Payment Channels & Recurring Billing
Accept recurring payments and run subscription billing using XRPL Payment Channels — instant, off-chain, and zero transaction fees.
What Are Payment Channels?
Payment Channels are a native feature of the XRP Ledger that enables rapid, off-chain payments between two parties. Think of them as a "tab" at a restaurant — the customer opens a tab (funds a channel) and the merchant can charge against it without processing a new transaction each time.
Regular XRPL payments require a new on-chain transaction each time. Payment Channels let you batch hundreds of micropayments into a single on-chain settlement — ideal for subscriptions, streaming payments, and metered billing.
How Subscriptions Work
Create a Subscription Plan
In your XRPay dashboard, go to Subscriptions and set up a plan with a name, billing amount, and cycle (daily, weekly, or monthly).
Customer Opens a Channel
Share your subscription link with customers. They visit it, connect their wallet, and fund a Payment Channel on the XRPL with enough XRP to cover the subscription period.
Automatic Recurring Claims
XRPay automatically claims the recurring amount from the channel at each billing cycle. Each claim is an off-chain signed authorization — instant and free.
Monitor in Your Dashboard
Track all active channels, remaining balances, claim history, and channel health from the Subscriptions page in your dashboard.
Settle or Close
When the subscription ends or the channel runs low, submit the final claim on-chain to close the channel. Any remaining funds return to the customer.
Getting Started
Follow these steps to start accepting subscription payments:
1. Configure Your Wallet
Make sure your XRPL wallet is configured in Dashboard → Wallets. This is the destination wallet for all subscription claims.
2. Go to Subscriptions
Navigate to Dashboard → Subscriptions. You'll see your channel overview with stats for active channels, total funded, total claimed, and MRR.
3. Share Your Subscription Link
Share the subscription link with your customers. They'll be guided through funding a Payment Channel from their XRPL wallet.
4. Monitor & Manage
View channel details, claim history, and remaining balances. Use 'Sync from XRPL' to refresh channel state. Close channels when ready to settle.
Dashboard Features
The Subscriptions dashboard gives you full visibility into your recurring payment infrastructure:
Active Channels
Number of Payment Channels currently open and funded by your customers.
Total Funded
Total XRP locked across all channels — your subscription revenue commitment.
Total Claimed
Cumulative XRP you've claimed from all channels to date.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
Estimated monthly revenue based on active channel recurring amounts.
Channel Health
Usage bar showing how much of each channel has been consumed. Color-coded: green (healthy), yellow (>50%), red (>80%).
Claim History
Expand any channel row to see all claims, amounts, dates, and statuses.
Managing Channels
Each channel in your dashboard supports two primary actions:
Payment Channels have a configurable "settle delay" — a waiting period after you request closure before funds are released. This protects against dispute scenarios and is typically set to 24 hours. The delay is shown in each channel's detail view.
Billing Cycles
XRPay supports three billing frequencies for automatic claims:
The billing cycle determines how often XRPay automatically claims the recurring amount from the customer's channel. If a channel has insufficient funds for the next claim, you'll see a warning in the dashboard.
Payment Channels vs. Traditional Recurring Billing
Security & Trust
Non-Custodial
XRPay never holds your customers' funds. Channel funds are locked on the XRPL and can only be claimed with valid cryptographic signatures.
Cryptographic Claims
Each claim is signed with the merchant's private key. Invalid claims are rejected by the ledger.
On-Ledger Audit Trail
All channel opens, claims, and closures are recorded on the XRP Ledger — a permanent, tamper-proof record.
Start Accepting Subscriptions
Payment Channels are available on all XRPay plans. Set up your wallet, navigate to Subscriptions in your dashboard, and start accepting recurring payments today.