---
title: Dual-Rail Settlement
description: How Delegare settles payments across Fiat and Crypto.
---

Delegare is built with a **dual-rail architecture**, allowing agents to settle payments through the most efficient path available—whether that's traditional fiat (Stripe) or decentralized finance (Base L2).

## What are Dual-Rails?
When a merchant integrates Delegare, they can choose to accept payments via:

1. **The Fiat Rail (Stripe):** Traditional credit card and bank transfer settlement. Best for businesses that need to keep their accounting in USD/EUR.
2. **The Crypto Rail (Base):** USDC settlement on the Base Layer 2 network. Best for low-fee, instant global settlement.

## Automatic Failover
One of the core benefits of the dual-rail system is **automatic failover**. If a user has both a card and a wallet connected:

- The Vault will attempt the merchant's preferred rail first.
- If the preferred rail fails (e.g., insufficient crypto balance or a declined card), the Vault can automatically attempt to settle on the secondary rail.
- This ensures that agents can complete their tasks with the highest possible success rate.

## Merchant Experience
Merchants don't need to manage multiple complex integrations. The Delegare API abstracts the rail complexity:
- You call one `/charge` endpoint.
- You receive one unified webhook for payment success.
- You can view all transactions (fiat and crypto) in a single unified [Dashboard](https://app.delegare.dev).

## Low Fees
By leveraging Base L2 for crypto payments, Delegare makes AI micro-payments economically viable:
- **Under $1.00:** 3% of the transaction amount, with a **minimum of 0.5¢** (which covers all Base network gas costs).
- **$1.00 and above:** A flat fee of **3¢ per transaction**, significantly lower than traditional payment processors.
