Create a payment intent

title: "Create a payment intent" description: "POST /v1/payment-intents — accept a stablecoin payment on any supported chain." section: "API reference" order: 11 updated: "2026-04-18" sourcePath: "content/docs/api/payment-intents/create.mdx"

POST/v1/payment-intents

Creates a payment intent and returns a fresh on-chain address. The customer pays into that address; once confirmed, the funds land in the matching pocket and a payment_intent.completed webhook fires.

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Description
amount_cents	integer	required	Amount to charge in minor units of `currency` (USD cents).
currency	string	required	ISO-4217 currency the amount is denominated in. Supported: `USD`.
settlement_currency	string	required	Coin to settle in. One of `USDC`, `USDT`, `ETH`, `MATIC`, `SOL`, `TRX`, `BNB`.
network	string	required	Chain to receive on. One of `ethereum`, `polygon`, `solana`, `tron`, `bnb`.
reference	string	optional	Your internal reference (e.g. order ID). Echoed back on every webhook.
metadata	object	optional	Up to 20 key/value pairs. Values must be strings ≤ 500 chars.
expires_in	integer	optional	Seconds until the intent expires. Default 3600, max 86400.

Example

curl -X POST https://api.bchainpay.com/v1/payment-intents \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $BCHAINPAY_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "amount_cents": 4999,
  "currency": "USD",
  "settlement_currency": "USDC",
  "network": "polygon",
  "reference": "INV-2026-001"
}'

Response — `201 Created`

{
  "id": "pi_3L9k...42",
  "object": "payment_intent",
  "status": "requires_payment",
  "amount_cents": 4999,
  "currency": "USD",
  "settlement_currency": "USDC",
  "network": "polygon",
  "address": "0x9f3a...b41C",
  "pocket_id": "pkt_usdc_polygon",
  "reference": "INV-2026-001",
  "expires_at": "2026-04-18T13:00:00Z",
  "created_at": "2026-04-18T12:00:00Z"
}

Errors

Status	Code	Meaning
`400`	`invalid_network`	Network is not in the supported list.
`400`	`invalid_settlement_currency`	Coin is not available on that network.
`401`	`invalid_api_key`	Bearer token missing or revoked.
`409`	`idempotency_conflict`	Idempotency key reused with a different body.