Key Concepts
The core mechanics behind Coinflow pay-ins and payouts — how card tokenization, bank authentication, KYC, and source-of-funds work before you write a single line of integration code.
The core mechanics behind Coinflow pay-ins and payouts — how card tokenization, bank authentication, KYC, and source-of-funds work before you write a single line of integration code.
Understanding these concepts before integrating will save time and prevent common mistakes. You don’t need to memorize every detail — use this page as a reference as you work through your integration guides.
The Coinflow Wallet is a digital wallet — a balance held inside your merchant account that sits between the money you collect and the money you pay out. It’s provisioned automatically when you create your Coinflow account, with no additional infrastructure to set up on your end.
You can monitor the balance, transaction history, and pending settlements from the Coinflow Dashboard. If you’d rather have funds land in your bank account, Coinflow can send your balance to your company’s bank account on a daily cadence.
Learn more about settling to the Coinflow Wallet →
Card-based payment methods share the same underlying security flow. Three things happen in sequence before a payment is authorized:
Raw card numbers must never touch your servers. Instead, the card data is replaced with a secure, single-use token — a process called card tokenization. This is what keeps your integration PCI-compliant without requiring a costly audit.
Fraud protection applies here. Card payments are eligible for chargeback protection and 3D Secure (3DS). Coinflow recommends testing without these enabled first, then layering them in once the base integration is working.
Bank transfer pay-ins require the payer to authenticate their bank account before funds can be pulled. Authentication proves the payer owns the account and satisfies the requirements of each payment rail.
For platforms whose users pay directly from a connected digital wallet. The payer connects a supported wallet, and Coinflow pulls funds from their balance. No card tokenization or bank authentication is required.
Digital wallet pay-ins must be enabled by the Coinflow team and are only available through the SDK or hosted checkout link — not the direct API. Contact support →
Payouts require a few setup steps before funds can be sent. The exact steps depend on the payout method and where the money is coming from.
Before a user can receive a payout, they must pass identity verification. This is required by AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations regardless of payout method or amount.
Coinflow supports three verification paths:
After verification, the withdrawer adds where they want to receive funds. Available destinations are determined by the country they verified under — a US-verified user can only add US-supported destinations.
For push-to-card payouts, the withdrawer’s debit card number must be tokenized before it’s saved as a payout destination. Like card pay-ins, this keeps raw card data off your servers and maintains PCI compliance.
Learn how to implement debit card tokenization →
For bank account payouts in the US and Canada, the withdrawer must authenticate their bank account to prove ownership. This is required under AML policy and prevents funds from being misdirected to accounts the withdrawer doesn’t control.
Coinflow provides a built-in bank authentication UI, or you can plug in your own provider.
Learn how to implement bank authentication →
Where the payout money comes from determines your integration path. There are two models:
The merchant funds the payouts from their own balance. This is the most common model for platforms that manage user balances, pay contractors, or distribute earnings.
Revenue collected through checkout accumulates in your Coinflow Wallet, and payouts draw from that balance. No additional infrastructure is needed on your end.
If you already operate your own digital treasury, Coinflow supports two additional models that draw from wallets you or your users control.
If you already run a self-managed treasury, payouts can draw directly from your own digital wallet on supported settlement networks. You retain full control of the funds — Coinflow never holds them.
For platforms where end users hold their own account balance — for example, earned tokens, in-game rewards, or staking proceeds. The user initiates a withdrawal from their own wallet, not the merchant’s. The merchant’s balance is not involved.
This model requires your users to have a connected digital wallet. Coinflow handles converting the account balance into a payout to the user’s bank or card.
With KYC complete, a payout destination saved, and a funding source configured, your integration submits a payout request specifying the destination, speed, and amount. Coinflow routes it to the correct payment rail and delivers a confirmation via webhook.
Learn about payout speeds and fees →