This MCP server lets AI agents enforce spending budgets across payment rails by creating budgets, checking purchases, and settling/releasing/refunding holds.
Create a spending budget with a dollar limit, currency, and validity period.
Check whether a purchase is allowed and place a hold (check_budget).
Confirm a successful payment or release a failed payment hold (settle).
Cancel a pre-commit hold and restore budget (release).
Fully or partially refund a settled payment, with optional idempotency (refund).
Query remaining budget/history and inspect individual hold states (get_budget, query_reservation).
MCP server implementing the Budget Authority Protocol. Spending limits for AI agents. Two ways to connect:
Option A: Local (npx)
{
"mcpServers": {
"budget": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@goodmeta/agent-verifier-mcp"],
"env": { "VERIFIER_API_KEY": "gm_..." }
}
}
}Option B: Remote (no install)
{
"mcpServers": {
"budget": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://verifier.goodmeta.co/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer gm_..." }
}
}
}Then ask your agent:
"Search Exa for agent payments research. Budget: $1."
The agent calls create_budget, check_budget before each payment, and settle after. If the budget runs out, the next payment is denied.
Tool | What it does |
| Set a spending limit ($10, 24 hours) |
| Check if a purchase is allowed (places a hold) |
| Confirm hold after payment, or release if payment failed |
| Return a pre-commit hold to the budget (cancel before it settles) |
| Reverse a settled payment, fully or partially |
| Query remaining budget and history |
| Look up a single hold's state (held, settled, released, refunded) |
Related MCP server: Arbor
Agent wants to buy something ($0.50)
│
├── check_budget(budget_id, 50, "vendor")
│ → "Approved. Hold ID: hold_abc. Remaining: $9.50"
│
├── [agent makes the payment via x402/card/MPP/any rail]
│
└── settle(hold_id, success=true)
→ "Hold confirmed."Budget enforcement is rail-agnostic. Works with x402, credit cards, MPP, bank transfers — the verifier tracks the budget, the payment method doesn't matter.
Discovery is open: initialize and tools/list on
https://verifier.goodmeta.co/mcp work with no credentials, so directory
health checks and "what does this server do" work for anyone.
Budget tools (create_budget and friends) need an API key. Keys are
issued by the operator — email eric@goodmeta.co for one; tell us the agent
name and expected budget scale.
Add the key to your MCP config (VERIFIER_API_KEY for npx, the
Authorization: Bearer header for remote). Done.
Any MCP-compatible client (Cursor, Windsurf, Codex, OpenClaw)
agent-verifier npm package for programmatic use
demo-agent for a full working example with real x402 payments
Five protocols let AI agents spend money (AP2, ACP, x402, MPP, UCP). None of them track what the agent spent across services. An agent calling Exa + Firecrawl + Nansen can overspend because each service approves independently. This MCP server is the missing budget layer.
Check if a purchase is within budget. Call BEFORE making a payment. Returns a hold_id to settle after.
Inputs: vendor (required), budget_id (required), amount_cents (required).
Create a spending budget for this agent. Set a limit before making purchases.
Inputs: amount_dollars (required), currency, valid_hours.
Check remaining budget and spending history.
Inputs: budget_id (required).
Look up the state of a single reservation/hold by its ID (held, settled, released, refunded, etc.).
Inputs: hold_id (required).
Refund a settled (already-committed) payment, fully or partially. Reverses the spend and restores budget. For pre-commit cancellations use release instead.
Inputs: hold_id (required), amount_cents (required), idempotency_key.
Release a pre-commit hold, returning the unspent reservation to the budget. Use when a planned payment is cancelled BEFORE it settles. For already-settled payments use refund instead.
Inputs: hold_id (required).
Confirm or cancel a payment hold. Call AFTER payment succeeds (success=true) or fails (success=false).
Inputs: hold_id (required), success (required).
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
Loading tool schema changelog…
Scored across 7 tools
Most tools have distinct purposes, but 'release' and 'refund' could be confused without careful reading of descriptions. However, the descriptions clearly differentiate pre-commit vs. settled.
All tool names follow a consistent verb_noun pattern using snake_case, e.g., check_budget, create_budget, query_reservation.
7 tools cover the essential budget and payment lifecycle without being bloated. Each tool serves a clear role.
The tool set covers create, check, hold, settle, release, refund, and query operations. Missing update or delete budget, but those are less critical for the core workflow.
Give your AI agent a spending limit: approval controls and single-use virtual cards.
Budget & cost control for AI agents — per-agent spend caps + rate limits before each call.
AI agent spending controls. Set limits, blocklists, and caps. Approve transactions from your phone.
Payment infrastructure for AI agents: spending rules, approval flows, single-use virtual cards.
