Preamble

SEP: 0031
Title: Cross-Border Payments API
Author: SDF
Status: Active
Created: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2024-11-05
Version 3.1.0

Simple Summary

This SEP defines a protocol for enabling payments between two financial accounts that exist outside the Stellar network.

Abstract

The entities involved in a transaction are:

A Sending Client: The owner of the origin financial account.
A Sending Anchor: The business receiving funds from the Sending Client and delivering them to the Receiving Anchor for the Receiving Client. Must have a business relationship with the Receiving Anchor.
A Receiving Anchor: The business receiving funds from the Sending Anchor and delivering them to the Receiving Client.
A Receiving Client: The owner of the destination financial account.

At a high level, the following steps are performed to complete a transaction:

The Sending Client sends funds from their financial account to the Sending Anchor's financial account (off/on-Stellar)
The Sending Anchor sends the funds to the Receiving Anchor's Stellar account (on-Stellar)
The Receiving Anchor sends funds to the Receiving Client's financial account (off/on-Stellar)

Typically, the Sending and Receiving Clients reside in different regulatory jurisdictions and therefore a payment between their financial accounts must be facilitated by two business entities, the Sending and Receiving Anchors, who have the necessary licenses in their respective jurisdictions.

Example

Alice in Nigeria wants to send money to Bob in Europe. Alice signs up with NigeriaPay to make this payment to send money directly into Bob’s bank account. Bob doesn’t need to do anything, or know anything about this payment, besides letting Alice know what his bank account information is. Alice only needs to deal with her anchor (NigeriaPay). Alice passes this information and her money to NigeriaPay, and NigeriaPay sends those funds to the EuroPay Anchor service, and Europay deposits those funds into Bob’s bank account.

Diagrams

The diagrams provided offer a detailed view of various flows that are possible using this protocol. Note that these diagrams are opinionated. Variations of the these flows may also be sufficient.

Completing a Transaction with a Firm Quote

This diagram demonstrates the interactions between the entities involved in a successful transaction. Specifically it uses the Receiving Anchor Asset Conversion strategy defined described later in the document.

sequenceDiagram
    participant Sending Client
    participant Sending Anchor
    participant Stellar
    participant Receiving Anchor
    participant Receiving Client
    Sending Client->>Sending Anchor: initiates send to <br> Receiving Client's country
    Sending Anchor-->>Sending Anchor: maps country to Receiving Anchor

    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET /.well-known/stellar.toml
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: SEP-10, 12, 31, & 38 URLs
    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-31]/info
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: Stellar assets, customer types, fees
    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-38]/prices
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: pairs and est. rates for Stellar asset

    Sending Anchor-->>Sending Anchor: calculates fiat-to-fiat est. rates
    Sending Anchor->>+Sending Client: provides pair <br> est. rates & fees
    Sending Client-->>-Sending Anchor: selects asset pair

    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-10]
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: challenge transaction
    Sending Anchor-->>Sending Anchor: signs challenge
    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: POST [SEP-10]
    Receiving Anchor-->>Receiving Anchor: verifies challenge
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: authentication token

    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-38]/price
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: exchange rate
    Sending Anchor->>+Sending Client: provides estimated rate
    Sending Client-->>-Sending Anchor: continues
    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: POST [SEP-38]/quote
    Receiving Anchor-->>Sending Anchor: quote id, rate, expiration

    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: POST [SEP-31]/transactions
    Receiving Anchor-->>Receiving Anchor: checks customer statuses, <br> links quote, <br> creates transaction record
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: transaction id

    loop once for Sending Client, once for Receiving Client
        note right of Sending Anchor: If Sending Client or Receiving Client <br> has already been <br> accepted, this section <br> is unnecessary.
        Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-12]/customer?transaction_id=<id>&type=
        Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: fields required
        Sending Anchor->>+Sending Client: requests fields
        Sending Client-->>-Sending Anchor: provides field values
        Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: PUT [SEP-12]/customer?transaction_id=<id>&type=
        Receiving Anchor-->>Receiving Anchor: validates KYC values
        Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: id, ACCEPTED
    end

    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET [SEP-31]/transactions/:id
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: transaction object containing amount_in, amount_in_asset, stellar_account_id, etc.
    note right of Sending Anchor: Use the info returned from <br>GET [SEP-31]/transactions/:id to <br>make the stellar payment.

    Sending Anchor->>+Stellar: submit Stellar payment
    Stellar->>+Receiving Anchor: receives payment, matches w/ transaction
    Receiving Anchor-->>Receiving Anchor: updates transaction status
    Stellar-->>-Sending Anchor: success response

    Receiving Anchor->>Receiving Client: Sends off-chain payment to recipient
    Receiving Anchor-->>Receiving Anchor: updates transaction to complete
    Sending Anchor->>+Receiving Anchor: GET /transactions?id=
    Receiving Anchor-->>-Sending Anchor: transaction complete
    Sending Anchor->>Sending Client: notifies sender

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Prerequisites

The Receiving Anchor must define DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER in their stellar.toml.
The Sending and Receiving Anchors must create bi-lateral agreements to interoperate with each other.
If the Receiving Anchor requires KYC information for the Sending or Receiving Clients, the Receiving Anchor must implement SEP-12 and define a KYC_SERVER in their stellar.toml.
If the Receiving Anchor supports the Receiving Anchor Asset Conversion flow using SEP-38, ANCHOR_QUOTE_SERVER must be defined in their stellar.toml.

Authentication

Sending Anchors must authenticate with Receiving Anchors via SEP-10 Web Authentication. Sending Anchors must provide the Stellar account they will authenticate with to their Receiving Anchors, and Receiving Anchors must ensure that the authenticated Stellar account belongs to a Sending Anchor for which a bi-lateral agreement has been made.

