What is a Spend Policy?
A spend policy is the enforceable set of rules governing what autonomous agents may purchase — caps, allowlists, velocity limits, categories, and approvals.
What a spend policy contains
Per-transaction caps — the ceiling on any single purchase.
Daily/period ceilings — the rolling budget.
Velocity limits — how many transactions per window.
Merchant allowlists — who may be paid.
Category rules — what may be bought.
Approval thresholds — what waits for a human.
Policy vs prompt
A prompt is a suggestion; a policy is a rule. The firewall enforces the policy deterministically — a prompt can't.
FAQ
How is a spend policy enforced?
Deterministically, in the request path — every transaction is evaluated against the rules before settlement.
Where do I start?
Three rules cover most risk: a cap, an allowlist, and a velocity limit.
Related
Stop the next $12,400 night.
One API call (or MCP tool) in front of every agent transaction — APPROVED, BLOCKED, or FLAGGED, deterministic, ~5 ms, fully logged.
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