01
Yes, for high volume:
  • 10K+ settlements/month: Custom pricing
  • 100K+ settlements/month: Significant discounts
  • Enterprise contracts: [email protected]
All tiers: Pre-settlement fee collection for protection and consistency.
No:
  • No monthly fees
  • No setup fees
  • No gas fees (facilitator pays)
  • No withdrawal fees
  • No percentage fees
Just $0.01 per settlement, collected pre-settlement.
You paid $0.01 for the settlement attempt.Services rendered:
  • Customer authorization verification
  • Fee collection transaction (gas paid)
  • Settlement attempt (gas estimation, RPC calls)
  • Error handling and status updates
Why pre-settlement prevents exploitation: Without collecting fee first, merchants could intentionally cause settlement failures to get free verification service.Mitigation: Test thoroughly on Sepolia testnet first.
Options:
  1. Settlement responses: Include full fee breakdown with timestamps
  2. On-chain: View transactions on BaseScan, verify pre-settlement timing
  3. Monitoring script: check-allowance.mjs shows remaining settlements
For you (merchant):
  • Prevents customer charges when you have insufficient fees
  • Transparent fee structure
  • Predictable costs
For customers:
  • Never charged if merchant can’t pay fee
  • Protected from failed settlement attempts
For facilitator:
  • Guaranteed payment for service
  • No free service exploitation
  • Sustainable business model
Trade-off: You pay $0.01 even if settlement fails after fee collection, but this prevents free service abuse.

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Next Steps

Set Up Merchant Approval

Configure USDC approval for pre-settlement fee collection

Understand Fee Collection

Learn how pre-settlement fees work

Complete Integration Guide

Build your first payment flow

FAQs

Common questions about pre-settlement
Simple, transparent, pre-settlement - $0.01 per settlement, collected from merchant’s pre-approved USDC balance BEFORE executing the customer payment. No custody, fully auditable, economically sustainable.