The SEP-10 JWT be included as a header in requests to all endpoints:

Authorization: Bearer <JWT>

Any API request that fails to meet proper authentication should return a 403 Forbidden response.

Note that the source account of payments made by Sending Anchors can differ from the account used to authenticate with Receiving Anchors. Only the payment transaction's memo should be used to match incoming payments with the transaction record in the Receiving Anchor's database.

HTTPS Only

This protocol involves the transfer of value, and so HTTPS is required for all endpoints for security. Anchors should refuse to interact with any insecure HTTP endpoints.

Content Type

All endpoints accept in requests the following Content-Types:

application/json

All endpoints respond with content type:

application/json

Asset Conversions and Liquidity Strategies

This protocol is designed for the common case where the Sending Client provides the Sending Anchor with a particular asset (the source asset) and the Receiving Client receives a different asset (the destination asset). It is possible to use this protocol when the Sending and Receiving clients wish to send and receive the same asset, but that is not the common use case it has been designed.

When the source asset and destination assets are different, the source asset must be converted into the receiving asset at some point prior to delivering funds to the Receiving Client. This conversion must be done by either the Sending Anchor, the Stellar Network, or the Receiving Anchor. The subsections below outline the strategies used for each method.

Sending Anchor Asset Conversion

The Sending Anchor can collect the source asset from the Sending Client and send the destination asset to the Receiving Anchor.

This approach requires the Sending Anchor to provide an exchange rate, or quote, to the Sending Client. It also requires the Sending Anchor to hold a balance of the destination asset on Stellar. The Sending Anchor would use Payment operations to send the quoted amount of the destination asset to the Receiving Anchor.

Stellar Network Asset Conversion

Instead of holding a balance of the destination asset on Stellar, the Sending Anchor can use Path Payments to convert the source asset to the destination asset on the Stellar Network.

This approach requires a sufficiently liquid market to exist between the source and destination assets on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange (SDEX).

Receiving Anchor Asset Conversion

Finally, the Receiving Anchor can receive payments of the source asset on Stellar and deliver payments of the destination asset to the Receiving Client.

This requires the Receiving Anchor to implement the SEP-38 Anchor RFQ API, which enables the Receiving Anchor to provide quotes to the Sending Anchor. These quotes can be indicative or firm. If a firm quote is used, the Stellar transaction must be submitted to the Stellar network prior to the quote's expiration. More specifically, the created_at timestamp returned in the Horizon GET /transactions/:id request must be earlier than the quote's expiration.

API Endpoints

GET /info
POST /transactions
GET /transactions/:id
PATCH /transactions/:id
PUT /transactions/:id/callback

Detailed Sending Anchor Flow

The Sending Client initiates a payment to the Receiving Client.
The Sending Anchor identifies the Receiving Anchor it will use for the payment based on the recipient's location.
The Sending Anchor makes a request to the Receiving Anchor's GET /info endpoint to collect asset information and the transaction.fields describing the transaction-related information required by the Receiving Anchor.
Optionally the Sending Anchor can pre-register clients using SEP-12 PUT /customer and obtain the ids for each client.
If the Receiving Anchor supports the SEP-38 Anchor RFQ API, the Sending Anchor can request a quote from the Receiving Anchor. See the Receiving Anchor Asset Conversion section for more information.
The Sending Anchor makes a POST /transactions request to create a transaction record with the Receiving Anchor. This request contains the ids returned by the PUT /customer requests, the transaction.fields values collected from the Sending Client, as well as the transaction information. The response will include a id that will be used to check the transaction data and status.
Optionally, the Sending Anchor makes a PUT /transactions/:id/callback request to register a URL that the Receiving Anchor will make requests to when the transaction's status changes.
The Sending Anchor makes GET /customer/transaction_id=<id>&type=<customer_type> request to the Receiving Anchor for each of the Sending and Receiving Client. The response includes the customer status and the SEP-9 KYC attributes required for registering a client of the associated type.
If the customer status is not ACCEPTED, the Sending Anchor must collect the required KYC information from the Sending Client and make a PUT /customer request to the Receiving Anchor. Repeat until customer's response status becomes ACCEPTED
The Sending Anchor makes a GET /transactions/:id request to ensure the status is pending_sender. If it is not, the Sending Anchor must wait until it receives a callback request or poll the GET /transactions/:id endpoint until the status becomes pending_sender.
The Sending Anchor submits the payment transaction to Stellar using the information provided in the GET /transactions/:id response.
If a callback was not registered, the Sending Anchor makes GET /transactions/:id requests until the transaction's status is completed, error, pending_customer_info_update, or pending_transaction_info_update. Otherwise, the Sending Anchor will receive status updates from the Receiving Anchor at the registered callback URL.
If completed, the Sending Anchor should notify the Sending Client that funds have been delivered to the Receiving Client.
If error, the Receiving Anchor should be contacted to resolve the situation.
If pending_transaction_info_update, the transaction.fields values collected from the Sending Client were invalid and must be corrected by the Sending Client. See the Pending Transaction Info Update section for more information.
If pending_customer_info_update, the SEP-9 KYC values collected were invalid and must be corrected by the Sending Client. See the Pending Customer Info Update section for more information.
After providing the Receiving Anchor with updated values, the status should ultimately change to completed.

