> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.fin.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Creating your first beneficiary and payout
> How to add a beneficiary in the Dashboard, whether you are paying out to a bank account, an e-wallet, or a crypto wallet, and how the payout then works.
A beneficiary is someone your customer pays out to. You add them once, and from then on you can send money to them as often as you need.
Every beneficiary belongs to a customer and has a single destination. Pick the tab below for the kind of payout you are setting up.
## What do I need before I start?
Beneficiaries belong to a customer, so the customer has to exist and be approved first. You cannot add a beneficiary to a customer who is still under review.
You will be asked for the recipient's name, address, destination details, and some compliance information. Collect them before you start, since every field marked with an asterisk has to be filled in before the form can be saved.
## How do I create the beneficiary?
Go to **Customer details** for the customer you want the beneficiary for, open the **Beneficiaries** tab, then select **Add Beneficiary**.
Choose **Bank / E-wallet**.
**Beneficiary type** says whether the recipient is an **Individual** or a **Business**.
**Counter party** says who your customer is paying. **First party (self)** means they are paying themselves, such as a business sending funds to its own account elsewhere. **Third party** means they are paying someone else, such as a supplier or an employee. This drives the compliance checks, and third party payouts may bring extra ones depending on the country.
Under **Country & Payment Selection**, set the **Destination country**, the **Account scheme**, the **Currency**, and **Bank transfer** as the **Payment method**.
Give the recipient's **First name**, **Last name**, **Email address**, and **Phone**, then their **Account holder address**: street, city, country, state, and postal code.
Pick the receiving bank from the **Bank** list. If it is not there, choose **Not listed / enter bank name** and type the **Bank name** yourself. Then give the **Account number** and **Account type**.
The remaining fields depend on the account scheme you chose, because countries identify a bank in different ways. On a SWIFT payout you are asked for the **SWIFT Code** and, optionally, an **Intermediary bank routing number**.
Then give the **Bank address**: street, city, country, state, and postal code.
Bank details are validated against the rules for the destination country, so a number in the wrong format is rejected when you save. See [Bank account and routing number validation rules](/bank-account-and-routing-validation-rules) for what each country expects.
Give the **Transaction purpose**, **Occupation**, **Relationship**, and **Nationality**, plus the **Government ID number** with its **issue** and **expiry** dates. The purpose and occupation each take optional remarks.
The relationship options change depending on whether your customer and the recipient are individuals or businesses. See [Sender and receiver relationships](/guides/beneficiaries/sender-and-receiver-relationships) for which combinations are allowed.
Under **Developer fee**, set what you charge on top of each payout. You can set a **Fixed fee**, a **Percentage fee**, or both. When you set both, they are added together.
This is how the payout gets funded. **Deposit rail** and **Deposit currency** are the network and token you send in. **Refund wallet address** is where funds are returned if a payout cannot be completed.
**Enable auto settlement** controls when the payout goes out. Leave it on and the payout is sent as soon as the funds arrive. Leave it off and the funds are held until you release them yourself.
Local currency payouts, such as BDT, INR, and EUR, have to be pre-funded. See [Funding your balance](/guides/move-money/funding-your-balance) for how that works.
Select **Create beneficiary** to submit.
Go to **Customer details** for the customer you want the beneficiary for, open the **Beneficiaries** tab, then select **Add Beneficiary**.
Choose **Bank / E-wallet**.
**Beneficiary type** says whether the recipient is an **Individual** or a **Business**.
**Counter party** says who your customer is paying. **First party (self)** means they are paying themselves. **Third party** means they are paying someone else. This drives the compliance checks, and third party payouts may bring extra ones depending on the country.
Under **Country & Payment Selection**, set the **Destination country**, the **Currency**, and **E-Wallet** as the **Payment method**. There is no account scheme to choose.
Give the recipient's **First name**, **Last name**, **Email address**, and **Phone**, then their **Account holder address**: street, city, country, state, and postal code.
Give the **Wallet provider**, chosen from the providers supported in that country, and the **Wallet number**, which is usually the phone number the wallet is registered to.
That is all an e-wallet needs. There is no bank name, bank code, or bank address to fill in.
Give the **Transaction purpose**, **Occupation**, **Relationship**, and **Nationality**, plus the **Government ID number** with its **issue** and **expiry** dates. The purpose and occupation each take optional remarks.
The relationship options change depending on whether your customer and the recipient are individuals or businesses. See [Sender and receiver relationships](/guides/beneficiaries/sender-and-receiver-relationships) for which combinations are allowed.
