check_balance

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why check_balance needs a policy

This tool performs a data retrieval operation (Get) on financial account information. While it accesses financial data, it does not move money, create obligations, modify state, or execute arbitrary commands. The operation is read-only with no side effects, fitting the Read category.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'check_balance' and description 'Get the available balance' indicate a read-only query operation that retrieves account balance data without modification or side effects.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access check_balance gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control check_balance

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Paystack, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for check_balance:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "check_balance": {}
  }
}

check_balance is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register Paystack — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More Paystack tools

Financial initialize_transaction Initialize a transaction to accept payment on Paystack Financial charge_authorization Charge a previously authorized card Financial finalize_disable_otp Finalize the request to disable OTP on your transfers Financial partial_debit Charge a partial amount from a previously authorized card Financial disable_transfers_otp Disable OTP requirement for transfers Financial enable_transfers_otp Enable OTP requirement for transfers Destructive deactivate_authorization Deactivate a payment authorization when a card needs to be forgotten Execute resend_transfers_otp Generates a new OTP and sends to customer for transfer verification

All 28 Paystack tools →

Read tools on other servers

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Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about check_balance

What does the check_balance tool do? +

Get the available balance on your Paystack integration. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Paystack MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on check_balance? +

Register the Paystack MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for check_balance: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Paystack. Nothing to install.

What risk level is check_balance? +

check_balance is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit check_balance? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the check_balance rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block check_balance completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for check_balance. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides check_balance? +

check_balance is provided by the Paystack MCP server (kohasummons/paystack-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Paystack tool call.

Start from Paystack, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →