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A Managed Payments sub-wallet is a separate ledger for a merchant or segment. It belongs to your Circle Managed Payments Account for your setup.
  • Most teams create one sub-wallet per merchant or segment. Then USDC balances and activity stay easy to trace in your books and in Circle reports.
  • Your setup has a main wallet too. USDC can live in the main wallet only, in sub-wallets only, or across both. It depends on how you fund and pay out.
Together these wallets let you split balances for books and reports while still using shared funding or pooled sends when your setup allows.

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Wallets structure and typical flows

The following figure is a simplified model. Circle enables only the paths that your setup and agreement support. Solid arrows are typical funding, receive, and payout paths, including payouts funded from the main wallet. Dotted arrows are optional paths your setup may use, such as a line of credit into the main wallet or moving USDC to a sub-wallet before payout.

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Accounts API

If you use the Direct onboarding model, you can skip this section. In that model, Circle creates sub-wallets on your behalf.
Use the Stablecoin Accounts API to create and inspect the stablecoin account that backs each merchant sub-wallet. Sub-wallet activity in API requests and responses references these account and wallet IDs. Circle grants role-based API access during onboarding; the endpoints available to your API keys depend on the roles assigned to your account. In the Intermediary model, you call the create account endpoint after each merchant is approved. In the Direct model, Circle provisions sub-wallets during onboarding. In both cases, you reference the same accountId values for wires, payouts, and payins.

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Funding and pooled balances

Depending on your setup, USDC can be funded and spent across the main wallet and sub-wallets in several ways:
  • Wires can credit one sub-wallet so that merchant’s USDC sits in its own balance. Use the Wires API for bank accounts and wire instructions.
  • If your setup allows it, you can mint to a shared main wallet instead. That pool can back steady, high-volume payout use cases.
  • Some setups include a line of credit. USDC may land in the main wallet first; payouts can move funds to the correct sub-wallet before they go onchain. Terms follow your agreement with Circle.
  • Payouts usually debit a sub-wallet balance. If your integration supports it, you can fund payouts from the main wallet instead of from each sub-wallet. That helps when you send a lot and don’t want USDC in every sub-wallet first. Use that path only when your setup supports it.

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Payins and payouts

Handle payins, debits, and reconciliation per sub-wallet:
  • Payins (receiving USDC): Each sub-wallet can have a stable onchain address. Create a continuous payment intent so that each merchant or segment has a dedicated receive address.
  • Payouts and withdrawals: Specify the walletId or accountId of the sub-wallet to debit when you create a payout.
ActivityAPI / resourceKey identifier
Receive USDCContinuous payment intentpaymentIntentId, onchain address
Send USDCPayouts APIwalletId or accountId
Match transactionsSettlement reportsaccountId, transaction timestamps