> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.velafi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Core Use Cases

> End-to-end guides for the most common VelaFi integrations: collecting local payments, paying out, converting to and from stablecoins, and onboarding merchants.

Each guide below walks through one complete flow: the calls to make, the webhooks to handle, how to deal with failures, how to reconcile, and what to check before go-live.

## What do you want to build?

> [card] [Collect local payments with virtual accounts](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/collect-with-virtual-accounts.md)
>
> Give each payer its own local deposit details and credit incoming transfers to your fiat balance.

> [card] [Pay out local currency from your balance](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-from-balance.md)
>
> Send local bank payouts from your fiat balance, and move balance between your merchants.

> [card] [Convert local currency to stablecoins](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/convert-to-stablecoins.md)
>
> Turn local currency into USDT or USDC with on-ramp orders.

> [card] [Pay out local currency funded with stablecoins](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-funded-by-stablecoins.md)
>
> Sell stablecoins from your balance and pay the local currency to a beneficiary's bank account.

> [card] [Onboard your customers as merchants](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/onboard-your-customers.md)
>
> Register your own customers, run KYC/KYB, and activate their currency accounts.

> [card] [Cross-border payments](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/guides/global-payments.md)
>
> Send fiat in one currency and deliver another, with stablecoins as the rail.

> [card] [Go-live checklist](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/go-live-checklist.md)
>
> Credentials, webhooks, idempotency, error handling and reconciliation for every integration.

## Prefunded or pay-per-order?

On-ramp orders can be paid in two ways. Choose before you build, because it changes how your payers pay and how orders fail.

| | Prefunded | Pay-per-order |
| - | - | - |
| **How it works** | Your merchant's fiat balance (Pending Fund) already holds the money, for example from deposits to its account or virtual accounts. VelaFi takes the order amount from that balance. | You create the order first. The payer then sends a bank transfer to the payment details returned in the order's `paymentInfo`. |
| **Best for** | Platforms that collect funds before converting, and any flow with regular or high volume. | One-off payments where you cannot hold a balance for the payer. |
| **Failure mode** | Few failures once the balance covers the order. Check the balance before you create orders. | If the payer does not pay within the payment window, the order expires and is cancelled (`orderStatus` `70`). You must create a new order and send new instructions. |

> [!TIP]
>
> Use the prefunded model whenever you can. A balance that is already in place removes the dependency on the payer completing a transfer in time, which is where most pay-per-order failures come from.

Payouts work the same way: [payouts from your balance](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-from-balance.md) are paid from the fiat balance, and [stablecoin-funded payouts](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-funded-by-stablecoins.md) are paid from the merchant's crypto balance.

## Combine use cases

The flows share the same merchant balances, so you can chain them:

* **Collect, then convert.** [Collect with virtual accounts](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/collect-with-virtual-accounts.md) into the fiat balance, then [convert to stablecoins](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/convert-to-stablecoins.md) from that balance with prefunded on-ramp orders.
* **Deposit stablecoins, then pay out locally.** Deposit USDT or USDC to the merchant's crypto wallet ([Get Crypto Deposit Address](https://docs.velafi.com/api-reference/merchant/get-crypto-deposit-address.md)), then [pay out local currency funded with stablecoins](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-funded-by-stablecoins.md).
* **Collect, then pay out.** Collect local payments into the fiat balance and [pay out from that balance](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-from-balance.md) in the same currency.
* **Onboard first.** If you serve your own customers, [onboard each one as a merchant](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/onboard-your-customers.md) and run any of the flows above with that customer's `merchantId`.

Whatever you build, finish with the [go-live checklist](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/go-live-checklist.md).


## Related topics

- [Build with AI](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/developer-tools/build-with-ai.md)
- [Agent Skills](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/developer-tools/agent-skills.md)
- [Go-Live Checklist](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/go-live-checklist.md)
- [Onboard Your Customers as Merchants](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/onboard-your-customers.md)
- [Pay Out Local Currency from the Balance](https://docs.velafi.com/docs/use-cases/payouts-from-balance.md)


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