Quotes

A quote snapshot fixes the conversion between a merchant's base amount and the amount a customer pays in a chosen token. It is an immutable record of a rate at a moment in time, valid for a bounded window. A quote snapshot is an expectation input — it shapes the amount a payment attempt expects, and it has no bearing on payment outcome.

A quote snapshot fixes a price

When a customer selects a chain and token, a quote snapshot records the rate and the resulting amount in that token. The snapshot is immutable: once created, its rate and amount never change. A payment attempt binds to one quote snapshot, and that snapshot is the canonical expected amount for the attempt.

Validity is bounded

Each snapshot carries a validity window — an expires_at after which it is no longer a valid basis for a new payment. Within the window, the snapshot may be used to form an attempt; past it, a fresh quote is required. The duration of the window is a per-chain, per-token concern documented in Supported chains and tokens.

Expiry never mutates a snapshot. An expired snapshot remains an immutable historical record; it is simply no longer usable as a fresh basis for payment.

A new selection means a new snapshot

The selected pay asset is the combination of chain and token. Changing either one requires a new quote snapshot — a snapshot is never reinterpreted or reactivated for a different asset or a later moment. A customer who switches token or network obtains a new quote, which forms a new attempt, while the deposit address stays the same.

Expiry before payment, not after

Quote validity gates the path to a payment, not the payment itself. A snapshot's window matters while the attempt is being formed and made ready to pay. Once a deposit is confirmed on-chain, the payment's outcome is settled by on-chain truth — a quote snapshot expiring afterward does not affect a finalized payment. The validity of a confirmed, on-chain payment is never a quote question. See Statuses and projections.