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The Nevermined x402 Facilitator is an enforcement and settlement engine for x402. It lets any API, agent, MCP tool, or protected resource accept HTTP-native payments without running on-chain infrastructure. It supports both:
  • Standard x402 settlement (“pay-per-request” style)
  • Nevermined’s programmable x402 extension (smart accounts + policies + contract settlement)

What is x402?

x402 standardizes a payment-enforced HTTP flow:
  1. Client calls an endpoint normally
  2. Server responds with HTTP 402 Payment Required and payment requirements
  3. Client builds a payment authorization (locally signed)
  4. Client retries the request including the x402 payment payload (typically in a PAYMENT-SIGNATURE header)
  5. Server delegates verification and settlement to the Facilitator
For more background and examples:

Why use a Facilitator?

A facilitator is the third party that:
  • verifies payment proofs
  • simulates/enforces what is allowed (amount, plan, merchant/agent binding)
  • executes settlement on-chain
  • returns a canonical receipt (e.g., transaction hash)
This is particularly important for programmable x402, where settlement may be more than a single ERC-20 transfer (credits, subscriptions, policy-based settlement).

How it works

Nevermined’s programmable x402 extension

Standard x402 is often implemented as an “exact transfer” authorization (e.g., EIP-3009). Nevermined extends x402 to support:
  • Smart Accounts (ERC-4337) and delegated session keys
  • Smart-contract settlement (credits, subscriptions, PAYG, dynamic charging)
  • Policy enforcement (merchant allowlists, spend caps, validity windows)
This keeps the HTTP handshake the same, but upgrades settlement from “transfer” to programmable execution.

Facilitator responsibilities

Verification

  • x402 envelope structure/version
  • signature authenticity
  • session key validity + scoped permissions
  • plan state + subscriber balance
  • simulation of allowed on-chain actions (UserOps)

Settlement

After the server completes its work, the facilitator can execute the settlement action permitted by the payment payload, such as:
  • order (purchase/top-up)
  • redeem / burn (consume credits)
  • “exact” transfers (when using standard x402)

Getting started