Manage payment limits

• Direct model
• Embedded model
• Fiat

Payment limits allow you to control the maximum amount that can be sent per transaction or per day for a given currency and payment method. Limits apply to payouts only. BVNK accepts all incoming transactions regardless of the amount.

Regulatory context

The Payment Limit Management system ensures compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) and aligns with industry best practices for security, fraud prevention, and liquidity management.

How limits work

Limits are evaluated on every outgoing fiat payment. When a transaction is initiated, all matching limits are checked. A transaction must pass all applicable limit checks to be approved. If any limit is exceeded, whether transaction or daily, the payment is blocked.

You can set the following limit types:

• Transaction: Maximum amount allowed for a single payment.
• Daily: Maximum cumulative amount across all payments within a calendar day. The day boundary is determined by the time zone specified when creating the limit (defaults to UTC if not set).

The system operates across three hierarchical levels. The most restrictive limit always applies:

Level	Scope	Who can manage	Configuration	Applies to
Level 1: Global	System-wide	BVNK (via Admin Portal)	Per banking partner + payment method + currency	Every transaction across the platform
Level 2: Partner	Specific partner account	Partner (Admin, workspace owners, or via API)	Per payment method + currency	The partner and all underlying customers, or the partner only, or all underlying customers only
Level 3: Customer	Individual customer	Partner or their customers (Admin, workspace owners, or via API)	Per payment method + currency	A single customer only

Key rules:

• Partners and customers can modify or delete their own limits anytime. Changes take effect immediately.
• Customers can create additional limits but cannot modify or delete partner-set limits.
• Limits set by BVNK cannot be overwritten by partners.
• Limits follow a strict hierarchy: customer limits must stay below global limits. Overrides above global limits are not supported.
• Same-day rejections (e.g., insufficient funds or banking partner rejection) release the consumed limit. Rejections on the next day do not affect that day's limit.
• Returned or recalled payments do not restore daily limits; they count as separate transactions.
• Internal transfers do not count toward limits.

How daily limits are calculated

• Daily limits consider all transactions processed from 00:00 to 23:59 in the configured timezone (UTC by default).
• The daily limit is reduced immediately when a transaction is processed, regardless of its eventual success or failure. This prevents concurrent transactions from exceeding the limit.
• For payments that are triggered on one day but sit in an approval state (e.g., four-eyes approval) for multiple days, the daily limit is decreased based on the date of creation, not the date of final processing.
• When a daily limit is created for the first time, the calculation starts from the moment of creation rather than from the beginning of the day. Historical data is not recalculated.
• Once a daily limit exists, any subsequent update takes effect immediately. The system considers all transactions that have already occurred during the current day.

Limit enforcement

Limits are checked at two stages during payment processing:

1. Initial check at payment creation: Validates the transaction against all applicable limits. If rejected, the payment is not created, and you receive an error message.
2. Secondary check (before banking partner submission): Catches edge cases in mass payment processing. If rejected at this stage, the payment ends in PROCESSING_FAILED status, and the account balance is immediately restored.

A transaction must pass all applicable limit checks at every level to be approved.

Mass payments

In mass payment processing, transactions are validated individually. When a limit is reached during batch processing, affected transactions are rejected individually and may not follow the original order.

Supported currencies and payment methods

Currency	Payment methods
EUR	SEPA, SEPA_INSTANT, SWIFT
GBP	FASTER_PAYMENT, SWIFT
USD	ACH, FEDWIRE, CRNOW, FEDNOW, RTP, SWIFT_INTERNATIONAL_WIRE

Refer to Payment schemes for the detailed description of the payment methods.

SEPA Instant restriction

Due to the Instant Payment Regulation (IPR), you can configure only a transaction limit or a daily limit for SEPA Instant, not both. Other payment methods allow both limit types simultaneously.

Example scenario

Consider the following limit configuration:

Level	Payment method	Currency	Limit type	Amount
Global	SEPA Instant	EUR	Transaction	50,000
Partner	SEPA Instant	EUR	Daily	20,000
Customer	SEPA Instant	EUR	Transaction	25,000

Transaction 1: Customer sends a 13,000 EUR SEPA Instant payment.

• Global transaction limit (50,000): 13,000 < 50,000 — Pass
• Partner daily limit (20,000): 13,000 < 20,000 — Pass
• Customer transaction limit (25,000): 13,000 < 25,000 — Pass
• Result: Approved

Transaction 2 (same day): Customer sends a 15,000 EUR SEPA Instant payment.

• Global transaction limit (50,000): 15,000 < 50,000 — Pass
• Partner daily limit (20,000): 13,000 + 15,000 = 28,000 > 20,000 — Fail
• Result: Rejected. Daily limit exceeded at partner level.