Under **Developer fee**, set what you charge on top of each payout. You can set a **Fixed fee**, a **Percentage fee**, or both. When you set both, they are added together.
This is how the payout gets funded. **Deposit rail** and **Deposit currency** are the network and token you send in. **Refund wallet address** is where funds are returned if a payout cannot be completed.
**Enable auto settlement** controls when the payout goes out. Leave it on and the payout is sent as soon as the funds arrive. Leave it off and the funds are held until you release them yourself.
Local currency payouts, such as BDT, INR, and EUR, have to be pre-funded. See [Funding your balance](/guides/move-money/funding-your-balance) for how that works.
Select **Create beneficiary** to submit.
Go to **Customer details** for the customer you want the beneficiary for, open the **Beneficiaries** tab, then select **Add Beneficiary**.
Choose **Crypto wallet**. This form is shorter than the other two.
**Beneficiary type** says whether the recipient is an **Individual** or a **Business**.
**Counter party** says who your customer is paying. **First party (self)** means they are paying themselves. **Third party** means they are paying someone else. This drives the compliance checks, and third party payouts may bring extra ones depending on the country.
Under **Beneficiary country**, set the recipient's **Country**. There is no currency or payment method to choose here.
Give the **Network**, the **Token**, and the **Wallet address**. Not every token exists on every network, so the token options change with the network you pick.
Check the wallet address carefully before you save. Funds sent to a wrong address cannot be recovered.
Give the recipient's **First name**, **Last name**, **Email**, and **Phone**, then their **Account holder address**: street, city, country, state, and postal code.
Give the **Nationality**, **Transaction purpose**, **Occupation**, and **Relationship**. Fewer details are needed here than on a bank or e-wallet payout, and there are no government ID fields.
The relationship options change depending on whether your customer and the recipient are individuals or businesses. See [Sender and receiver relationships](/guides/beneficiaries/sender-and-receiver-relationships) for which combinations are allowed.
Under **Developer fee**, set what you charge on top of each payout. You can set a **Fixed fee**, a **Percentage fee**, or both. When you set both, they are added together.
Select **Create beneficiary** to submit.
There is no deposit and refund configuration on this form, because the payout is already going out as crypto.
## How do I make a payment to my bank account and e-wallet?
Payouts are funded in crypto. Every beneficiary is issued its own **Liquidation address**, and money you send to that address is converted and paid out to the beneficiary's bank account or wallet.
On the **Beneficiaries** tab, select the beneficiary you want to pay. The **Details** panel opens.
Under **Deposit and settlement** you will find the **Liquidation address**, along with the **Deposit** token and network the address expects. Copy the address.
Send only the token and network shown under **Deposit**. Anything else may be lost.
Send the amount you want paid out to that liquidation address, from whichever wallet you fund payouts with.
Once the crypto arrives, we convert it to the beneficiary's currency, take the fees, and pay the remainder to their bank account or e-wallet. What the beneficiary receives is the converted amount after fees.
Open the **Transactions** tab on the beneficiary to see the payout as it progresses.
The beneficiary's **Details** panel also shows whether **Auto settlement** is enabled. With it on, the payout is sent as soon as the crypto arrives at the liquidation address, so sending the crypto is the only step you take. With it off, we hold the funds until you release them.
This applies to bank account and e-wallet beneficiaries. A crypto wallet beneficiary has no liquidation address, because there is nothing to convert.
## When can I start paying out?
A new beneficiary is not usable straight away. The details are validated first, and you can follow that in the **Status** column on the **Beneficiaries** tab.
| Status | Meaning |
| :------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Processing** | The details are still being validated |
| **Active** | Validation passed, and you can pay out to this beneficiary |
| **Rejected** | Validation failed, and this beneficiary cannot be used |
## Why did my beneficiary fail to be created?
One reason is that the recipient is already there. The same recipient cannot be added twice for one customer, so when the destination details match a beneficiary that already exists, the form does not save and you are told it could not be created.
These are the details compared:
| Destination | What is compared |
| :------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Bank account | The account scheme and number, plus the routing scheme and number |
| E-wallet | The wallet provider and number |
| Crypto wallet | The wallet address and the network |
If that happens, the beneficiary you need is already on the **Beneficiaries** tab. Use that one instead of creating another.
**Need a hand with your first beneficiary?**
Contact us in your dedicated Slack channel and we will walk through it with you.