> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://natural.ferndocs.com/guides/create-payment/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://natural.ferndocs.com/_mcp/server.

# Create a payment

Send money to an agent, email, phone number, or Natural party ID. For new parties, Natural creates a payment link, delivers the link by email or SMS, and onboards the new party.

Every call is shown five ways — MCP, Python, TypeScript, CLI, and cURL. The MCP tab is the natural-language prompt you'd give an AI agent.

## 1. Get your API key

Sign up at [natural.co/signup](https://natural.co/signup) (Google OAuth, email/password, or phone) and complete identity verification — KYC for individuals, KYB for businesses. See [compliance](/guides/overview/compliance) for details.

Then create a developer API key in the dashboard. It's shown once — store it in a secret manager and never in version control.

```bash
export NATURAL_API_TOKEN=sk_ntl_prod_abc123...
```

Connect to MCP, CLI, or SDK. For first time users, we recommend connecting over MCP.

**`MCP (Claude Code)`**

```bash title="MCP (Claude Code)"
claude mcp add --transport http natural https://mcp.natural.co \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN"
```

**`Python`**

```bash title="Python"
pip install natural-sdk
```

**`TypeScript`**

```bash title="TypeScript"
npm install @natural-co/sdk
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
git clone https://github.com/fern-demo/natural-cli.git && cd natural-cli && cargo build --release
```

## 2. Create an agent

Agents execute transactions. Create one in the Agents tab of the dashboard, or:

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
Create an agent called "Carrier Payment Agent" for paying delivery carriers.
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
import os
from natural import NaturalClient

client = NaturalClient(token=os.environ["NATURAL_API_TOKEN"])

agent = client.agents.create(
    idempotency_key="create-carrier-agent",
    data={
        "attributes": {
            "name": "Carrier Payment Agent",
            "description": "Pays delivery carriers",
        }
    },
)
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
import { NaturalClient } from "@natural-co/sdk";

const client = new NaturalClient({ token: process.env.NATURAL_API_TOKEN });

const agent = await client.agents.create({
    idempotencyKey: "create-carrier-agent",
    data: {
        attributes: {
            name: "Carrier Payment Agent",
            description: "Pays delivery carriers",
        },
    },
});
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api agents create \
  --idempotency-key "create-carrier-agent" \
  --data.attributes.name "Carrier Payment Agent" \
  --data.attributes.description "Pays delivery carriers"
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl -X POST https://api.natural.co/agents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: create-carrier-agent" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "attributes": {
        "name": "Carrier Payment Agent",
        "description": "Pays delivery carriers"
      }
    }
  }'
```

The response includes the agent's `id` (`agt_*`) — store it to associate your agent for future requests.

## 3. Connect a bank account and fund your wallet

Fund your wallet from a linked bank account so your agent can transact autonomously.

### Connect a bank account

Link a bank account from the Wallet tab of your dashboard — Natural connects it securely through Plaid. Once linked, list your external accounts to get the `eac_*` ID to deposit from:

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
List my linked bank accounts.
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
accounts = client.external_accounts.list()
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
const accounts = await client.externalAccounts.list();
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api external-accounts list
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl https://api.natural.co/external-accounts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN"
```

### Fund your wallet

Pull funds from the linked account into your wallet:

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
Deposit $50,000 into my wallet from my linked bank account.
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
deposit = client.transfers.initiate_deposit(
    idempotency_key="deposit-50k",
    data={
        "attributes": {
            "amount": 5_000_000,
            "currency": "USD",
            "externalAccountId": "eac_550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000",
        }
    },
)
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
const deposit = await client.transfers.initiateDeposit({
    idempotencyKey: "deposit-50k",
    data: {
        attributes: {
            amount: 5_000_000,
            currency: "USD",
            externalAccountId: "eac_550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000",
        },
    },
});
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api transfers initiateDeposit \
  --idempotency-key "deposit-50k" \
  --json '{"data":{"attributes":{"amount":5000000,"currency":"USD","externalAccountId":"eac_550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000"}}}'
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl -X POST https://api.natural.co/transfers/deposit \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: deposit-50k" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "attributes": {
        "amount": 5000000,
        "currency": "USD",
        "externalAccountId": "eac_550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000"
      }
    }
  }'
```

Confirm the funds landed before paying. Each wallet's `balance.available` is the spendable balance after pending holds:

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
What's my wallet's available balance?
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
wallets = client.wallets.list()
balance = wallets.data[0].attributes.balance
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
const wallets = await client.wallets.list();
const balance = wallets.data[0].attributes.balance;
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api wallets list
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl https://api.natural.co/wallets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN"
```

## 4. Send the payment

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
Using my Carrier Payment Agent, pay terri@contractor.com $5,000 for Q4 development work.
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
payment = client.payments.create(
    idempotency_key="pay-q4-dev-work",
    data={
        "attributes": {
            "amount": 500_000,
            "counterparty": {"type": "email", "value": "terri@contractor.com"},
            "description": "Q4 development work",
            "customerPartyId": "pty_019cd34e27c179bfbbe6870486b11b67",
        }
    },
)
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
const payment = await client.payments.create({
    idempotencyKey: "pay-q4-dev-work",
    data: {
        attributes: {
            amount: 500_000,
            counterparty: { type: "email", value: "terri@contractor.com" },
            description: "Q4 development work",
            customerPartyId: "pty_019cd34e27c179bfbbe6870486b11b67",
        },
    },
});
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api payments create \
  --idempotency-key "pay-q4-dev-work" \
  --x-agent-i-d agt_019cd1798d637a4da75dce386343931d \
  --x-instance-i-d "$(uuidgen)" \
  --json '{"data":{"attributes":{"amount":500000,"currency":"USD","counterparty":{"type":"email","value":"terri@contractor.com"},"description":"Q4 development work"}}}'
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl -X POST https://api.natural.co/payments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Agent-ID: agt_019cd1798d637a4da75dce386343931d" \
  -H "X-Instance-ID: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: pay-q4-dev-work" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "attributes": {
        "amount": 500000,
        "currency": "USD",
        "counterparty": {"type": "email", "value": "terri@contractor.com"},
        "description": "Q4 development work"
      }
    }
  }'
```

## 5. Track the payment

Use the transaction's `txn_*` ID to check status:

**`MCP`**

```text title="MCP"
Check the status of transaction txn_1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2l3m4n5o6p.
```

**`Python`**

```python title="Python"
tx = client.transactions.get("txn_1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2l3m4n5o6p")
```

**`TypeScript`**

```typescript title="TypeScript"
const tx = await client.transactions.get("txn_1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2l3m4n5o6p");
```

**`CLI`**

```bash title="CLI"
natural-api transactions get --transaction-id txn_1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2l3m4n5o6p
```

**`cURL`**

```bash title="cURL"
curl https://api.natural.co/transactions/txn_1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2l3m4n5o6p \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NATURAL_API_TOKEN"
```

## Next steps

* [Request a payment](/guides/request-payment) — collect with a payment link
* [Webhooks](/guides/webhooks) — receive real-time event notifications

> Send money to an agent, email, phone number, or Natural party ID