Merchant Allowlist Template
The allowlist is the single most effective rule against unknown-vendor spend. This template structures it.
The template
Vendor name | Category | Per-transaction limit | Daily limit | Owner | Notes
Example rows:
openai.com | inference | $200 | $2,000 | ML team | Primary LLM
anthropic.com | inference | $200 | $2,000 | ML team | Secondary
data-vendor.com | data | $100 | $500 | Research | Negotiated 2026
gpu-market.com | compute | — | — | — | NOT APPROVED
Turning it into rules
Approved rows become allowlist entries; 'NOT APPROVED' vendors are simply absent — unknown merchants get BLOCKED by default.
Rule
{
"type": "merchant_allowlist",
"action": "block",
"params": {
"allowed": ["openai.com", "anthropic.com", "data-vendor.com"]
},
"label": "Approved vendors only"
}Everything else: BLOCKED.
FAQ
What if a vendor is legitimately new?
Route new vendors through FLAGGED approval instead of hard-blocking — review then allowlist.
How often should it be reviewed?
Quarterly, or when procurement approves a new vendor.
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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