# Payment rails

URL: /systems/finance/payments · Id: `capability:payments`

> Payment rails move money as charges, refunds, payouts and transfers between connected accounts, so funds never rest with the platform.

Payment rails move money as charges, refunds, payouts and transfers between connected accounts, so funds never rest with the platform. Every [Startup](/business/nouns/startup)'s rail runs on Stripe.

## Contract
Each Startup gets its own payment account when it publishes its first paid [Offer](/business/nouns/offer). The account holder is the owner of record. For a [Studio](/business/nouns/studio) Startup that is the Studio's holding [Company](/business/nouns/company); a self-serve founder connects their own entity through Stripe onboarding.

| [Verb](/business/nouns/verb) | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| [Order.place](/business/nouns/order/place) | Records the Offer [Version](/business/nouns/version) and [Price](/business/nouns/price) at the moment of purchase |
| [Order.pay](/business/nouns/order/pay) | Charges the [Customer](/business/nouns/customer) and posts the matching [Entries](/business/nouns/entry) |
| [Offer.subscribe](/business/nouns/offer/subscribe) | Starts a [Subscription](/business/nouns/subscription) that renews each period at the accepted Version |
| [Invoice.collect](/business/nouns/invoice/collect) | Charges a saved method for an open [Invoice](/business/nouns/invoice), retrying on failure |
| [Order.refund](/business/nouns/order/refund) | Returns money and posts the reversing Entries |
| [Mandate.spend](/business/nouns/mandate/spend) | Pays an outside party with a single-use card, inside a [Mandate](/business/nouns/mandate) and its [Limit](/business/nouns/limit) |
| [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) | Pays a [Supplier](/business/nouns/supplier)'s earned balance once their confirmed work clears |

A [Meter](/business/nouns/meter) turns usage into Entries exactly once, and a Limit is checked before each metered call. Every [Transaction](/business/nouns/transaction) reconciles to the Entries it settles. The platform never transmits money, stores value or lends; in `test`, the rail runs on Stripe's test environment.

## Verbs
| Verb | Object | Event |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Order.pay](/business/nouns/order/pay) | [Order](/business/nouns/order) | [`Order.paid`](/business/events/Order.paid) |
| [Order.refund](/business/nouns/order/refund) | [Order](/business/nouns/order) | [`Order.refunded`](/business/events/Order.refunded) |
| [Invoice.collect](/business/nouns/invoice/collect) | [Invoice](/business/nouns/invoice) | [`Invoice.collected`](/business/events/Invoice.collected) |
| [Order.screen](/business/nouns/order/screen) | [Order](/business/nouns/order) | [`Order.screened`](/business/events/Order.screened) |

## Interfaces
- [API](/code/api/reference)
- [SDK](/code/sdk/reference)
- [CLI](/code/cli/reference)
- [MCP](/code/mcp/reference)

## Example
`lingoapi.dev` sells translation per thousand characters. Its Meter counts characters on every call, and the month's Invoice is collected on the first. The payout lands in the founder's bank from the Startup's own Stripe account.