Detailed Receiving Anchor Flow

The Sending Anchor makes a request to the Receiving Anchor's GET /info endpoint.
The Sending Anchor makes a SEP-12 GET /customer request for the Sending and Receiving Clients if required.
The Sending Anchor makes a SEP-12 PUT /customer request for the Sending and Receiving Clients if required.
The Receiving Anchor must validate the KYC data provided and reject the request with useful error messages if invalid.
The Sending Anchor may request a quote using the SEP-38 GET /price or SEP-38 POST /quote endpoints.
The Sending Anchor makes a POST /transactions request.
The Receiving Anchor must ensure the asset_code, amount, transaction fields, and customers IDs are valid. The Sending Anchor may provide a destination_asset attribute if the Receiving Anchor supports the exchange of asset_code and destination_asset via SEP-38, and if a firm quote was provided previously the Sending Anchor may provide the quote_id as well.
The Receiving Anchor must create a transaction record in their database and expose it via GET /transactions/:id.
Transactions should initially be pending_sender. If any preprocessing is required before receiving a payment, mark the transaction as pending_receiver until ready to receive funds.
The Receiving Anchor then waits to receive the payment identified by the stellar_memo included in the POST /transactions response.
Once the Stellar payment has been received and matched with the internal transaction record, the Receiving Anchor must attempt to transfer an equivalent amount of the asset (minus fees) off-chain to the Receiving Client using the KYC and rails data collected by the Sending Anchor.
If the off-chain payment succeeds, the transaction's status should be updated to completed.
If the off-chain payment cannot be received by the Receiving Client almost immediately, the transaction's status should be updated to pending_external until received.
If the off-chain payment fails, the Receiving Anchor must determine why, which is outside the scope of this document. Once determined, the Receiving Anchor must either correct it themselves (internal error) or receive updated values from the Sending Anchor for the fields that were discovered to be invalid.
If the invalid values were described in GET /info's transaction.fields object, the transaction's status should be updated to pending_transaction_info_update and required_info_updates should contain an object describing the errors.
If the invalid values were described in SEP-12 GET /customer responses, the transaction's status should be updated to pending_customer_info_update and the invalid field names should be returned in the next GET /customer?id= request for each Client.
The Sending Anchor will detect the transaction's status and invalid fields, collect the info from the Sending Client, and make requests to the Receiving Anchor containing the updated information.
Once the provided information is validated, the Receiving Anchor should update the transaction's status to pending_receiver and retry the off-chain transfer. This loop of attempting the transfer and waiting for updated information should continue until the transfer is successful.
If the Receiving Anchor decides to refund the funds to the Sending Anchor, the transaction's status should be updated to refunded and the refunds field must be populated.

GET Info

Request

GET DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/info

Allows an anchor to communicate basic info about what currencies their DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER supports receiving from partner anchors.

Request parameters:

Name	Type	Description
`lang`	string	(optional) Defaults to `en`. Language code specified using ISO 639-1. `description` fields in the response should be in this language.

Response

The response should be a JSON object like:

{
  "receive": {
    "USDC": {
      "quotes_supported": true,
      "quotes_required": false,
      "fee_fixed": 5,
      "fee_percent": 1,
      "min_amount": 0.1,
      "max_amount": 1000,
      "funding_methods": ["SEPA", "SWIFT"]
    }
  }
}

The JSON object contains an entry for each Stellar asset that the Receiving Anchor supports receiving from the Sending Anchor.

If the Receiving Anchor supports SEP-38, the Sending Client can check the SEP-38 GET /prices endpoint to determine which off-chain assets the Receiving Anchor can deliver to recipients in exchange for an asset listed in the SEP-31 GET /info response. If the Receiving Anchor does not provide exchange rates for an asset, it is assumed that the Stellar asset can be exchanged 1-for-1 with the corresponding off-chain asset, after fees have been applied.

Asset Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`funding_methods`	array	A list of methods supported by the Anchor for transferring or settling assets. For SEP-31, this specifies the methods the receiving anchor uses to deliver the asset to the receiving client.
`min_amount`	number	(optional) Minimum amount. No limit if not specified.
`max_amount`	number	(optional) Maximum amount. No limit if not specified.
`fee_fixed`	number	(optional) A fixed fee in units of the Stellar asset. Leave blank if there is no fee or fee calculation cannot be modeled using a fixed and percentage fee.
`fee_percent`	number	(optional) A percentage fee in percentage points. Leave blank if there is no fee or fee calculation cannot be modeled using a fixed and percentage fee.
`quotes_supported`	boolean	(optional) If true, the Receiving Anchor can deliver the off-chain assets listed in the `SEP-38 GET /prices` response in exchange for receiving the Stellar asset.
`quotes_required`	boolean	(optional) If true, the Receiving Anchor can only deliver an off-chain asset listed in the `SEP-38 GET /prices` response in exchange for receiving the Stellar asset.
`sep12`	object	(Deprecated, optional) An object containing `sender` and `receiver` keys.
`sender_sep12_type`	string	(Deprecated, optional) The value of the `type` parameter the Sending Anchor should use for a `SEP-12 GET /customer` request. This field can be omitted if no KYC is necessary. Use a value from `sep12.sender.types` instead if any are present.
`receiver_sep12_type`	string	(Deprecated, optional) The value of the `type` parameter the Sending Anchor should use for a `SEP-12 GET /customer` request. This field can be omitted if no KYC is necessary. Use a values from `sep12.receiver.types` instead if any are present.
`fields`	object	(Deprecated, optional) An object containing the per-transaction parameters required in `POST /transactions` requests. Pass SEP-9 fields via SEP-12 PUT /customer instead.

`sep12` Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`sender`	object	An object containing a `types` key if KYC information is required for the Sending Client, empty otherwise.
`receiver`	object	An object containing a `types` key if KYC information is required for the Receiving Client, empty otherwise.

`types` Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`types`	object	(optional) An object containing the accepted values for the `type` parameter in SEP-12 requests. Each key should map to an object with a human-readable `description`.

If KYC is required for a Sending or Receiving client in some cases but not others, it is recommended to provide values in the respective types object for all cases and return an empty fields object from SEP-12 GET /customer for the cases where no KYC is necessary.

`fields` Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`fields`	object	An object containing single `transaction` key.

`transaction` Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`description`	string	A description of field to show to user.
`choices`	array	(optional) A list of possible values for the field.
`optional`	boolean	(optional) false if not specified.

