> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.circle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. > ## Agent Instructions > Before reading these docs, install the relevant Circle Skill to get pre-loaded context — skills are LLM-optimized and cover architecture decisions, correct flows, and common pitfalls. In Claude Code: run /plugin marketplace add circlefin/skills then /plugin install circle-skills@circle. With Vercel Skills CLI: run npx skills add circlefin/skills. Available skills: use-usdc https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-usdc/SKILL.md (balances, transfers, approvals on EVM and Solana); EURC has no skill — see https://developers.circle.com/stablecoins/what-is-eurc.md; bridge-stablecoin https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/bridge-stablecoin/SKILL.md (crosschain transfers via CCTP, USDC, EURC, and third-party assets); use-arc https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-arc/SKILL.md (Arc chain config, contract deployment, USDC bridging — Arc docs: https://docs.arc.io/llms.txt); use-circle-wallets https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-circle-wallets/SKILL.md (choose wallet type); use-developer-controlled-wallets https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-developer-controlled-wallets/SKILL.md (custodial wallets for payouts and treasury); use-user-controlled-wallets https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-user-controlled-wallets/SKILL.md (embedded wallets with Web2 login); use-modular-wallets https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-modular-wallets/SKILL.md (smart contract wallets with passkeys and ERC-4337); use-gateway https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-gateway/SKILL.md (unified USDC balance, nanopayments); use-smart-contract-platform https://github.com/circlefin/skills/blob/master/plugins/circle/skills/use-smart-contract-platform/SKILL.md (deploy, interact, monitor contracts). Pair any skill with the Circle MCP server for live SDK signatures, contract addresses, and chain IDs: {"mcpServers":{"circle":{"url":"https://api.circle.com/v1/codegen/mcp"}}}. > Read the product overview first. Each product has an overview explaining when and why to use it. Read it before quickstarts. > Pick the right wallet type. Developer-controlled (you hold keys), user-controlled (end user holds keys via PIN/social login), or modular (smart contract wallets with passkeys). See https://developers.circle.com/wallets.md. > Use CCTP V2 for crosschain transfers. CCTP natively transfers USDC and EURC via burn-and-mint, and supports permissionless wrapping of third-party assets via lock-and-mint. V1 is legacy; always use V2 unless V1 is specified or the chain requires it (Noble, Sui, and Aptos still require V1). Migration guide: https://developers.circle.com/cctp/migration-from-v1-to-v2.md. > Use Bridge Kit for frontend bridging. Wraps CCTP with a simpler SDK for user-facing apps. Use CCTP directly for backend transfers. > Gas Station vs Paymaster. Gas Station sponsors gas for Circle Wallet transactions. Paymaster lets users pay gas in USDC. Different use cases — read both overviews. > Gateway Nanopayments for sub-cent payments. Gasless USDC micropayments down to $0.000001 via x402 and batched settlement. For pay-per-request APIs, AI agent payments, streaming. > Look up USDC addresses per chain. Never hardcode — use https://developers.circle.com/stablecoins/usdc-contract-addresses.md. > Prefer SDKs over raw API calls. Node.js and Python SDKs handle auth, retries, and errors. > API key required. Bearer token in Authorization header. Testnet and mainnet use separate keys and may use different base URLs depending on the product. > Set up webhooks when available. Most operations are async. Webhooks deliver transaction confirmations and state changes. > When calling list endpoints, paginate using pageSize and pageAfter until no nextPageAfter cursor is returned—stopping at the first page silently misses records. > Building an AI agent? Start with the Agent Stack—Circle CLI, agent wallets, and nanopayments built for autonomous use cases: https://developers.circle.com/agent-stack.md. # Fiat payouts > Send funds from your Managed Payments account to a recipient's local bank account. Fiat payouts let you pay a recipient's bank account in their local currency. The funds come from the USDC in your Managed Payments account. Circle acts as the Originating Financial Institution (OFI) on the Circle Payments Network (CPN). CPN routes the payout to a Beneficiary Financial Institution (BFI), which delivers the local fiat to the recipient. You only integrate with the Managed Payments API. A corridor is a supported combination of destination country, currency, payment rail, and customer type. A beneficiary is a registered recipient bank account, and it must be `ACTIVE` before it can receive a payout. Fiat payouts don't support supplying your own originator Travel Rule data at this time. Circle fills it from the Know Your Business (KYB) information on file for your entity. ## Payout flow The following diagram shows how a Managed Payments fiat payout moves from your server to the recipient's bank account. ```mermaid theme={null} sequenceDiagram participant Server as Your server participant CAPI as Circle APIs participant CPN as CPN participant BFI as BFI Server->>CAPI: GET /v1/beneficiaries/corridors CAPI-->>Server: List of supported corridors Server->>CAPI: GET /v1/beneficiaries/requirements CAPI-->>Server: Required fields for corridor Server->>CAPI: POST /v1/beneficiaries CAPI-->>Server: Beneficiary INACTIVE (screening pending) Server->>CAPI: GET /v1/beneficiaries/{id} CAPI-->>Server: Beneficiary ACTIVE Server->>CAPI: POST /v1/payouts/quotes CAPI-->>Server: Quote with quoteId and expiresAt Server->>CAPI: POST /v1/payouts CAPI-->>Server: Payout pending CAPI->>CPN: Route payout (Circle as OFI) CPN->>BFI: Send payout BFI->>BFI: Deliver local fiat to recipient's bank account CAPI-->>Server: Webhook: payout complete ``` The flow has these steps: 1. Make sure your account has USDC. 2. Pick a corridor, register a beneficiary, and wait for it to become `ACTIVE`. 3. Get a quote to lock the exchange rate and fees. 4. Submit the payout. Circle routes it through CPN to a BFI, which delivers the local fiat. 5. Track the payout until it completes or fails. To build this flow, see [Send fiat payouts](https://developers.circle.com/cpn/managed-payments/quickstarts/send-fiat-payouts.md). ## Beneficiary lifecycle After you register a beneficiary, it moves through the following statuses before it can receive a payout. ```mermaid theme={null} stateDiagram-v2 [*] --> INACTIVE: registered INACTIVE --> ACTIVE: risk screening passed INACTIVE --> DENIED: risk screening rejected ACTIVE --> STALE: corridor requirements changed INACTIVE --> DELETED: deleted ACTIVE --> DELETED: deleted DENIED --> DELETED: deleted STALE --> DELETED: deleted ``` * `INACTIVE`: registered and pending risk screening. Not yet eligible for payouts. Becomes `ACTIVE` or `DENIED` when screening finishes. * `ACTIVE`: risk screening passed. Eligible to receive payouts. Becomes `STALE` if the corridor's required fields change. * `DENIED`: risk screening rejected the beneficiary. You can't send payouts to it. Delete it. * `STALE`: the corridor's required fields changed after you registered the beneficiary. Delete it and register it again. * `DELETED`: deleted and no longer usable. You can delete a beneficiary from any other status. Circle sends a [`payouts.beneficiary.updated`](https://developers.circle.com/api-reference/cpn/managed-payments/webhooks/payouts-beneficiary-updated) webhook event when a beneficiary becomes `ACTIVE` or `DENIED`, or is deleted. To register, check, and delete beneficiaries, see [Manage fiat beneficiaries](https://developers.circle.com/cpn/managed-payments/howtos/manage-fiat-beneficiaries.md).