Create a limit

Via API

To create a payment limit, send the POST /governance/v1/limits request with a similar payload:

{
  "level": "ACCOUNT",
  "customerId": null,
  "method": "SWIFT",
  "limitType": "TRANSACTION",
  "amount": 10000,
  "currency": "USD",
  "zoneOffset": "+00:00"
}

On success, you receive a 201 response with the limit identifier:

{
  "id": "fa2f29ca-fa0e-421b-86b6-4eb415d2933c",
  "createdAt": "2026-07-03T12:20:53.276599438Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-07-03T12:20:53.330993Z"
}

Via Portal

1. On the BVNK Portal, go to Manage account > Payment limits.

2. Click Add limit.

3. Complete the fields:

   • Select the Currency from the dropdown (EUR, GBP, or USD).
   • Select the Payment method. Only methods supported for the chosen currency are shown.
   • Choose the Limit type: Transaction limit or Daily limit.
   • Enter the Amount.
   • If you selected a daily limit, choose the Timezone that defines when the calendar day resets.

   

4. Click Submit to create the limit.

tip

To manage limits for a specific customer, navigate to the customer's detail page and use the Limits tab.

The new limit appears in the limits list and takes effect immediately.

Update a limit

You can modify a limit's amount or change its type (transaction or daily) anytime. Updates take effect immediately.

Via API

Send the PUT /governance/v1/limits/{ruleId} request with the fields you want to change. Use the id of the limit rule that you received in the response when creating a limit.

{
  "method": "SWIFT",
  "limitType": "TRANSACTION",
  "amount": 5000
}

Upon success, you receive a 200 response containing the limit identifier and the update date.

Via Portal

1. In the Limits list, find the limit to change.
2. Click the overflow menu (three dots) on the right side of the limit row, and then click Edit limit.

1. Update the Limit type and Amount.
2. Click Change limit.

Delete a limit

Via API

Send the DELETE /governance/v1/limits/{ruleId} request. Use the id of the limit rule that you received in the response when creating a limit.

On success, you receive a 204 No Content response and the limit is removed immediately.

Via Portal

1. In the Limits list, find the limit to remove.
2. Click the overflow menu (three dots) on the right side of the limit row and then click Remove limit.

The limit is removed immediately and no longer applies to future transactions.

Manage customer limits

As a partner, you can set limits for individual customers under your account. These limits apply only to the selected customer's payouts.

Via API

Use the same POST /governance/v1/limits endpoint with level set to CUSTOMER and the target customer's ID (customerId):

{
  "level": "CUSTOMER",
  "customerId": "b7c3e1a2-8f4d-4a6e-9c12-3d5f7a8b9e01",
  "method": "SEPA",
  "limitType": "DAILY",
  "amount": 25000,
  "currency": "EUR",
  "zoneOffset": "+01:00"
}

To update or delete a customer's limit, use the same PUT and DELETE endpoints described above with the customer's limit ID.

note

Customers can also create limits for themselves via the API. They cannot modify or delete limits you have set for them.

Via Portal

1. In the left sidebar, go to My Customers, and select a customer.
2. Click the Payment limits tab.

3. Click Add limit and configure the currency, payment method, limit type, amount, and timezone.

4. Click Submit.

The limit applies only to this customer. You can edit or remove it from the same tab using the overflow menu on each limit row.

Show all limits

Via API

Send the GET /governance/v1/limits request with optional query parameters to filter by currency, payment method, or limit type.

You can also retrieve a single limit by ID using GET /governance/v1/limits/{ruleId}.

{
  "content": [
    {
      "id": "6660fa2c-0def-4269-8d0c-6ab5bf2611c0",
      "level": "ACCOUNT",
      "customerId": null,
      "method": "SWIFT",
      "limitType": "TRANSACTION",
      "amount": 10000,
      "currency": "USD",
      "zoneOffset": "+00:00",
      "owner": "ACCOUNT",
      "createdAt": "2026-07-03T12:20:53.276599438Z",
      "updatedAt": "2026-07-03T12:20:53.330993Z"
    }
  ],
  "page": 0,
  "size": 20,
  "totalElements": 1,
  "totalPages": 1
}

The owner field indicates who created the limit:

• ACCOUNT: Created by the partner.
• BVNK. Created by BVNK operations.

Via Portal

1. Go to Manage account > Manage payment limits to view all limits for the account.
2. To view limits for a specific customer, go to the customer's detail page and select the Limits tab.

The list displays each limit's currency, payment method, type, amount, and owner (whether it was created by the account or by BVNK).

Error handling

When a payment is blocked by a limit, the API returns an error response:

{
  "code": "BVNK-3001",
  "status": "400",
  "message": "Limit exceeded. We cannot satisfy this 200 EUR payment as the transaction you are trying to trigger is violating configured limits."
}

Review the configured limits for the account and either increase the limit or reduce the payment amount.