Comparison

Visa protects the budget. SettleProof protects the outcome.

Visa-style pre-purchase guardrails (Stripe Agent Toolkit, Crossmint, Visa Intelligent Commerce) cap how much an agent can spend before the transaction. SettleProof, powered by AAP, closes the loop on what happens after: deterministic settlement when delivery is proven, deterministic refund when it isn't.

Devnet demo output

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Scenario 1 — RELEASE (happy path)                               │
│    tx 4tZ6BfvLAN992q2hvNxnLoirXRXWYeot2FhLLsxFdGmYuh…             │
│    merchant: 1 USDC ✓ │ vault: 0 ✓ │ state: fulfilled (100%)     │
│                                                                  │
│    AAP:   ~1.5s         (1 tx: Ed25519 ix + release_escrow CPI)  │
│    Visa:  T+1 to T+3    (1–3 business days for capture/settle)   │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Scenario 2 — TTL REFUND (dispute auto-resolved)                 │
│    tx dkNJy9Ugv254jyYt7aRrWV5xT4YWPiZkjeCpjRZ3R2guTAj…            │
│    agent: 100 USDC ✓ │ vault: 0 ✓ │ state: refunded              │
│                                                                  │
│    AAP:   < 10s         (TTL elapses + 1 claim_refund tx)        │
│    Visa:  30–90 DAYS    (chargeback lifecycle: dispute, response,│
│                          arbitration)                            │
│                                                                  │
│    No chargeback. No arbitration. No 30-day wait.                │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Scenario 3 — PARTIAL 60/40 (split delivery)                     │
│    tx 63Z9Reddp7BERHBqryKMyMQB3Xrg3gyUhj3TTxu3J2kuT9gK…           │
│    merchant: 0.6 USDC ✓ │ agent: 0.4 USDC ✓ │ state: partial     │
│                                                                  │
│    AAP:   ~1.5s         (single CPI tx, on-chain u128 split)     │
│    Visa:  60–180 DAYS   (partial dispute = full arbitration path)│
│                                                                  │
│    On-chain split executed in 1 tx. No mediator.                 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	AAP	Visa / Mastercard
Settlement (happy path)	~1.5s	1–3 business days
Refund (no delivery)	TTL + claim_refund tx	30–90 days
Partial dispute	single partial_release tx	60–180 days
Human arbitration	not required for release/refund	pre-arb + arb phases
Cost per dispute	Solana tx fee + rent	$15–$50 chargeback fee + product loss
Audit trail	cryptographic on-chain	email + PDF + spreadsheet
Counterparty risk	merchant cannot move funds without proof	merchant captures funds, user disputes after
Customer dispute window	n/a (TTL bound)	120 days from posting
Merchant response window	n/a	30–45 days

Why the gap matters

Chargebacks are projected to hit $28.1B in merchant losses by 2026, with global dispute volume rising from 238M (2023) to 337M (2026) — a 42% jump (Ethoca / Chargebacks911 2026 Outlook). Agent-initiated transactions amplify both sides: agents fan out requests at machine scale, and friendly-fraud detection wasn't designed for non-human buyers.

Morgan Stanley Research estimates $190–$385B of U.S. e-commerce will be agent-mediated by 2030. a16z's Sam Broner argues stablecoin thesis frames why programmable settlement rails matter — SettleProof is the attestation layer that makes that practical.

Where SettleProof fits

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Stripe Agent Toolkit / Crossmint / Visa Intelligent Commerce │
│   ─────────────────────────────────                          │
│   pre-purchase guardrails                                    │
│   • spending limits, MCC whitelist, human-in-the-loop        │
│                                                              │
│ Skyfire                                                      │
│   ─────────                                                  │
│   agent identity (KYA) + agent-to-API micropayments          │
│                                                              │
│ ★ SettleProof / AAP                                          │
│   ─────────────────                                          │
│   post-purchase settlement & dispute resolution              │
│   • cryptographic delivery proof (Ed25519 on Solana)         │
│   • TTL-bounded refunds, no chargeback                       │
│   • partial settlement in one tx (no arbitration)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Source citations

Claim	Source
$28.1B chargeback losses by 2026	Ethoca 2023 Outlook (via Chargebacks911) ↗
238M → 337M global dispute volume (+42%)	Same Ethoca report ↗
Visa chargeback timelines (30–90d / 60–180d)	Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 ↗
$190–385B agentic e-commerce by 2030	Morgan Stanley Research ↗
Stablecoins win B2B agent payments	a16z — Sam Broner ↗