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Overview

Atum ID is how a payment can carry a signed fact about a participant. It is not a username, not a login, and not an account number Atum assigns you. Every payment already has addresses (who sends, who receives). Atum ID is the extra statement the network can check without looking you up.
Identity is available, not required. You can submit and settle without attaching credentials. If you attach them, Atum verifies them.

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Enforcement stages

A failed check is handled differently depending on your environment’s enforcement stage. Enforcement tightens as you move toward production:
  • Audit — a failed check is logged. The request proceeds.
  • Permissive — a failed check is logged and flagged as a failure. The request still proceeds.
  • Strict — a failed check rejects the request.
Today, most partners integrating are on audit or permissive — you will not see a request rejected for a failed check until your environment moves to strict. See If a check fails.

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Identity: cards, wallets, and Atum

Credentials

What ‘credential’ means if you come from cards or wallets

Verifiable presentations

How credentials are bound to a specific payment or quote.

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Identity is not authorization

Signing a check is what lets the bank pay the recipient. That is authorization. The name on the check — or ID when someone cashes it — is identity: who showed up. Atum keeps those apart. Atum ID does not grant permission to move funds. A signed payment request is separate from Atum ID. Atum ID does not do the signing; it rides with the payment. The recipient agreeing to take the payment (counterparty consent), when enabled, is a third step. See Authorization and counterparties. Who may fulfill the payment is Policy enforcement. Who is answerable when software spends is Know Your Agent.

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Shared responsibility

Atum issues

Known to Atum — Atum recognizes this participant as a payment provider, settlement provider, or Atum-operated service.

You bring

Third-party credentials. You attach them; Atum verifies them. Atum does not onboard your customers.
A credential is always about one participant. Knowing the payment provider is not knowing the wallet that funded the payment. See Originator vs source account.

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What Atum ID is not

Know Your Agent

Who is answerable when software spends

Who owns what

Your onboarding vs Atum’s checks at the gateway

Atum payment lifecycle

Where identity sits in the five stages