POST Transactions

Request

This request initiates a payment. The Sending and Receiving Client must be registered via SEP-12 if required by the Receiving Anchor.

The following is an example request body if Sending Anchor Asset Conversions or Stellar Network Asset Conversions are used, and it will result in a 1-for-1 (minus fees) conversion from USDC to USD.

POST DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "amount": 100,
  "asset_code": "USDC",
  "asset_issuer": "GDRHDSTZ4PK6VI3WL224XBJFEB6CUXQESTQPXYIB3KGITRLL7XVE4NWV",
  "sender_id": "d2bd1412-e2f6-4047-ad70-a1a2f133b25c",
  "receiver_id": "137938d4-43a7-4252-a452-842adcee474c"
}

The following is an example request body if the Sending Anchor requested an indicative quote from SEP-38 GET /price and found the estimated rate acceptable.

Note that the amount delivered to the Receiving Client in this scenario varies depending on the exchange rate used by the Receiving Anchor, which may differ from the rate provided in the GET /price response.

POST DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "amount": 100,
  "asset_code": "USDC",
  "asset_issuer": "GDRHDSTZ4PK6VI3WL224XBJFEB6CUXQESTQPXYIB3KGITRLL7XVE4NWV",
  "destination_asset": "iso4217:BRL",
  "sender_id": "d2bd1412-e2f6-4047-ad70-a1a2f133b25c",
  "receiver_id": "137938d4-43a7-4252-a452-842adcee474c"
}

The following is an example request body if the Sending Anchor requested a firm quote from SEP-38 POST /quote and found the rate acceptable. In this case, the Receiving Anchor must ensure that the information passed in the POST /transactions request matches the assets and amounts defined in the POST /quote request and response.

POST DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "amount": 100,
  "asset_code": "USDC",
  "asset_issuer": "GDRHDSTZ4PK6VI3WL224XBJFEB6CUXQESTQPXYIB3KGITRLL7XVE4NWV",
  "destination_asset": "iso4217:BRL",
  "quote_id": "2bc5b322-5117-413f-869f-e7ca494cb1a4",
  "sender_id": "d2bd1412-e2f6-4047-ad70-a1a2f133b25c",
  "receiver_id": "137938d4-43a7-4252-a452-842adcee474c"
  "funding_method": "SWIFT"
}

Request Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`amount`	number	Amount of the Stellar asset sent to the Receiving Anchor.
`asset_code`	string	Code of the asset the Sending Anchor intends to send. This must match one of the entries listed in the receiving anchor's `GET /info` endpoint.
`funding_method`	string	A method supported by the Receiving Anchor for transferring or settling assets. Must match one of the values specified in the corresponding `/info` response. This field is required to help the Anchor identify the necessary KYC information to collect.
`asset_issuer`	string	(optional) The issuer of the Stellar asset the Sending Anchor intends to send. If not specified, the asset sent must be issued by the Receiving Anchor.
`destination_asset`	string	(optional) The off-chain asset the Receiving Anchor will deliver to the Receiving Client. The value must match one of the `asset` values included in a `SEP-38 GET /prices?sell_asset=stellar:<asset_code>:<asset_issuer>` response using SEP-38 Asset Identification Format. If neither this field nor `quote_id` are set, it's assumed that Sending Anchor Asset Conversions was used.
`quote_id`	string	(optional) The `id` returned from a `SEP-38 POST /quote` response. If this attribute is specified, the values for the fields defined above must match the values associated with the quote.
`sender_id`	`string`	(optional) The ID included in the SEP-12 PUT /customer response for the Sending Client. Required if the Receiving Anchor requires SEP-12 KYC on the Sending Client.
`receiver_id`	`string`	(optional) The ID included in the SEP-12 PUT /customer response for the Receiving Client. Required if the Receiving Anchor requires SEP-12 KYC on the Receiving Client.
`lang`	string	(optional) Defaults to `en`. Language code specified using ISO 639-1. Any human-readable error codes or field descriptions will be returned in this language.
`refund_memo`	string	(optional) The memo the Receiving Anchor must use when sending refund payments back to the Sending Anchor. If not specified, the Receiving Anchor should use the same memo the Sending Anchor used to send the original payment. If specified, `refund_memo_type` must also be specified.
`refund_memo_type`	string	(optional) The type of the `refund_memo`. Can be `id`, `text`, or `hash`. See the memos documentation for more information. If specified, `refund_memo` must also be specified.
`fields`	object	(Deprecated, optional) An object containing the values requested by the Receiving Anchor in the `GET /info` endpoint. Pass SEP-9 fields via SEP-12 PUT /customer instead.

Responses

Success (201 Created)

This is the successful case where a Receiving Anchor either confirms that they can fulfill this payment as described or that confirmation is pending.

Anchors must check for whether stellar_account_id, stellar_memo, & stellar_memo_type values are present in the response.

If these values are not present, the Receiving Anchor is processing the information sent and determining if the transaction can proceed. In this case, the transaction's status is pending_receiver and the Sending Anchor should use monitor the transaction until it's status moves to pending_sender or error.

When the transaction status moves to pending_sender, the Stellar account & memo fields should be populated.

Sending Anchors can monitor the transaction's status by registering a callback URL via PUT /transactions/:id/callback or by polling GET /transactions/:id.

Name	Type	Description
`id`	string	The persistent identifier to check the status of this payment transaction.
`stellar_account_id`	string	(optional) The Stellar account to send payment to.
`stellar_memo_type`	string	(optional) The type of memo to attach to the Stellar payment (`text`, `hash`, or `id`).
`stellar_memo`	string	(optional) The memo to attach to the Stellar payment.

Customer Info Needed (400 Bad Request)

In the case where the Sending Anchor didn't provide all the KYC information requested in SEP-12 GET /customer, or where the Receiving Anchor requires additional KYC information after amount, the response should include a 400 status code and the following body. The sender should then retry both the SEP-12 GET /customer request to collect the additional fields and the SEP-12 PUT /customer request including all fields described in the SEP-12 GET /customer response.

