what's AutoPay?

AutoPay is a non-custodial subscription payment protocol for USDC that enables recurring crypto payments directly from users' wallets for services such as newsletters, SaaS tools, DAO memberships, and trading signals, without relying on credit cards or intermediaries. It supports cross-chain funding across 12+ networks like Ethereum, Base, Avalanche, Polygon, and others via Circle Gateway, with settlement on Circle's Arc layer. Users define subscription policies (merchant address, amount, interval, spending cap) enforced by a Solidity smart contract. A relayer handles charge execution, failure tracking, and signed webhooks for merchants, while a Stripe-like npm SDK simplifies integration. Passkey-based wallets with sponsored gas provide seamless UX, and fees are 2.5% per transaction.