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This guide walks through adding Consul as a payout method to an existing marketplace. Your platform manages a single Consul treasury, pre-funds it, and pays sellers by email when transactions complete. Here, your backend is the only party interacting with the Consul API.

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Prerequisites

WhatWhyWhere to get it
Consul API keyAuthenticate API requests from your backendDashboard
Funded Consul balancePayouts draw from your balancePre-Funding Flows
Webhook endpointReceive real-time payout status updatesEvents and Webhooks

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How It Works

When a sale completes on your platform, your backend calls the Create a Payout endpoint with the seller’s email and amount. Consul handles the rest:
  • If the seller already has a Consul account, USDC lands in their wallet in seconds.
  • If they’re new, Consul sends an email invite. A wallet is created behind the scenes and funds are held securely until the seller claims their account.
You can batch multiple sellers into a single payout request. See the Payouts guide for details on batching, idempotency, and the payout lifecycle.

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Tracking Payouts

Register a webhook endpoint and subscribe to payout.updated events. This tells you when each payout item settles or fails. You can also poll GET /payouts/ if you prefer.
A payout status of pending_claim means the seller hasn’t created their Consul account yet. Funds are held securely. The seller can claim the funds before the payout expires or is cancelled.If cancelled via Cancel a Payout, funds are refunded to your Consul balance.

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Keeping Your Balance Funded

Your Consul balance needs to cover every payout you issue. The Pre-Funding Flows guide covers several strategies depending on your needs, from simple end-of-day batching to pre-funded balances that support instant payouts. Domestic wires are also available for same-day top-ups.