After the SEP-12 step is complete, the sender can then retry the POST /transactions request.

Name	Type	Description
`error`	string	`customer_info_needed`
`type`	string	(optional) A string for the `type` URL argument the Sending Anchor should use when making the `SEP-12 GET /customer` request. The value should be included in the `sender.types` or `receiver.types` object from `GET /info`.

Transaction Info Needed (400 Bad Request)

In the case where the Sending Anchor didn't provide all the information requested in GET /info, the response should include a 400 status code the following body. The Sending Anchor should then retry the entire request including all the previously sent fields plus the fields described in the response.

Name	Type	Description
`error`	string	`transaction_info_needed`
`fields`	object	A key-value pair of missing fields in the same format as fields described in `GET /info`.

Error (400 Bad Request)

In the case where the transaction cannot be completed, return an error response body containing an error key describing the error in human-readable format in the language indicated in the request, for instance:

{
  "error": "The amount was above the maximum limit"
}

- or -

{
  "error": "That bank account is restricted via AML laws"
}

GET Transaction

The transaction endpoint enables Sending Clients to fetch information on a specific transaction with the Receiving Anchor.

GET DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions/:id

Request parameters:

Name	Type	Description
`id`	string	The id of the transaction.

On success the response should include a 200 OK HTTP status code and the following body:

Name	Type	Description
`transaction`	object	The transaction that was requested by the client.

transaction Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`id`	string	The ID returned from the `POST /transactions` request that created this transaction record.
`status`	string	The status of the transaction. Values are outlined below.
`status_eta`	number	(optional) The estimated number of seconds until a status change is expected.
`status_message`	string	(optional) A human-readable message describing the status of the transaction.
`amount_in`	string	(optional) The amount of the Stellar asset received or to be received by the Receiving Anchor. Excludes any fees charged after Receiving Anchor receives the funds. If a `quote_id` was used, the `amount_in` should be equals to both: (i) the `amount` value used in the `POST /transactions` request; and (ii) the quote's `sell_amount`.
`amount_in_asset`	string	(optional) The asset received or to be received by the Receiving Anchor. Must be present if `quote_id` or `destination_asset` was included in the `POST /transactions` request. The value must be in SEP-38 Asset Identification Format.
`amount_out`	string	(optional) The amount sent or to be sent by the Receiving Anchor to the Receiving Client. When using a `destination_asset` in the `POST /transactions` request, it's expected that this value is only populated after the Receiving Anchor receives the incoming payment. Should be equals to `quote.buy_amount` if a `quote_id` was used.
`amount_out_asset`	string	(optional) The asset delivered to the Receiving Client. Must be present if `quote_id` or `destination_asset` was included in the `POST /transactions` request. The value must be in SEP-38 Asset Identification Format.
`amount_fee`	string	(deprecated, optional) The amount of fee charged by the Receiving Anchor. Should be equals `quote.fee.total` if a `quote_id` was used.
`amount_fee_asset`	string	(deprecated, optional) The asset in which fees are calculated in. Must be present if `quote_id` or `destination_asset` was included in the `POST /transactions` request. The value must be in SEP-38 Asset Identification Format. Should be equals `quote.fee.asset` if a `quote_id` was used.
`fee_details`	object	Description of fee charged by the anchor. The schema for this object is defined in the Fee Details Object Schema section below. If `quote_id` is present, it should match the referenced quote's `fee` object.
`quote_id`	string	(optional) The ID of the quote used to create this transaction. Should be present if a `quote_id` was included in the `POST /transactions` request. Clients should be aware though that the `quote_id` may not be present in older implementations.
`stellar_account_id`	string	(optional) The Receiving Anchor's Stellar account that the Sending Anchor will be making the payment to.
`stellar_memo_type`	string	(optional) The type of memo to attach to the Stellar payment: `text`, `hash`, or `id`.
`stellar_memo`	string	(optional) The memo to attach to the Stellar payment.
`started_at`	UTC ISO 8601 string	(optional) Start date and time of transaction.
`updated_at`	UTC ISO 8601 string	(optional) The date and time of transaction reaching the current `status`.
`completed_at`	UTC ISO 8601 string	(optional) Completion date and time of transaction.
`stellar_transaction_id`	string	(optional) The transaction_id on Stellar network of the transfer that initiated the payment.
`external_transaction_id`	string	(optional) The ID of transaction on external network that completes the payment into the receivers account.
`refunded`	boolean	(deprecated, optional) This field is deprecated in favor of the `refunds` object. True if the transaction was refunded in full. False if the transaction was partially refunded or not refunded. For more details about any refunds, see the `refunds` object.
`refunds`	object	(optional) An object describing any on-chain refund associated with this transaction. The schema for this object is defined in the Refunds Object Schema section below.
`required_info_message`	string	(optional) A human-readable message indicating any errors that require updated information from the sender.
`required_info_updates`	object	(optional) A set of fields that require update values from the Sending Anchor, in the same format as described in GET /info. This field is only relevant when `status` is `pending_transaction_info_update`.

status should be one of:

pending_sender -- awaiting payment to be sent by Sending Anchor.
pending_stellar -- transaction has been submitted to Stellar network, but is not yet confirmed.
pending_customer_info_update -- certain pieces of information need to be updated by the Sending Anchor. See the Pending Customer Info Update section for more information.
pending_transaction_info_update -- certain pieces of information need to be updated by the Sending Anchor. See the Pending Transaction Info Update section for more information.
pending_receiver -- payment is being processed by the Receiving Anchor.
pending_external -- payment has been submitted to external network, but is not yet confirmed.
completed -- funds have been delivered to the Receiving Client.
refunded -- funds have been refunded to the Sending Anchor.
expired -- funds were never received by the anchor and the transaction is considered abandoned by the Sending Client. If a SEP-38 quote was specified when the transaction was initiated, the transaction should expire when the quote expires, otherwise anchors are responsible for determining when transactions are considered expired.
error -- catch-all for any error not enumerated above.

