// GLOSSARY -- AGENTIC FINANCE
What is Real-Time Policy Evaluation?
Checking an agent's transaction against all rules at request time — before signing. Decisions in milliseconds for immediate allow/deny.
WHY IT MATTERS
Post-transaction monitoring can't prevent losses — funds are gone. Real-time evaluation shifts to before signing, the only point where you can stop a bad transaction.
Must be fast. Agents operate at machine speed; seconds of latency is impractical. Modern engines handle complex rules in under 10ms.
Real-time means real-time context — cumulative spending, recent patterns, and active session parameters inform each decision.
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
PolicyLayer evaluates every transaction in real-time before signing. Sub-10ms latency doesn't bottleneck operations.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What happens during evaluation?
PolicyLayer checks the transaction against all applicable rules: amount limits, recipient allowlists, velocity checks, gas policies, and session constraints. All in parallel.
Can evaluation be async?
For HITL flows, yes — the evaluation returns a 'pending human review' status. For auto-approve/deny, it's synchronous and instant.
What if PolicyLayer is unavailable?
Configurable: fail-closed (block all transactions until restored) or fail-open (allow transactions unchecked). Most operators choose fail-closed for security.