Payees
Automated recurring payments to verified addresses while your funds earn yield
Payees are pre-approved addresses that receive payments from your Underscore wallet — within exact limits you control. Send payments directly or let recipients pull funds themselves. Set individual caps: "$5k monthly for Employee A, $10k for Employee B." Configure period resets: daily, weekly, monthly, or custom. Your funds keep earning in DeFi until the millisecond they're needed.
Replace wire transfers with programmable payment relationships. Pay salaries automatically while funds compound. Let contractors pull approved amounts without manual transfers. Handle rent, subscriptions, and recurring bills without lifting a finger. Every payment validated against your rules, every penny earning yield until sent.
Why Payees Exist
The Problem with Recurring Crypto Payments
Making regular crypto payments today means choosing between bad options:
Manual transfers: Re-enter addresses, risk typos, waste time every pay period
Give full access: Share private keys or grant unlimited spending permissions
Traditional banking: Pay wire fees, lose DeFi yield, wait for processing
None of these work for businesses or individuals who need reliable, controlled automation.
The Payee Solution
Payees create a verified recipient list with granular controls:
Traditional: Give vendor your credit card → They charge whatever, whenever
Underscore: Add vendor as Payee → $5,000/month limit → Only USDC → Auto-expires quarterlyYour funds stay in DeFi earning yield (via protocols like Aave, Morpho, Euler) until the moment of payment. The system automatically withdraws only what's needed, when it's needed. Plus, you earn rewards on all your DeFi activity.
Why Your Circle of Trust is Unbreakable
Only You Hold the Keys
Absolute Owner Control: Only you, as the wallet owner, can add or remove addresses from your Circle of Trust. Not your accountant. Not your manager. Not even your AI assistant. This fundamental rule is enforced by the blockchain itself — it's not a policy that can be bent, it's code that cannot be broken.
Tamper-Proof by Design
Immutable Records: Once you add someone to your Circle of Trust, that record is written to the blockchain permanently. No hacker can secretly change "Alice's Wallet" to point to their own address. The address you saved is the address that stays.
Managers Can Only Pay Your Trusted Circle
The Ultimate Safety Net: When you grant a manager permission to make payments, they can ONLY send funds to addresses already in your Circle of Trust. They cannot add new payees. They cannot modify existing ones. They cannot "accidentally" send your entire treasury to an unknown address. Every payment must go to someone you've already verified and approved.
This isn't just security theater — it's security architecture. Your Circle of Trust creates an impenetrable boundary around your funds.
Payee Controls & Configuration
You can set comprehensive controls for each payee, ensuring payments happen exactly as intended. These controls protect against overspending, timing errors, and unauthorized changes.
Financial Limits
Dual Protection System
Every payee supports both token amount AND USD value limits:
Transaction Limits: Maximum per single payment (e.g., 1,000 USDC or $1,000)
Period Limits: Maximum per time period (e.g., 5,000 USDC or $5,000/month)
Lifetime Limits: Total cumulative maximum (e.g., 50,000 USDC or $50,000)
The most restrictive limit always applies, protecting against price volatility.
Period Configuration
Custom Periods: Set any duration in blocks (e.g., 43,200 blocks ≈ 1 day on Base)
Auto-Reset: Limits refresh each period (unused amounts don't roll over)
Common Settings: Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly
Payment Controls
Transaction Restrictions
Max Transactions: Limit payment count per period (e.g., 1 for monthly salary)
Cooldown Period: Minimum time between payments (prevents accidental double-pays)
Expiry Date: Auto-deactivate payees after set time (e.g., contractor end date)
Asset Restrictions
Control exactly which tokens each payee can receive:
Single Asset: Lock to one token only (e.g., USDC for salaries)
Preferred Asset: Set default with flexibility for others
Any Asset: Accept all tokens (useful for trading desks)
Security Features
Global Settings (Wallet-Wide)
Pull Payment Master Switch: Enable/disable all pull payments
Self-Payment Toggle: Allow/block payments to yourself
Default Limits: Base settings inherited by new payees
Individual Overrides
Custom Limits: Override globals for specific relationships
Pull Permission: Enable per-payee even if globally disabled
Asset Whitelist: Restrict tokens beyond global settings
System Limits
Maximum 40 Payees: Per wallet capacity
Maximum 40 Assets: Per payee restriction list
Fail-Safe Protection: Blocks payments if price oracles unavailable
Keep it enabled: A broken price feed could otherwise drain your wallet
Only disable for: Pure stablecoin operations where you trust the 1:1 peg
Price oracles are essential services that provide real-world asset prices to the blockchain. By blocking payments when this price data is unavailable, the system prevents potential exploits that could otherwise drain funds during an oracle malfunction.
