Payment Command

Overview

How it works and why it matters

A payment command is an instruction sent to a system to perform an operation, such as create invoice, authorize payout, issue refund or cancel a pending request. It expresses intent, not proof that the action succeeded. A robust command has an authenticated origin, unique identity, expected state and policy checks; its result may be accepted, rejected or still processing. Retries must preserve identity when the operation is intended to happen only once.

Technical context

Examples include authorize payment, initiate payout, approve refund, close settlement batch, or retry an execution.

Operational implementation normally requires command ID, actor and authorization context, target aggregate or payment, idempotency key, and validation and deadline.

Payment Command should remain distinct from Payment Domain Event , Payment Execution , and Payment Execution Context , because each can represent a different stage, record, control, or financial outcome.

Practical checks

Require authenticated sender, allowed operation, parameter validation and an idempotency key for commands that move value. A command may be accepted before asynchronous execution, so publish separate status events with durable references. Deleting a queued command does not necessarily reverse an already broadcast blockchain transaction.

Related concepts

Payment Domain Event; Payment Execution; Payment Execution Context