Refunds Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`amount_refunded`	string	The total amount refunded to the Sending Anchor, in units of `amount_in_asset`. If a full refund was issued, this amount should match `amount_in`.
`amount_fee`	string	The total amount charged in fees for processing all refund payments, in units of `amount_in_asset`. The sum of all `fee` values in the `payments` object list should equal this value.
`payments`	array	A list of objects containing information on the individual payments made back to the Sending Anchor as refunds. The schema for these objects is defined in the section below.

Refund Payment Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`id`	string	The Stellar transaction hash of the transaction that included the refund payment. This id is not guaranteed to be unique.
`amount`	string	The amount sent back to the Sending Anchor for the payment identified by `id`, in units of `amount_in_asset`.
`fee`	string	The amount charged as a fee for processing the refund, in units of `amount_in_asset`.

Amount Formulas

The following should hold true for all transaction records, assuming amount_in_asset and amount_out_asset are the same. If they are different, the following should still hold true after converting all amounts to units of one of the assets.

amount_out = amount_in - amount_fee - refunds.amount_refunded - refunds.amount_fee; // when `quote_id` is used, the price used to calculate the conversion between amounts is `quote.price` and not `quote.total_price`.

refunds.amount_refunded = sum(refunds.payments[].amount)

refunds.amount_fee = sum(refunds.payments[].fee)

If a quote_id was used in the request, the following should hold true.

post_transaction.amount = get_transaction.amount_in = quote.sell_amount;

get_transaction.amount_out = quote.buy_amount;

amount_fee = sum(quote.fee.total);

amount_fee_asset = quote.fee.asset;

Fee Details Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`total`	string	The total amount of fee applied.
`asset`	string	The asset in which the fee is applied, represented through the Asset Identification Format.
`details`	array	(optional) An array of objects detailing the fees that were used to calculate the conversion price. This can be used to datail the price components for the end-user.

Fee Details Details Object Schema

Name	Type	Description
`name`	string	The name of the fee, for example `ACH fee`, `Brazilian conciliation fee`, `Service fee`, etc.
`description`	string	(optional) A text describing the fee.
`amount`	string	The amount of asset applied. If `fee_details.details` is provided, `sum(fee_details.details.amount)` should be equals `fee_details.total`.

Example response

Pending external (without quotes):

{
  "transaction": {
    "id": "82fhs729f63dh0v4",
    "status": "pending_external",
    "status_eta": 3600,
    "status_message": "Payment has been initiated via ACH deposit.",
    "stellar_transaction_id": "b9d0b2292c4e09e8eb22d036171491e87b8d2086bf8b265874c8d182cb9c9020",
    "external_transaction_id": "ABCDEFG1234567890",
    "stellar_account_id": "GBRPYHIL2CI3FNQ4BXLFMNDLFJUNPU2HY3ZMFSHONUCEOASW7QC7OX2H",
    "stellar_memo": "123456789",
    "stellar_memo_type": "id",
    "amount_in": "18.34",
    "amount_out": "18.24",
    "amount_fee": "0.1",
    "started_at": "2017-03-20T17:05:32Z"
  }
}

Pending transaction info update:

{
  "transaction": {
    "id": "82fhs729f63dh0v4",
    "status": "pending_transaction_info_update",
    "status_eta": 3600,
    "stellar_transaction_id": "b9d0b2292c4e09e8eb22d036171491e87b8d2086bf8b265874c8d182cb9c9020",
    "external_transaction_id": "ABCDEFG1234567890",
    "amount_in": "18.34",
    "amount_out": "18.24",
    "amount_fee": "0.1",
    "stellar_account_id": "GBRPYHIL2CI3FNQ4BXLFMNDLFJUNPU2HY3ZMFSHONUCEOASW7QC7OX2H",
    "stellar_memo": "123456789",
    "stellar_memo_type": "id",
    "started_at": "2017-03-20T17:05:32Z",
    "required_info_message": "The bank reported an incorrect account number for the receiver, please ensure the account matches legal documents",
    "required_info_updates": {
      "transaction": {
        "receiver_account_number": {
          "description": "The receiver's bank account number"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Completed:

{
  "transaction": {
    "id": "82fhs729f63dh0v4",
    "status": "completed",
    "amount_in": "110",
    "amount_out": "90",
    "amount_fee": "5",
    "started_at": "2017-03-20T17:05:32Z",
    "stellar_transaction_id": "b9d0b2292c4e09e8eb22d036171491e87b8d2086bf8b265874c8d182cb9c9020",
    "stellar_account_id": "GBRPYHIL2CI3FNQ4BXLFMNDLFJUNPU2HY3ZMFSHONUCEOASW7QC7OX2H",
    "stellar_memo": "123456789",
    "stellar_memo_type": "id",
    "refunds": {
      "amount_refunded": "10",
      "amount_fee": "5",
      "payments": [
        {
          "id": "54321ab047a193c6fda1c47f5962cbcca8708d79b87089ababd57532c21c5402",
          "amount": "10",
          "fee": "5"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Pending external (with quote_id):