Pull Payment Safety
Hard requirement: You cannot enable pull payments without setting limits. The system enforces at least one cap (transaction or period) to prevent unlimited access.
Permission System
Who Can Add Payees
Owner: Full control to add, modify, or remove any payee Managers: Can propose new payees (requires owner approval after delay) Others: No access to modify Circle of Trust
Who Can Execute Payments
Owner: Can pay any active payee within limits Managers: Same payment rights as owner (to active payees only) Payees: Can pull payments if explicitly enabled
Who Can Remove
Owner: Can remove any payee immediately Payees: Can remove themselves (clean exit option) Managers: Cannot remove payees directly
Lifecycle Management
Activation Flow
Added → Pending → Active → Expired/Removed
(delay) (working)Typical Activation & Expiry Combinations
New Vendor
7 days
90 days
High security for new relationships; quarterly review
Regular Employee
3 days
365 days
Moderate security; annual contract cycle
Trusted Family
1 day
Never
Quick access for emergencies; permanent relationship
Subscription Service
2 hours
30 days
Fast setup; monthly renewal matches billing
Administrative Hierarchy
Owner (You)
Direct add/update/remove
Confirm manager proposals
Full control always
Managers — Your Trusted Operators
Can make payments to anyone in your Circle of Trust
Can suggest new Payees (requires your approval)
Cannot modify your Circle of Trust directly
Perfect for delegating routine payments while maintaining control
Payees
Can remove themselves
Enables clean exits
📋 Manager Proposals Need Your Approval If a manager proposes a new payee, you'll see a pending request. After the security delay (configurable by you), you must manually confirm to activate the payee. This two-step process prevents unauthorized additions.
Pull Payments: The Subscription Revolution
Enable Payees to pull payment directly from your wallet, always within your preset limits.
How It Works
Payee initiates withdrawal from your wallet
Smart contract validates against all configured limits
Funds automatically sourced from yield positions if needed
Payment executes immediately if within limits
Double Activation Required
Global: canPull = true AND Payee: canPull = true
↓
Pull payments enabledReal Numbers
Traditional subscriptions:
$500/month sitting idle = $0 earned
With pull payments:
$500/month earning 5% = $25/year extra
$6,000 annual subscriptions = $300/year bonus
Safety: Pull Payees MUST have limits. No unlimited access allowed.
Real-World Configurations
Employee Payroll Configuration
Payee: John Smith - Developer
Limits: $5,000 bi-weekly, USDC only
Schedule: 1st and 15th of each month
Result: Automatic payment from yield-earning fundsVendor Management
Vendor: SupplyCo
Period: 7 days
Limits: $2k/tx, $8k/week, $100k lifetime
Cooldown: 1 hour
Asset: Any stablecoin
Result: Flexible payments within boundariesFamily Support
Payee: College Daughter
Period: 30 days
Limits: $2k/month split across 2 payments
Asset: USDC only
Activation: 1 day delay
Result: Automated allowance, adjustable anytimeSaaS Subscriptions
Service: Analytics Platform
Pull Enabled: Yes
Period: 30 days
Limits: $149/month, 1 transaction
Cooldown: 25 days
Asset: USDC only
Result: Never miss payment, earn yield on floatCommon Questions
What happens at expiry? Payees automatically deactivate. Payments blocked until you renew.
What if I overpay by mistake? Impossible. Hard limits enforced by smart contracts on the blockchain prevent sending more than configured.
Do I need separate Payees for each employee? Yes. Each payee has individual limits and tracking.
Can I modify limits after setup? Yes. Changes take effect immediately.
The Perfect Partnership: Managers + Payees
Your Circle of Trust (Payees) defines WHO can receive payments. Your Operators (Managers) handle the routine work of making those payments.
Together, they create unbreakable security:
You verify payment addresses once (adding them as Payees)
Your manager handles daily operations (paying only those Payees)
You maintain ultimate control (only you can modify the Circle of Trust)
This separation of powers means you can delegate work without delegating trust. Your CFO can pay all your vendors without being able to add their cousin as a new "vendor." Your AI can optimize payments without being able to drain your wallet to an unknown address.
Learn more: See how Managers can automate your payment workflows.
Related Features
Cheques: One-time payments with time delays and cancellation ability
Managers: Learn how to delegate payment tasks to AI or team members
Whitelist: Configure instant, unlimited transfers for your most trusted addresses
User Wallet: Explore your complete financial command center and all its features
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