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

# Realtime Collections

> Create and manage payment links to collect funds from your customers with Meridian Realtime Collections.

## How payment links work

A payment link is a URL you generate for a specific amount in the currency you want to receive, such as Philippine pesos. You share the link with a U.S.-based buyer, who opens it, connects their U.S. bank account, and authorizes a debit. Meridian converts the debited U.S. dollars automatically so you are paid the target amount in your currency.

You create and manage links through Meridian's REST API, or through the Meridian Realtime Collections portal. Both work against the same links, so you can create a link in the portal and read it back through the API.

Every link carries a merchant-defined `referenceId`, so payments reconcile against the contract, invoice, or account number your own systems already use.

## Currency support

**Customers pay in USD, and merchants are paid out in PHP.** These are currently the only supported currencies for collection and settlement.

## Recurrence types

Each payment link is created with a recurrence type that determines how many times it can be paid.

| Type        | Behavior                                                                                                                                     |
| :---------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `SINGLE`    | Paid once. After a successful payment the link becomes invalid and cannot be used again.                                                     |
| `VARIABLE`  | Recurring, where the amount and the next collection date can change between charges. The amount can be left blank at creation and set later. |
| `RECURRING` | Recurring on a defined schedule, allowing multiple charges over time.                                                                        |

`VARIABLE` suits collections where the amount is not known in advance and arrives period by period, such as monthly amortization. `RECURRING` suits a fixed amount on a regular schedule.

## Automatic payments

For recurring links, customers can set up an Auto Pay so Meridian collects each payment automatically on a scheduled day of the month, rather than the customer returning to the link each time.

A link reports its Auto Pay arrangements, so you can tell whether a customer has automated their payments or is paying manually.

## Link access and security

Payment links are protected in two ways:

* **First-access deadline.** Every link carries a deadline for its first access. If the customer does not open the link by then, it expires automatically and can no longer be paid. The window is set in your merchant configuration.
* **Authentication challenge.** You can require the customer to answer a challenge before viewing the link. **This is required for recurring payment links**, since they can be charged more than once.

<Info>
  Meridian configures your first-access expiry window during onboarding.
</Info>

## Staying in sync

Meridian sends [webhooks](/products/realtime-collections/webhooks-overview) when a payment link is created, completed, or archived, so your systems can react without polling.

Because a link's status changes over its life — active, processing, completed, expired, archived — treat the webhook as the trigger and the link's status as the source of truth.