> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.trykarat.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a payment batch > Creates one or more payouts in a single batch. Each payout targets a recipient by either `payeeEmail` or `recipientId` (exactly one). Pass an `idempotencyKey` to safely retry the request. ## OpenAPI ````yaml /api-reference/openapi.json post /payments openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: Karat Payout API description: >- Your gateway to seamless, automated, and scalable payment solutions. The Karat Payout API lets you create recipients, send payouts, track payment status, manage tax documents, record external payments, and subscribe to webhook events. version: 1.0.0 servers: - url: https://payouts.api.trykarat.com description: Production security: - bearerAuth: [] tags: - name: Payments description: Create and manage outgoing payouts to recipients. - name: Recipients description: Manage the payees you send payouts to. - name: Tax description: Retrieve recipient tax forms (W-9) and download links. - name: External Payments description: Record and manage payments made outside of Karat. - name: Webhooks description: Subscribe to event notifications for payout activity. paths: /payments: post: tags: - Payments summary: Create a payment batch description: >- Creates one or more payouts in a single batch. Each payout targets a recipient by either `payeeEmail` or `recipientId` (exactly one). Pass an `idempotencyKey` to safely retry the request. operationId: createPaymentBatch requestBody: required: true content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/CreatePaymentBatchRequest' examples: all: summary: All value: payouts: - payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 - recipientId: 9c1f7b2a-3d4e-4f5a-8b6c-1d2e3f4a5b6c amount: 18000 description: Editing — episode 12 referenceId: inv_1043 idempotencyKey: batch-2026-06-17-001 single: summary: Single payout value: payouts: - payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 multiple: summary: Multiple payouts value: payouts: - payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 - payeeEmail: alex@example.com amount: 18000 description: Editing — episode 12 referenceId: inv_1043 byRecipientId: summary: Using recipient ID value: payouts: - recipientId: 9c1f7b2a-3d4e-4f5a-8b6c-1d2e3f4a5b6c amount: 25000 description: October design work responses: '201': description: The batch was created. content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: data: $ref: '#/components/schemas/PaymentBatch' examples: all: summary: All value: data: batchId: 30d6bb6e-5398-462c-a90c-7b9077f618d4 payouts: - id: 0fc50d45-faa8-4d09-aa2a-a9ceb282d7ae payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 - id: 6ce6ca0a-31ff-4c74-89f0-87da19e8bb9d payeeEmail: casey@example.com amount: 18000 description: Editing — episode 12 referenceId: inv_1043 single: summary: Single payout value: data: batchId: 30d6bb6e-5398-462c-a90c-7b9077f618d4 payouts: - id: 0fc50d45-faa8-4d09-aa2a-a9ceb282d7ae payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 multiple: summary: Multiple payouts value: data: batchId: 70624ae3-08db-40bc-817b-20e7cb264e46 payouts: - id: d65f87ee-04a5-455e-909c-67efc5a0ce63 payeeEmail: jordan@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work referenceId: inv_1042 - id: 6ce6ca0a-31ff-4c74-89f0-87da19e8bb9d payeeEmail: alex@example.com amount: 18000 description: Editing — episode 12 referenceId: inv_1043 byRecipientId: summary: Using recipient ID value: data: batchId: c3f0a1d2-7b8c-4e5f-9a0b-1c2d3e4f5a6b payouts: - id: 0fc50d45-faa8-4d09-aa2a-a9ceb282d7ae payeeEmail: casey@example.com amount: 25000 description: October design work '400': $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest' '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized' components: schemas: CreatePaymentBatchRequest: type: object required: - payouts properties: payouts: type: array minItems: 1 items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/PayoutInput' idempotencyKey: type: string description: >- Optional key to make the request idempotent. Defaults to a server-generated request ID. PaymentBatch: type: object properties: batchId: type: string format: uuid payouts: type: array items: type: object properties: id: type: string format: uuid payeeEmail: type: string format: email amount: type: integer description: Amount in cents. description: type: string referenceId: type: string PayoutInput: type: object required: - amount description: A single payout. Provide exactly one of `payeeEmail` or `recipientId`. properties: payeeEmail: type: string format: email description: Email of an existing recipient. recipientId: type: string format: uuid description: ID of an existing recipient. amount: type: integer minimum: 1 description: Amount in cents. Must be positive. description: type: string referenceId: type: string description: Your own reference for this payout. Error: type: object description: Standard error envelope returned for all non-2xx responses. properties: error: type: object properties: message: type: string code: type: string required: - message required: - error responses: BadRequest: description: The request was invalid. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: message: 'amount: amount must be positive' Unauthorized: description: Missing or invalid API key. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: message: Invalid api key securitySchemes: bearerAuth: type: http scheme: bearer description: 'Pass your API key as a bearer token: `Authorization: Bearer `.' ````