{
  "transaction": {
    "id": "82fhs729f63dh0v4",
    "amount_in": "100.00",
    "amount_in_asset": "stellar:USDC:GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335X2KGX3IHOJAPP5RE34K4KZVN",
    "amount_out": "500.00",
    "amount_out_asset": "iso4217:BRL",
    "amount_fee": "10.00",
    "amount_fee_asset": "stellar:USDC:GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335X2KGX3IHOJAPP5RE34K4KZVN",
    "quote_id": "de762cda-a193-4961-861e-57b31fed6eb3",
    "started_at": "2017-03-20T17:05:32Z",
    "status": "pending_external",
    "status_eta": 3600,
    "stellar_transaction_id": "b9d0b2292c4e09e8eb22d036171491e87b8d2086bf8b265874c8d182cb9c9020",
    "external_transaction_id": "ABCDEFG1234567890",
    "stellar_account_id": "GBRPYHIL2CI3FNQ4BXLFMNDLFJUNPU2HY3ZMFSHONUCEOASW7QC7OX2H",
    "stellar_memo": "123456789",
    "stellar_memo_type": "id"
  }
}

Response body of the quote used in the above SEP-31 transaction:

{
  "id": "de762cda-a193-4961-861e-57b31fed6eb3",
  "expires_at": "2022-05-19T07:42:23",
  "total_price": "0.20",      // 100/500
  "price": "0.18",            // (100-10)/500
  "sell_amount": "100.00",
  "sell_asset": "stellar:USDC:GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335X2KGX3IHOJAPP5RE34K4KZVN",
  "buy_amount": "500.00",
  "buy_asset": "iso4217:BRL",
  "fee": {
    "total": "10.00",
    "asset": "stellar:USDC:GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335X2KGX3IHOJAPP5RE34K4KZVN",
    "details": [
      {
        "name": "Service fee",
        "amount": "8.00"
      },
      {
        "name": "BRL deposit fee",
        "amount": "2.00"
      }
    ]
  }
}

If the transaction cannot be found, the endpoint should return a 404 NOT FOUND result.

Pending Customer Info Update

In certain cases the Receiving Anchor might need to request updated information from the Sending Anchor. For example, if the bank tells the Receiving Anchor that the provided Receiving Client's name is incorrect or missing a middle initial. Since this information was sent via SEP-12, the transaction should go into the pending_customer_info_update state until the Sending Anchor makes another SEP-12 PUT /customer request to update. The Sending Anchor can check which fields need to be updated by making a SEP-12 GET /customer request. The Receiving Anchor should respond with a NEEDS_INFO status, a provided_fields including all provided fields, and a fields including all fields need to be updated .

GET /transaction and verify transaction status is pending_customer_info_update.
Get required fields via SEP-12 GET /customer request. It is recommended to use the combination of transaction_id and customer type type as part of the request.
Collect user input for the required fields and use SEP-12 PUT /customer endpoint to transfer the data
Repeat steps 2-3 until customer's response status becomes ACCEPTED.
GET /transaction should transition into pending_receiver status.

Pending Transaction Info Update (Deprecated)

Another possibility is that the per-transaction information provided in the POST /transactions fields object was later discovered to be invalid. In this case, the transaction should go into the pending_transaction_info_update state until the Sending Anchor makes a request to the endpoint outlined below. This approach is deprecated in favor of using per-customer fields provided via SEP-9 fields in SEP-12 PUT /customer requests.

PATCH Transaction (Deprecated)

This endpoint should only be used when the Receiving Anchor needs more info via the pending_transaction_info_update status from the Sending Anchor. The required_info_updates transaction field should contain the fields required for the update. If the Sending Anchor tries to update at a time when no info is requested, the Receiving Anchor should fail with an error response. This approach is deprecated in favor of using per-customer fields provided via SEP-9 fields in SEP-12 PUT /customer requests.

PATCH DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions/:id

Request parameters:

Name	Type	Description
`id`	string	The id of the transaction.
`fields`	object	A key-pair object containing the values requested to be updated by the receiving anchor in the same format as `fields` in the `POST /transactions` request.

Example

PATCH DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions/82fhs729f63dh0v4

{
   "fields": {
      "transaction": {
         "receiver_bank_account": "12345678901234",
         "receiver_routing_number": "021000021"
      }
   }
}

Success 200 OK

If the information was successfully updated and all fields required for the transaction are patched, respond with a 200 status code, and return a response body matching GET /transactions/:id. The transaction should return to pending_receiver, though it is possible that the information could still need to be updated again.

Not Found 404

If the transaction specified by "id" does not exist, return a 404 response.

Error 400

If the information was malformed, or if the sender tried to update data that isn't updatable, return a 400 with an object containing an error message.

{
  "error": "Supplied fields do not allow updates, please only try to updates the fields requested"
}

PUT Transaction Callback

This endpoint can be used by the Sending Anchor to register a callback URL that the Receiving Anchor will make application/json POST requests to containing the transaction object defined in the response to GET /transaction/:id whenever the transaction's status value has changed. Note that a callback does not need to be made for the initial status of the transaction, which in most cases is pending_sender.

This endpoint should also support replacing a previously provided callback URL for the transaction. Receiving Anchors should only make callback requests to the most recently provided URL per-transaction.

If the Receiving Anchor does not support making callback requests, this endpoint should return 404 Not Found.

PUT DIRECT_PAYMENT_SERVER/transactions/:id/callback

{
  "url": "https://sendinganchor.com/statusCallback"
}

Request:

Name	Type	Description
`url`	string	A valid URL that can accept POST requests containing the transaction obejct defined in the response to `GET /transaction/:id`.

Response:

The Receiving Anchor should respond with a 204 No Content HTTP status.

Callback POST

Request

POST [url from PUT request]

See the response to GET /transaction/:id for the POST request fields.

In order to validate the integrity and provenance of the request, the Receiving Anchor MUST include a signature in the HTTP Header Signature or X-Stellar-Signature (deprecated). Sending Anchors should support both headers until the X-Stellar-Signature header is removed from the specification.

These headers MUST follow the specification: t=<timestamp>, s=<base64 signature> where:

timestamp is the current Unix timestamp (number of seconds since epoch) at the time the callback is sent. This is used to assure the freshness of the request and to prevent this request to be replayed in the future.
base64 signature is the base64 encoding of the request signature. We explain below how to compute and verify this signature. The signature is computed using the Stellar private key linked to the SIGNING_KEY field of the Receiving Anchor's stellar.toml. Note that the timestamp and the Sending Anchor hostname will be part of the signature to prevent replay and relay attacks.

