The client approves the invoice and asks for a wallet address. The invoice should already specify the token, network, token contract, fee treatment, exchange rate, and settlement threshold. The blockchain executes the submitted transfer. The contract and invoice define the commercial agreement.
First decide what is being settled
Direct clients may agree to stablecoin settlement where the contract and law allow it. Payroll and marketplaces follow their own systems. Upwork, for example, lists bank transfers and specified providers in its withdrawal guidance. Use each platform's specified withdrawal methods.
Before invoicing, settle the price and reference currency, USDC or USDT, network, any exchange-rate source and timestamp, fee responsibility, the event that counts as payment, and the treatment of errors or refunds. Choose a route available to the payer. The guide to receiving international payments without a bank account covers the alternatives.
Write exact invoice instructions
Use a short, exact payment block on the invoice.
- Payment method: 2,000 USDC on Arbitrum
- Recipient address: [full address copied from the selected deposit route]
- Amount due: 2,000 USDC net to recipient
- Invoice reference: INV-1042
- Payment deadline: 4 September 2026, 17:00 UTC
- Paid when: transaction is successful at the address above and reaches the agreed confirmation threshold
- Before first full payment: send the agreed test amount
Add the legal names, service period, required tax information, and ordinary payment terms. The invoice explains the obligation; the transaction hash records the transfer.
The token name needs its issuer and network context. Circle publishes official USDC contract addresses in its current contract directory. Tether publishes USDT deployments in its supported-protocol list. Check those sources and the receiving wallet’s own deposit screen. A ticker and a familiar logo can be copied by anyone.
For a new client or route, test with the same token, network, source platform, and destination planned for the full payment. A successful test establishes that specific route's compatibility.
Specify the network in the payment terms
One hundred USDC on Arbitrum and one hundred USDC on Solana are separate balances on separate ledgers. Wrapped or bridged versions can also have different contracts and redemption paths. Select the asset and sending network first, then copy the address displayed for that route. The receiving flow establishes compatibility.
Cadmos shows a network-specific address in its deposit flow. Use the exact address displayed for the chosen asset and network. The wrong-network recovery guide explains the narrow cases Cadmos can assess. Recovery is unavailable for many transfer errors.
If 2,000 USDT must arrive, write “2,000 USDT net to recipient; sender pays sending fees.” For a fee-deducted payment, state the permitted deduction.
Verify the on-chain transaction
When the payer says payment is complete, obtain the transaction hash and inspect it in the appropriate network explorer. Match five things:
- the network;
- the official token contract;
- the recipient address;
- the amount transferred; and
- the transaction status and confirmations.
A screenshot can show a pending transfer, wrong network, lookalike token, or different recipient. The explorer shows what the network recorded. The invoice and payer communications link that transfer to the service and INV-1042, so keep them with the hash.
Confirmations measure blocks added after the transaction. Finality marks the point at which the network treats the block as irreversible under its consensus rules; Ethereum's proof-of-stake documentation explains the distinction. Define the acceptance threshold before a material payment.
Keep complete payment records
Keep:
- the signed agreement or statement of work and the issued invoice;
- payer and recipient names, payment instructions, token, network, address, amount, timestamp, and hash;
- fair value in the accounting currency and the rate source;
- fees, refunds, disputes, and corrections; and
- records for later transfers, swaps, card funding, or conversion.
Tax rules vary. The US Internal Revenue Service includes stablecoins within digital assets and discusses dates, units, fair market value, and disposition in its digital-asset guidance. The UK publishes separate HMRC guidance on cryptoassets received. Apply the rules for the relevant jurisdiction and business.
A euro-denominated invoice settled in USDC can create a receivable in one unit, payment in another, and a later gain or loss. Record each amount and the applicable rate.
Understand the issuer behind the token
USDC and USDT are issued tokens designed to track the US dollar. Bank-deposit insurance does not apply. Circle describes USDC reserves on its transparency page; access and redemption depend on the applicable USDC terms or EEA white paper. Tether publishes reserve information. Direct redemption has separate eligibility, minimum, and fee conditions in its redemption guidance.
Tether's token terms address controls including freezes and blacklisting. The user controls wallet signing. Issuer, smart-contract, market, network, and legal risks apply to the asset and route.
Protect wallet credentials
Receiving a normal stablecoin transfer requires a public address and agreed instructions. Keep recovery phrases, private keys, one-time codes, and device access secret. Treat activation-payment and unrelated token-approval requests as warning signs.
The US Federal Trade Commission’s cryptocurrency scam guidance warns that attacker transfers and wallet compromise may be unrecoverable. The Ethereum Foundation’s clear-signing guidance explains why readable approvals matter before authorisation.
Verify changed instructions through a known second channel. For an overpayment followed by a refund request to a different address, confirm the token, transaction, payer, and contractual basis before moving anything.
Cadmos's role
Cadmos Pay is entirely self-custodial. The user controls the wallet keys; Cadmos never holds the wallet assets as custodian or acts as the trading counterparty. Cadmos imposes no wallet-balance or transfer-volume ceiling. Supported assets, networks, gas, law, and later partner services can constrain a route.
Receipt, conversion, cash access, and card spending are separate events. Later partner services carry their own eligibility, fees, timing, and limits. Self-custody with a card follows the card-funding transaction; USDT and stablecoin cards explains that category.
A settled invoice links the written amount and route to a verified transfer and complete accounting record.