Agentic Payouts: Safety Rails You Must Build First

const PAYOUT_LIMITS = {
  maxSingleTransfer: 50_000_00, // NGN 50,000 in kobo — hard limit
  maxDailyTotal: 500_000_00,    // NGN 500,000 per day
  allowedRecipients: new Set(['RCP_xxxxx', 'RCP_yyyyy']), // pre-approved recipients only
  maxPerMinute: 5,
};

var _transfersThisMinute = 0;
var _transfersReset = Date.now();

async function agentTransfer({ recipientCode, amount, reason, agentSessionId, dryRun = false }) {
  // 1. Check recipient allowlist
  if (!PAYOUT_LIMITS.allowedRecipients.has(recipientCode)) {
    throw new Error('BLOCKED: Recipient not in allowlist');
  }

  // 2. Check single transfer limit
  if (amount > PAYOUT_LIMITS.maxSingleTransfer) {
    throw new Error('BLOCKED: Amount exceeds per-transfer limit');
  }

  // 3. Check daily cap
  var todayTotal = await db.agentTransfers.sumToday();
  if (todayTotal + amount > PAYOUT_LIMITS.maxDailyTotal) {
    throw new Error('BLOCKED: Would exceed daily cap');
  }

  // 4. Rate limit
  if (Date.now() - _transfersReset > 60000) { _transfersThisMinute = 0; _transfersReset = Date.now(); }
  if (_transfersThisMinute >= PAYOUT_LIMITS.maxPerMinute) {
    throw new Error('BLOCKED: Rate limit hit');
  }

  // 5. Check balance
  var balance = await getPaystackBalance();
  if (balance < amount + 10000) throw new Error('BLOCKED: Insufficient balance');

  // 6. Audit log (before transfer)
  var auditId = await db.auditLog.insert({ agentSessionId, recipientCode, amount, reason, dryRun, ts: new Date() });

  if (dryRun) return { status: 'dry_run', auditId };

  // 7. Execute transfer
  var res = await fetch('https://api.paystack.co/transfer', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + process.env.PAYSTACK_SECRET_KEY, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ source: 'balance', amount, recipient: recipientCode, reason, reference: 'agent_' + auditId }),
  });

  _transfersThisMinute++;
  var data = await res.json();
  await db.auditLog.update(auditId, { transferCode: data.data?.transfer_code, status: data.status ? 'sent' : 'failed' });
  return data;
}

For transfers above a threshold (e.g., NGN 100,000), queue for human approval instead of executing immediately:

const APPROVAL_THRESHOLD = 100_000_00; // NGN 100,000 in kobo

async function agentTransferWithApproval(params) {
  if (params.amount > APPROVAL_THRESHOLD) {
    var requestId = await db.pendingTransfers.insert({ ...params, status: 'awaiting_approval' });
    await sendSlackAlert('#finance-approvals', 'Agent payout request: NGN ' + params.amount/100 + ' to ' + params.recipientCode + '. Approve: /approve/' + requestId);
    return { status: 'queued', requestId };
  }
  return agentTransfer(params); // execute immediately for small amounts
}

See audit trails for AI-initiated financial actions for audit log design.

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