User capabilities

Learn what capabilities your users can have in your platform

A capability is an action that a user can perform in your platform, for example, receiving payments.

In most cases, Adyen configures default capabilities for your business during the design phase. These capabilities are automatically requested for your users when you create account holders for them. If a user needs a specific capability that is not part of their default configuration, you must request the additional capability.

It is possible that requesting additional capabilities prompts additional KYC checks on your users.

The set of capabilities available to your users depends on the setup of your business. Also, if your business offers financial products, your users can access additional capabilities.

Business setup capabilities

The following tabs show the capabilities corresponding to each business setup. Depending on your capabilities settings, these capabilities are requested automatically for new account holders, or you have to request them separately when needed.

If your business is set up as a marketplace, your users can get the following capabilities:

The user can...	API capability value	Notes
Receive funds from other balance accounts in your platform.	receiveFromBalanceAccount	This capability is only required if the balance accounts are not under the same account holder.
Receive funds from verified bank accounts.	receiveFromTransferInstrument	This capability is only required if the account holder uses the top-up balance account feature. Requesting this capability triggers upfront verification.
Receive funds from split payments.	receiveFromPlatformPayments
Transfer funds to other balance accounts in your platform.	sendToBalanceAccount	This capability is only required if the balance accounts are not under the same account holder.
Transfer funds to verified bank accounts. For example, when paying out to bank accounts.	sendToTransferInstrument	From LEM API v3, this capability is verified at the level of the transfer instrument. This means that transfers are possible to a verified bank account independently of the verification status of other bank accounts that the legal entity has.

Financial product capabilities

The following tabs show the capabilities corresponding to each financial product. Depending on your capabilities settings, these capabilities are requested automatically for new account holders, or you have to request them separately when needed.

If your business offers business accounts, your users can get the following capabilities:

The user can...	API capability value	Notes
Have an Adyen business account.	issueBankAccount
Receive funds from third parties.	receiveFromThirdParty	This capability is enabled by default when they have an issueBankAccount capability.
Send funds to third parties.	sendToThirdParty	This capability is enabled by default when they have an issueBankAccount capability.

If your business issues debit cards, your users can get the following capabilities:

The user can...	API capability value	Notes
Have an Adyen-issued card.	issueCard
Use the Adyen-issued card.	useCard
Withdraw cash from ATMs.	withdrawFromAtm	This capability has levels.
Withdraw cash from ATMs in restricted countries.	withdrawFromAtmInRestrictedCountries	This capability has levels.
Receive funds from verified bank accounts.	receiveFromTransferInstrument
Transfer funds to verified transfer instruments from balance accounts.	sendToTransferInstrument	From LEM API v3, this capability is verified at the level of the transfer instrument. This means, for example, that transfers are possible to a verified card independently of the verification status of other transfer instruments that the legal entity has.
Use the Adyen-issued card to pay for goods and services in restricted countries.	useCardInRestrictedCountries	This capability has levels.
Use the card to pay for goods and services from restricted industries.	useCardInRestrictedIndustries	This capability has levels.
Use an Adyen-issued card when they are not the individual account holder.	authorisedPaymentInstrumentUser	This capability is automatically requested when the legal entity of the account holder is an organization.
Transfer funds to other balance accounts in your platform.	sendToBalanceAccount	This capability is only required if the balance accounts are not under the same account holder.
Receive funds from other balance accounts in your platform.	receiveFromBalanceAccount	This capability is only required if the balance accounts are not under the same account holder.

Capability levels

Capabilities for card issuing can also have different levels: low, medium, or high. Levels increase the capability, but may also require more checks and increased monitoring. Adyen runs checks based on the requested capability and the capability level.

The amounts below are the threshold amounts per card, per day.

Capability	Medium	High
withdrawFromAtm	Less than or equal to EUR 750	More than EUR 750 and less than EUR 1500
withdrawFromAtmInRestrictedCountries	Less than or equal to EUR 500	More than EUR 500 and less than EUR 1000
useCardInRestrictedCountries	Less than or equal to EUR 1500	Greater than EUR 1500
useCardInRestrictedIndustries	Industry-specific limits apply	Industry-specific limits apply

If your business offers grants, your users can get the following capabilities:

The user can...	API capability value	Notes
Get grant offers based on their payments data.	getGrantOffers
Receive grant payout from Adyen.	receiveGrants	The user must sign Adyen's Terms of Service.

Verification status of a capability

Verification status of a capability indicates whether a user has passed KYC checks and meets requirements to use a specific capability. To get updates about the verification status of a capability, you can:

Listen to balancePlatform.accountHolder.created and balancePlatform.accountHolder.updated webhooks
Make a GET /accountHolders/{id} request

Here are the possible values for the capability verification status.

Status	Description
`pending`	The `pending` status indicates that the verification is in progress. At this verification phase, a capability requested for the first time is set to `requested` : true and `allowed` : false. If the capability has already been allowed, but some user data has changed and needs to be verified, you may see that the capability verification status is `pending` and the capability is `allowed` : true. This means that the user is still allowed to use capability while Adyen performs the checks.
`valid`	The `valid` status indicates that the verification is successfully completed and that the user meets the requirements to use a capability. With this verification status, the user can use the capability. Adyen sets the capability to `allowed` : true.
`invalid`	The `invalid` status indicates that the verification failed, for example due to incorrect information or missing documents. In this case, the webhook or the API response contains the problems object, including the `verificationErrors`, `subErrors`, and `remediatingActions` arrays returned on the linked legal entity. If there are verification errors, you must resolve them. With this verification status, Adyen sets the capability to `allowed` : false. This means the user is not permitted to use the capability until all verification errors are resolved and the verification process is completed successfully. If any user data changes or is missing after the previous verification has been completed successfully, Adyen reverts the capability verification status to `invalid`. In such a scenario, the user must provide the necessary information within a specific deadline. During this period, the user can continue using the capability, and its setting remains as `allowed` : true.
`rejected`	The `rejected` status indicates that Adyen completed verification, but the user does not meet the requirements to use a capability based on the submitted information. This status is final and any errors cannot be resolved by updating data or uploading documents. With this verification status, Adyen prohibits the user from performing the action and sets the capability to `allowed` : false.

Capability settings

The settings of a capability determine if it is available to a user and they can use it. To get updates about the capability settings, you can:

Listen to balancePlatform.accountHolder.created and balancePlatform.accountHolder.updated webhooks
Make a GET /accountHolders/{id} request. The API response contains the capabilities object that shows whether the capability is requested, allowed, and enabled. Below are the explanations for each setting.

Setting Possible values Description

requested

true, false

true: The capability has been requested. Default capabilities are requested automatically when you create an account holder. You can also request additional capabilities by including this setting in your API request.

false: The capability has not been requested yet.

allowed

true, false

true: The verification is successful and the user is permitted to use the capability. The capability can only be used when it is both allowed and enabled.

In some scenarios, such as when a user changes their information, the capability is set to true while the verification status is pending or invalid . The user must provide updated information within the given deadline. During the deadline, the user can still use the capability while Adyen verifies the data.

false: The verification is pending , invalid , or rejected . The user is not permitted to use the capability.

enabled

true, false

This setting allows you to manage your users’ access to capabilities. Changing this setting does not trigger verification checks or prevent a capability from being requested.

Note that this capability can only be used if it is both enabled and allowed.

Set to true to offer the capability to the user. Set to false to prevent them from using the capability.