> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.atum.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Settlement vault: where funds wait and how they leave

> The contract that holds a payer's funds while a payment is in progress: how funds go in, the only two ways they come out, and what Atum can do.

## Overview

The settlement vault is an Atum smart contract on the source chain. It holds the payer's funds while a payment is in progress, so neither the payer nor the [settlement operator](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/reference/glossary.md#settlement-operator) has to trust the other.

Funds come out in only two ways: to the settlement operator once delivery is verified, or back to the payer. In contract code the vault is called `Escrow`.

## How funds go in

1. You sign the payment request. On EVM, Tempo and Tron, your signature is a [Permit2](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/concepts/permit2-and-approvals.md) authorization for up to `max_source_amount`.
2. The gateway selects a [price quote](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/reference/glossary.md#price-quote-quote). The deposit is reserved for the settlement operator that sent it.
3. That operator submits the deposit transaction. The vault takes the quote's source amount from your wallet, never more than `max_source_amount`.

Your balance drops when the deposit lands, before the recipient is paid. `/status` shows the deposit in `transactions.deposit`.

## How funds come out

| Way out | Who gets the funds | When |
| - | - | - |
| **Release** | The settlement operator the deposit was reserved for, minus Atum's fee | After Atum verifies the payout to the recipient on the destination chain |
| **Refund** | The payer, in full | When the payment was not delivered. See [Refunds](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/support/refunds.md) |

Both need a signature from Atum's verifier over that deposit. Anyone can submit the transaction, but the vault pays only the address recorded for that deposit: the reserved settlement operator for a release, the payer for a refund.

### Proof of delivery

The settlement operator pays the recipient through the **FulfillmentProxy** contract on the destination chain. It moves the tokens from the operator to the recipient and emits an event that names the quote. Atum's verifier reads that event, waits for enough [confirmations](https://docs.atum.xyz/settle-payments/destination-finality.md#confirmations), and only then signs the release.

## What Atum can do

* **Sign releases and refunds.** Neither goes through without Atum's signature.
* **Pause the vault.** While it is paused, no release or refund goes through, and deposits stay in the vault.
* **Collect its fee,** which is taken from each release.

The contracts have independent [security reviews](https://docs.atum.xyz/security-reviews.md).

## Where the vault is

Each network has its own vault. [Contract addresses](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/reference/contract-addresses.md#deployed-addresses) lists them. At runtime, read `escrow_contract` from [`GET /v1/defaults`](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/reference/contract-addresses#fetch-addresses) instead of hardcoding an address.

## Next steps

| Topic | Link |
| - | - |
| What happens when a payment is not delivered | [Refunds](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/support/refunds.md) |
| The stages of a payment | [Atum payment lifecycle](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/how-an-atum-payment-works.md) |
| The one-time token approval | [Token approvals](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/concepts/permit2-and-approvals.md) |
| Vault and FulfillmentProxy addresses | [Contract addresses](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/reference/contract-addresses.md) |
| Atum's fee and who pays it | [Fees](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/concepts/fees.md) |


## Related topics

- [Destination finality](https://docs.atum.xyz/settle-payments/destination-finality.md)
- [Finality](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/concepts/finality.md)
- [Core concepts](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/architecture/core-concepts.md)
- [After submission](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/after-submission.md)
- [Fees: what a payment costs and who pays](https://docs.atum.xyz/get-started/concepts/fees.md)


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