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Once you have a Payments instance, you can start creating Payment Plans and AI Agents.

Creating a Payment Plan

Payment Plans give AI Builders the ability to control how and when users can use an AI agent or service. They are entirely controlled and managed by the AI Builder that creates them with no interference from Nevermined. Nevermined Payment Plans enable the setup of time-based or request-based gating of a Builder’s AI.
  • Request-Based or Credits-Based: Provides user access with request-gating. Builders can set the target price per request by configuring how many credits each API call consumes. This allows you to control costs based on computational complexity - for example, a simple query might cost 1 credit while a complex analysis could cost 5 credits. When adding services to a Payment Plan, you define the number of credits required per request. Each time a request is made, Nevermined will redeem the specified number of credits. If the user does not have enough credits, they will be prompted to purchase more and denied access until they do.
  • Time-Based: Provides user access with time-gating. Builders can set the time period that a user is allowed access to the AI (e.g., 1 year, 1 month, 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour, etc.). When a user makes a request, the corresponding access credit is redeemed, granting access for the designated period. Once the time period has elapsed, the user will no longer have access and will need to redeem another credit for continued access.

Creating a Credit-Based Payment Plan

const USDC_ERC20_TESTING = '0x036CbD53842c5426634e7929541eC2318f3dCF7e' // This is the USDC ERC20 address in the test network (sandbox)

const planMetadata = {
  name: 'My Credits Plan',
  tags: ['test']
}

// The price is 20 USDC (20_000_000) in the sandbox network
const priceConfig = getERC20PriceConfig(20_000_000n, USDC_ERC20_TESTING, builderAddress)
// The subscriber receives 100 credits upon purchasing the plan
const creditsConfig = getFixedCreditsConfig(100n)
// Register the plan
const { planId } = await payments.plans.registerCreditsPlan(
  planMetadata, 
  priceConfig, 
  creditsConfig
)

Creating a Time-Based Payment Plan

// The price is 5 USDC (5_000_000) in the sandbox network
const priceConfig = getERC20PriceConfig(5_000_000n, ERC20_ADDRESS, builderAddress)
// The plan is valid for 1 day
const oneDayPlanConfig = getExpirableDurationConfig(ONE_DAY_DURATION)
// Register the plan
const { planId } = await payments.plans.registerTimePlan(
  planMetadata, 
  priceConfig, 
  oneDayPlanConfig
)

Creating a Trial Plan

A Trial Plan is a special type of Payment Plan that allows users to try out an AI Agent for a limited time (typically for free). A Trial Plan can only be obtained once by each user.
const trialPlanMetadata: PlanMetadata = {
  name: 'Try it for one day before you buy it',
}
// The price is free
const freeConfig = getFreePriceConfig()
// The plan is valid for 1 day
const oneDayPlanConfig = getExpirableDurationConfig(ONE_DAY_DURATION)
// Register the trial plan
const { planId } = await payments.plans.registerTimeTrialPlan(
  trialPlanMetadata, 
  freeConfig, 
  oneDayPlanConfig
)

Creating an AI Agent

Before creating an AI Agent, you need to have a Payment Plan created.

API Endpoint Configuration

When creating an agent, you need to specify:
  • HTTP methods and URL patterns that the agent exposes and are protected by the Payment Plan
  • Wildcard support - You can use wildcards (like :agentId) to match dynamic URL segments
  • Open endpoints - Specify any endpoints that should remain free (like documentation or health checks)
URL patterns support wildcards following the path-to-regexp specification.
const agentMetadata: AgentMetadata = {
  name: 'E2E Payments Agent',
  tags: ['test'],
  dateCreated: new Date(),
  description: 'Description for the E2E Payments Agent'
}
const agentApi = {
  endpoints: [
    { 'POST': 'https://example.com/api/v1/agents/:agentId/tasks' },
    { 'GET': 'https://example.com/api/v1/agents/:agentId/tasks/invoke' }
  ],
  openEndpoints: ['https://example.com/api/v1/rest/docs-json']
}
const paymentPlans = [creditsPlanId, expirablePlanId]

const { agentId } = await payments.agents.registerAgent(
  agentMetadata, 
  agentApi, 
  paymentPlans
)

Creating a Payment Plan and AI Agent Together

This method allows you to create the plan and attach the agent to it in one step.
const agentMetadata = { 
  name: 'My AI Payments Agent', 
  tags: ['test2'], 
  description: 'Description for my AI Payments Agent' 
}
const agentApi = { endpoints: [{ 'POST': 'http://example.com/test/:agentId/tasks' }] }

const cryptoPriceConfig = getNativeTokenPriceConfig(500n, builderAddress)
// Non expirable payment plan
const nonExpirableConfig = getNonExpirableDurationConfig()

const { agentId, planId } = await paymentsBuilder.agents.registerAgentAndPlan(
  agentMetadata,
  agentApi,
  planMetadata,
  cryptoPriceConfig,
  nonExpirableConfig,
)

Key Concepts

Endpoint Protection

When creating an AI Agent, you specify:
  • Protected Endpoints: Require payment/subscription to access
  • Open Endpoints: Free to access (e.g., documentation, health checks)
  • URL Patterns: Support wildcards for dynamic routing

Payment Plan Types

Credits-Based

Users pay for a specific number of credits. Each request consumes credits based on your configuration.

Time-Based

Users get unlimited access for a specific time period (hours, days, months).

Trial Plans

Free access for limited time or credits to let users test your service.

Best Practices

Use descriptive names that clearly indicate what the plan offers (e.g., “Basic API Access - 1000 requests”).
Start with competitive pricing and adjust based on usage patterns and user feedback.
Group related functionality under the same payment plan to provide better value to subscribers.
Always offer trial plans to reduce barriers to entry and increase conversion rates.

Next Steps

Once you have created your payment plans and agents, you can: