# Whitelist merchants only

If your agent can spend, restrict it to an allowlisted set of merchants/counterparties so a prompt or loop cannot pay an unexpected payee — pair with fund-session-ceiling, connect-only-what-you-need, and never-skip-review-before-place. Agent Lane does not place trades or hold funds.

Canonical HTML: https://agentlane.net/guides/whitelist-merchants-only/

## Answer first

Before a live brokerage or payment connector: write who the agent may pay, then keep spend inside that allowlist. Caps bound how much. Review bounds whether a place happens. Without a merchant/counterparty list, a drifted prompt can still send the capped amount to a new address, venue, or vendor.

## Why an open payee set is the failure mode

- **Cap without destination** — maxes stop oversized fills, not wrong payees at the same size.
- **Tools without a who-list** — live payer/brokerage/x402 that can reach “anyone” turns drift into unexpected transfer.
- **Skip-the-card + open destinations** — standing auto-place plus open counterparty set pays someone you never named.

## What it means

1. Write the allowed payee set before connect.
2. Apply official merchant/destination/counterparty controls when the product exposes them — do not invent UI.
3. If no product list: enforce at review (outside-list destination = hard stop) — [never-skip-review-before-place.md](./never-skip-review-before-place.md).
4. Bound cash + tools: [fund-session-ceiling.md](./fund-session-ceiling.md), [connect-only-what-you-need.md](./connect-only-what-you-need.md).
5. Close when idle: receipt → empty → [revoke-connectors-when-idle.md](./revoke-connectors-when-idle.md).

## Shield stack

1. [dedicated-agent-wallet.md](./dedicated-agent-wallet.md) + caps/[fund-session-ceiling.md](./fund-session-ceiling.md).
2. [connect-only-what-you-need.md](./connect-only-what-you-need.md).
3. Whitelist merchants only (this page).
4. [review-before-place.md](./review-before-place.md) / [never-skip-review-before-place.md](./never-skip-review-before-place.md).
5. [revoke-connectors-when-idle.md](./revoke-connectors-when-idle.md) + [empty-sleeve-overnight.md](./empty-sleeve-overnight.md).

## How to whitelist merchants only

1. Write allowed merchants/counterparties/destinations for this run.
2. Use official product restrictions if present; else standing rules + review hard stop.
3. Fund only the session ceiling — [fund-session-ceiling.md](./fund-session-ceiling.md).
4. Connect only what you need — [connect-only-what-you-need.md](./connect-only-what-you-need.md); reopen [one-connector-at-a-time.md](./one-connector-at-a-time.md).
5. Keep review on — [never-skip-review-before-place.md](./never-skip-review-before-place.md); paper-before-live on a new payee set.
6. End: [receipt-log-after-session.md](./receipt-log-after-session.md) → empty → revoke when idle; incident → [revoke-before-debug.md](./revoke-before-debug.md).

## Practical checklist

- Who before how much.
- Official controls only (no invented UI).
- Cash + tools + payees together.
- Outside-list destination = hard stop at review.

Related: [dry-run-before-first-live-place.md](./dry-run-before-first-live-place.md), [fund-session-ceiling.md](./fund-session-ceiling.md), [connect-only-what-you-need.md](./connect-only-what-you-need.md), [never-skip-review-before-place.md](./never-skip-review-before-place.md), [review-before-place.md](./review-before-place.md), [agent-spend-caps.md](./agent-spend-caps.md), [revoke-connectors-when-idle.md](./revoke-connectors-when-idle.md).

## FAQ

**What does whitelist merchants only mean?**
Restrict agent spend to an allowlisted set of merchants/counterparties so a prompt or loop cannot pay an unexpected payee. Pair with fund-session-ceiling, connect-only-what-you-need, and never-skip-review-before-place.

**Does the allowlist replace review?**
No. Never skip review before place. Allowlist shrinks unexpected payees; human gate still checks each place.

**Do I invent a product allowlist screen?**
No. Use official product controls or enforce at review. Agent Lane does not invent UI.

## Sources

- Canonical HTML: https://agentlane.net/guides/whitelist-merchants-only/
- Related shelf: https://agentlane.net/resources/
- Site index: https://agentlane.net/llms.txt

Agent Lane publishes checklists. We do not place trades, hold wallets, or run your agents.