# How to set spending limits for AI agents

> Spending limits for AI agents that hold: a permission bounded by venue, action, amount and expiry, a ruling before each payment, and refusal when unsure.

Canonical page: https://nevarn.com/learn/ai-agent-spending-limits
Updated: 2026-10-31

Give the agent a permission, not a wallet. With Nevarn the agent acts on a separate working balance under a permission bounded four ways — where it may act, what it may do, a ceiling per transaction with a rolling daily limit, and an expiry of at most ninety days. A missing limit denies rather than permits.

## Why a wallet is the wrong unit

An agent holding a funded wallet's key is limited only by the balance. A permission is narrower: it names the places the agent may act and the actions it may take, caps every transaction and every day, and expires.

A permission cannot be created without an allowlist, and revoking it destroys the material that could produce a signature — not a row marked inactive.

## A ruling before each payment

A limit bounds what an agent may use; it does not judge a particular purchase. Before consequential settlement Nevarn sends the exact intent to Decionis, an independent execution authority. In enforce mode only an allow decision bound to that exact intent can continue.

An unavailable, malformed, blocked or expired ruling fails closed before funds move. An escalated payment is held and moves nothing until a person decides.

## Every refusal is on the record

Every request the automation makes is written down with its outcome and, where refused, the reason. Every movement of money is written as two matching entries, so the books show exactly what the agent spent and what it was stopped from spending.

## Frequently asked questions

### What happens when an agent reaches its daily limit?

The request is refused and recorded with the reason. A limit denies rather than permits: a permission without an allowlist cannot be created, and a missing limit is read as no authority, not unlimited authority.

### How does a customer stop Nevarn?

One action halts all signing on the account, effective on the next request — not a support ticket. Separately, only the customer can remove a permission, and once revoked their account refuses Nevarn's signature regardless of what Nevarn's records say.

### Can I try spending limits without an account?

Yes. The sandbox at nevarn.com/sandbox runs in your browser with an illustrative mandate — a per-transaction ceiling, a daily cap, a price-freshness limit and an expiry. Propose an order over a limit and watch it refused. No funds move and no venue is connected.