Budgets for machine payments

# Budgets for machine payments

> Set spending limits per request and per session for API, inference, and compute usage.

- Human URL: https://conto.finance/solutions/micropayments
- Raw Markdown: https://conto.finance/solutions/micropayments.md
- Terminal view: https://conto.finance/ai/solutions/micropayments

## Proof Points

- **Best for:** Inference, APIs, service spend
- **Controls:** Per-call caps, session budgets, velocity
- **Outcome:** Machine-speed buying with hard limits

## Workflow

### 1. The agent chooses a paid service

A compute or API workflow selects the service endpoint and proposes the call based on price, latency, or task fit.

### 2. Conto checks call-level economics

Conto checks each request against your per-call limits, session budgets, and provider rules before the service is paid.

### 3. Normal usage continues until budget is spent

Low-cost calls keep flowing. Expensive routes or exhausted budgets are blocked before the provider is paid.

## Controls

### Per-call ceilings

Prevent a single API or inference request from blowing past the allowed unit economics for the task.

### Session envelopes

Give each task or agent run a hard budget so many small calls cannot add up to an unlimited bill.

### Provider-level policy

Restrict autonomous spend to the providers or service types you actually trust for the workflow.

### Velocity monitoring

Catch broken loops or runaway retry behavior before the agent can hammer a paid endpoint continuously.

## Outcomes

- Engineering teams can let agents buy services dynamically without accepting unbounded cost exposure.
- The same control plane works for per-call infrastructure spend and more traditional payouts.
- Every paid request records its provider, price, budget, and policy result.

## Related Industries

- [compute](https://conto.finance/industries/compute)
- [commerce](https://conto.finance/industries/commerce)