set-api-keyLABSCO SUMMARY
The key lives in the conversation, which cuts both ways.
Nothing is persisted — no credentials on disk, no config file — and the session ends with the key. That is a real security property. It also means the key passes through the model's context to get there, so the first message of every session is a secret, and whatever your client logs, it logs. Start on TEST_RAILS payees while you work out the shape of the flow; the same tools then apply to ACH and crypto without changing anything else.
What it is
An MCP server over Payman AI's payment APIs. It covers the full path an agent needs to actually pay someone: authenticate, register a payee of the right type, send a payment, search existing payees, and read the account balance.
What you get
set-api-key— supplies the Payman key at runtime and holds it in memory for the session- Three payee types, each with its own tool:
create-test-rails-payeefor testing,create-us-ach-payeetaking account type, account and routing numbers and account-holder details, andcreate-crypto-payeetaking address, chain and currency send-payment— apayeeIdandamountDecimal, with optionalwalletId,memoandmetadatasearch-payees— find registered payees by name, contact email, account number and other criteriaget-balance— the current account balance, no parameters- Both stdio and SSE transports; the SSE build serves
/sseand/messageson port 3001
Requirements
A Payman AI API key. Notably there is no configuration file and no environment variable for it: the key is set at runtime by calling set-api-key, kept in memory for the session, and never written to disk. Node.js v14 or higher with npm or yarn; installation is a clone plus npm install and npm run build, then pointing the client at build/payman-server.js. Smithery can install it for Claude Desktop automatically. The SSE mode needs express and cors as additional dependencies.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/hrishi0102/payman_mcp
USE CASES
01
Paying a contractor from a chat
Look up the payee by name, then send the amount with a memo describing what it covers.
02
Onboarding a new US payee
Register them with account type, account and routing numbers and the account holder's details, then pay them once they exist.
03
Paying to a crypto address
Register the wallet with its chain and currency, then send against the returned payee id.
04
Rehearsing the flow safely
Create a test-rails payee and run the whole sequence before any real rails are involved.
05
Checking there is money to send
Read the current balance before committing to a payment run.
7 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
create-test-rails-payeecreate-us-ach-payeecreate-crypto-payeesend-paymentsearch-payeesget-balanceBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
7 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- Node.js 14+
- npm or yarn
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/hrishi0102/payman_mcp
cd payman_mcp
npm install
npm run buildMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"payman": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_PAYMAN_MCP>/build/payman-server.js"
]
}
}
}<YOUR_PATH_TO_PAYMAN_MCP> is the full path of the payman_mcp folder you cloned. No key goes in this file: once connected, give the server your Payman API key with the set-api-key tool.
