# Stellar \[SEP-41 token payments on the Stellar network] The [Stellar](https://stellar.org) payment method enables payments using SEP-41-compliant tokens on the Stellar network. Stellar supports two intents – **charge** for one-time on-chain transfers and **channel** for high-frequency off-chain payment channels – covering everything from single API calls to metered billing at token-level granularity. The reference implementation is provided by [`@stellar/mpp`](https://github.com/stellar/stellar-mpp-sdk), which extends [`mppx`](https://github.com/wevm/mppx) with Stellar-native client and server handlers. ## Installation :::code-group ```bash [npm] npm install @stellar/mpp mppx @stellar/stellar-sdk ``` ```bash [pnpm] pnpm add @stellar/mpp mppx @stellar/stellar-sdk ``` ```bash [bun] bun add @stellar/mpp mppx @stellar/stellar-sdk ``` ::: ## Why Stellar Stellar enables several useful capabilities for MPP: * **5-second finality**: Transactions settle with deterministic confirmation, no probabilistic waiting * **Sub-cent fees**: Transaction costs low enough for micropayments and per-request billing * **Fee sponsorship**: Servers can pay transaction fees on behalf of clients, removing wallet friction entirely * **Stellar smart contracts**: Payment channels run as auditable on-chain contracts for secure escrow and settlement * **Flexible token support**: Any SEP-41 compliant token is supported, which includes smart contract transfers and classic assets (via SAC). * **Payment channels**: Off-chain cumulative commitments enable high-frequency metered billing without per-request on-chain cost ## Choosing an intent | | **Charge** | **Channel** | |---|---|---| | **Pattern** | One-time payment per request | Deposit once, pay incrementally with commitments | | **Latency overhead** | ~5s (on-chain confirmation) | Near-zero after channel open | | **Throughput** | One transaction per request | Many commitments per second per channel | | **Best for** | Single API calls, content access, one-off purchases | LLM APIs, metered services, usage-based billing | | **On-chain cost** | Per request | Amortized across many requests | | **Settlement** | Immediate on-chain token transfer | Off-chain commitments, on-chain close | ## Intents
Stellar charge
One-time smart contract token transfers settled on-chain
Stellar channel
Pay-as-you-go payments over one-way payment channels
## Fee sponsorship Stellar supports server-paid transaction fees for charge intents. When enabled, the server rebuilds the transaction with its own source account and optionally wraps it in a fee bump. The client signs only the Stellar auth entries – no need to hold XLM for gas. Pass a `feePayer` configuration to `stellar.charge()` to enable this: ```ts import { Mppx } from 'mppx/server' import { stellar } from '@stellar/mpp/charge/server' import { USDC_SAC_TESTNET } from '@stellar/mpp' import { Keypair } from '@stellar/stellar-sdk' const mppx = Mppx.create({ secretKey: process.env.MPP_SECRET_KEY, methods: [ stellar.charge({ recipient: process.env.STELLAR_RECIPIENT, currency: USDC_SAC_TESTNET, network: 'stellar:testnet', feePayer: { // [!code hl] envelopeSigner: Keypair.fromSecret('S...'), // [!code hl] }, // [!code hl] }), ], }) ``` ## Supported assets Any [SEP-41](https://stellar.org/protocol/sep-41) compliant token is supported. This includes classic Stellar assets wrapped via SAC, as well as custom smart contract tokens that implement the SEP-41 interface. A few common examples: * **USDC** – Circle's USD stablecoin on Stellar * **XLM** – Stellar's native asset, wrapped as a SEP-41 token via SAC * **Any custom SEP-41 token** – smart contracts implementing the SEP-41 token interface The `@stellar/mpp` package exports constants for commonly used token addresses (`USDC_SAC_MAINNET`, `USDC_SAC_TESTNET`, `XLM_SAC_MAINNET`, `XLM_SAC_TESTNET`).