Approve and sign a payment

When you would do this

When something is waiting for your approval. The Signing item in the sidebar carries a badge with the number of items awaiting action. Only Admins and Signers can sign.

Steps

1. Go to Operation › Signing.
2. Filter if the queue is long: All, Passed, Flagged, Blocked, Checking.
3. Open the item and read the request: who requested it, when, the amount, the source vault, the destination, the network, and the stated reason.
4. Read the policy checks and the risk result. Do not skip this. It is the part that protects you.
5. Check the signature progress, shown as collected out of required.
6. Sign.

What to check before you approve

• Is the destination address the one you expect? Compare it against the counterparty record, not against an email.
• Is the network right?
• Does the amount match the invoice or instruction you are approving against?
• Does the reason make sense, and does the supporting document actually support it?
• Is anything about the timing or the recipient unusual?

You are the control. If something looks wrong, do not sign it. Rejecting a correct payment costs an hour. Approving a wrong one costs the money.

What the statuses mean

• PASS: checks found nothing unusual. Ready to sign.
• FLAG: something needs attention. Resolve the flag before signing. See "Resolve a flagged payment".
• BLOCK: not permitted. It cannot be signed at all, only rejected and archived.
• CHECKING: screening is still running.
• Governance: not a payment but a change to your setup, such as a policy update, a policy removal or a signer quorum change. These are signed the same way.

What to expect

If only one approval is required and the item has passed, signing sends it immediately.

If more than one approval is required, your signature is added and the item stays in the queue showing progress such as "1 of 2 signed". It executes once the last required signature arrives. You can see who has signed.

Where more than one approval is required, the person who created the payment cannot be the only approver.

Once the final signature is given and the payment is broadcast, it cannot be recalled. See "What can and cannot be reversed".

Common problems and what they mean

The Sign button is missing. You are a Requester or Viewer, or the item is blocked, or you have already signed it.

"Violation detected." The payment breaks a policy and cannot be signed. Cancel the request and create a compliant one.

"Expired." The item sat too long and its signing window closed. Create it again.

It says "Self-approved" but nothing sent. The amount was within a self-approval limit, but another check is still holding it. Read the policy checks.

Nothing happens after you sign. You were not the last required signer. Check the signature count.