P402.io

Product Introduction

1. Definition: P402.io is a dual-platform solution comprising P402.shop (an AI API cost optimization and benchmarking tool) and P402.io (a production-grade infrastructure layer for the x402 protocol—an HTTP-based micropayment standard). Technically, it operates as a routing control plane and discovery service for web-native payments.
2. Core Value Proposition: It eliminates AI budget waste (up to 70%) by enabling optimal model selection and cost forecasting, while solving micropayment scalability with a 1% flat fee (vs. traditional payment processors’ prohibitive $0.30+ fees) via standardized, blockchain-settled transactions.

Main Features

1. P402 Router:

   • How it works: Intercepts HTTP requests to paid endpoints, returns 402 Payment Required with base64-encoded requirements in the PAYMENT-REQUIRED header. Validates PAYMENT-SIGNATURE headers from retried requests, routes verification/settlement to facilitators (e.g., Base L2), and returns PAYMENT-RESPONSE. Uses EIP-3009-compliant USDC settlements with <100ms latency.
   • Technologies: HTTP 402 standard, EIP-3009 token standard, Base L2 blockchain, idempotency keys for replay safety.

2. Spend Controls & Policies:

   • How it works: Enforces per-buyer budgets, route-specific caps (e.g., $10/month), RPM limits, and domain allowlists/denylists via centralized policy engine. Generates stable deny codes (e.g., "insufficient USDC," "KYT flagged") for machine-readable error handling.
   • Technologies: Role-based access control (RBAC), real-time policy evaluation engine, audit logs.

3. Bazaar Discovery Layer:

   • How it works: Publishes machine-readable metadata for payable endpoints (pricing, routes, runtime health). Integrates with Router to provide real-time overlays showing facilitator health (e.g., 98.2% approval rate, 42ms p95 verify latency), ensuring agents/developers discover functional endpoints.
   • Technologies: x402 v2 extension model, API metadata schemas, health monitoring probes.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: AI budget waste from suboptimal model selection (e.g., using GPT-4 for simple tasks), lack of caching, and inability to forecast costs from 100 to 1M users.

   • Solution: P402.shop compares 50+ AI APIs (GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3) for cost/performance benchmarking.

2. Pain Point: Micropayment inefficiency due to Stripe/PayPal’s ~$0.30 fixed fees, making sub-dollar transactions economically unviable.

   • Solution: P402.io enables 1% flat-fee micropayments via HTTP-native x402 protocol, settling in USDC on Base L2.

3. Pain Point: Operational fragmentation in x402 implementations—hardcoded facilitators, inconsistent policies, and stale metadata breaking production scalability.

   • Solution: Router provides unified routing, failover, spend controls, and Bazaar-integrated discovery.

Target Audience:

• AI Developers needing cost-optimized model selection.
• API Product Managers monetizing per-call endpoints.
• Web3 Engineers building agentic ecosystems with wallet-based autonomy.

Use Cases:

• Agentic failover: Bots auto-upgrade from rate-limited (429) free APIs to paid endpoints via P402 challenges.
• Pay-per-tool agents: Charge per invocation in MCP (Modular Compute Platform) agent stacks.
• Internal chargebacks: Settle cross-team service usage via HTTP 402.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation vs. Stripe: 1% flat fee (vs. $0.30 + 2.9%), no merchant accounts, and wallet-native settlements for autonomous agents.
2. Differentiation vs. API Gateways: Native x402 protocol support, blockchain settlement, and Bazaar discovery integration (absent in Kong/Apigee).
3. Key Innovation: Decision Trace—a unified log per payment attempt (plan → 402 → signature → verify → settle) with percentile latency metrics and failure diagnostics.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What does HTTP 402 status code mean in P402.io?
   HTTP 402 "Payment Required" is the standard response for unpaid requests, returning PAYMENT-REQUIRED headers with base64-encoded payment requirements for wallet signing.

2. How does P402.io’s 1% fee compare to Stripe for micropayments?
   Stripe’s $0.30 minimum fee makes sub-$30 transactions unprofitable. P402.io’s 1% flat fee (e.g., $0.01 on a $1 payment) enables true micropayments via blockchain settlement.

3. What happens if a P402 payment fails after a 402 challenge?
   The Router generates a Decision Trace with stable deny codes (e.g., "invalid signature," "insufficient USDC"), allowing developers to diagnose failures via observability dashboards.

4. What is Bazaar in P402.io’s ecosystem?
   Bazaar is a discovery layer listing payable endpoints with machine-readable metadata, including real-time health stats (approval rate, latency) and policy outcomes for agents/developers.

5. Can P402 Router integrate with existing APIs?
   Yes, it acts as middleware—intercepting requests to existing endpoints, adding x402 payment flows, policies, and settlement without rewriting backend logic.