It is the Sending Anchor's responsibility to:

Verify the signature using the corresponding Stellar SIGNING_KEY field of the Receiving Anchor's stellar.toml.
Verify the freshness of the request by comparing the timestamp in the request with the current timestamp at the time of the reception and discard every request above a threshold of few seconds (1 or 2 minute(s) maximum).
Send a working callback URL to the Receiving Anchor.

VERIFY signature

Check that callback request has Signature or X-Stellar-Signature (deprecated) header
Parse the header and extract:
- Key t: timestamp
- Key s: base64 signature
Verify the request freshness: current timestamp - timestamp < few seconds (1-2 minute(s) max)
Extract the body of the request
Base64 decode the base64 signature to get the signature
Prepare the payload to verify the signature:
- The timestamp (as a string)
- The character .
- The Sending Anchor host to send the callback request to
- The character .
- The body
Verify the signature using the correct SIGNING_KEY

COMPUTE signature

Prepare the callback body
Prepare the payload to sign:
- Current timestamp (as a string)
- The character .
- The Sending Anchor host to send the callback request to
- The character .
- The callback request body
Sign the payload <timestamp>.<host>.<body> using the Receiving Anchor private key
Base64 encode the signature
Build the Signature or X-Stellar-Signature (deprecated) header:
- Signature: t=<current timestamp>, s=<base64 encoded signature>
- X-Stellar-Signature : t=<current timestamp>, s=<base64 encoded signature>

Response

The sending anchor must respond with a 2XX (ex. 204 No Content) HTTP response code as long as the signature is correct, the transaction specified with id exists and the request body adheres to the transaction object schema.

If the request is invalid, either because the transaction specified doesn't exist, the request body is not valid or the signature is invalid, return a 400 Bad Request JSON response. Note that this is a bug on the the Receiving Anchor's side, and they should be notified in this case.

It is important to note that the Receiving Anchor is not obligated, at least by default (SLAs can be defined between the parties), to retry if an unexpected status code is returned by the Sending Anchor. If Sending Anchors experience unexpected downtime, it is recommended to poll all in-progress transactions to fetch current status values.

Changelog

v3.1.0: Deprecate fields in favor of funding_method field (#1567)
v3.0.0: Update SEP-31 with async kyc flow (#1502)
v2.6.0: Add fee_details field to the transaction object (#1429)
v2.5.0: Deprecate and make optional the use of per-transaction fields objects (#1387)
v2.4.0: Add updated_at to GET /transactions/:id response (#1336)
v2.3.1: Allow anchors to omit the deprecated X-Stellar-Signature header (#1335)
v2.3.0: Deprecate X-Stellar-Signature in favor of Signature (#1333)
v2.2.0: Add refund_memo & refund_memo_type to POST /transactions request. (#1321)
v2.1.0: Add the refunded status and updated the Detailed Receiving Anchor Flow. (#1311)
v2.0.0: Make stellar_account_id, stellar_memo, & stellar_memo_type optional in the POST /transactions response. Add the status_message attribute to GET /transactions/:id. (#1294)
v1.10.0: Add quote_id to the transaction object schema. (#1268)
v1.9.0: Add callback signature requirement. (#1264)
v1.8.0: Add expired transaction status. (#1233)
v1.7.0: Add a PUT /transactions/:id/callback endpoint for Sending Anchors to request callback requests when a transaction's status value changes. (#1214)
v1.6.1: Add information about how a SEP-31 transaction should populate the amount_in, amount_out, amount_fee and amount_fee_asset fields when a quote_id is used. (#1204)
v1.6.0: Updated the "Sending Anchor Flow" so the Sending Anchor needs to reach the GET /transactions/:id endpoint to get the payment information before sending the payment to the Receiving Anchor. (#1203)
v1.5.5: Updated the description of PATCH /transactions. (#1166)
v1.5.4: Add the state diagram of a SEP-31 transaction. (#1164)
v1.5.3: Clarify when sender_id and receiver_id attributes are required for POST /transactions requests. (#1158)
v1.5.2: Add a use case when the receiving client may receive on-stellar asset. (#1149)
v1.5.1: Add a sequence diagram for successful transactions using firm quotes. (#1145)
v1.5.0: Deprecate refunded boolean. Add refund object to transaction records. (#1128)

Files

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sep-0031.md

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Preamble

Simple Summary

Abstract

Example

Diagrams

Completing a Transaction with a Firm Quote

Prerequisites

Authentication

HTTPS Only

Content Type

Asset Conversions and Liquidity Strategies

Sending Anchor Asset Conversion

Stellar Network Asset Conversion

Receiving Anchor Asset Conversion

API Endpoints

Detailed Sending Anchor Flow

Detailed Receiving Anchor Flow

GET Info

Request

Response

Asset Object Schema

sep12 Object Schema

types Object Schema

fields Object Schema

transaction Object Schema

POST Transactions

Request

Request Parameters

Responses

Success (201 Created)

Customer Info Needed (400 Bad Request)

Transaction Info Needed (400 Bad Request)

Error (400 Bad Request)

GET Transaction

Refunds Object Schema

Refund Payment Object Schema

Amount Formulas

Fee Details Object Schema

Fee Details Details Object Schema

Example response

Pending Customer Info Update

Pending Transaction Info Update (Deprecated)

PATCH Transaction (Deprecated)

Example

Success 200 OK

Not Found 404

Error 400

PUT Transaction Callback

Callback POST

Request

VERIFY signature

COMPUTE signature

Response

Changelog

`sep12` Object Schema

`types` Object Schema

`fields` Object Schema

`transaction` Object Schema