> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://api.amlyze.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Operation

**Operation**, also referred to as a transaction, represents the financial activity. Every Operation sent must be linked to at least one [Account](/pages/account) that already exists in the system. This ensures that every transaction is associated with a specific [Customer](/pages/customer), which is a critical requirement for effective monitoring.

This linkage applies to at least one party in the transaction. Each transaction can have up to four participants — two direct parties (sender and receiver) and two ultimate parties. At least one direct party must be your customer; the others may be customers or external counterparties.

To keep integration simple, we use a [single endpoint](/api-reference/operation/evaluate-operation) for all transaction data. The specific details required depend on the type of operation you are reporting.

## Operation Types

| Operation Type    | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `SEPA`            | A cross-border payment initiative by the European Union to simplify bank transfers denominated in euros. It essentially treats cross-border euro payments exactly like domestic payments. This type covers both SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant.                                                                  |
| `SWIFT`           | Not a payment system itself, but rather a highly secure global messaging network used by banks to transmit instructions for international wire transfers.                                                                                                                                                               |
| `CARD_CASH`       | A direct operation between the cardholder and the card issuer/ATM network — for example, an ATM withdrawal made using a credit or debit card.                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `CARD_PAYMENT`    | A standard transaction using a payment card (credit, debit, or prepaid) to purchase goods or services at a Point of Sale (POS) or online.                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `CASH`            | The physical movement of fiat currency into or out of a bank account, typically conducted at a branch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `CASH_TRANSFER`   | A remittance service where funds are moved primarily via cash-in and/or cash-out agent networks. It serves unbanked populations effectively, allowing physical cash to be handed over in one location and picked up in another country within minutes.                                                                  |
| `PIS`             | An open banking framework (heavily regulated under PSD2 in Europe) that allows licensed third-party providers to initiate a bank transfer directly from a consumer's bank account to a merchant. PIS ultimately triggers an underlying bank rail (like SEPA or Faster Payments) to move the money.                      |
| `INTERNAL`        | An internal transfer is a "book transfer" where money is moved between two accounts held at the exact same financial institution. Both the debtor and the creditor must be clients of the same bank.                                                                                                                    |
| `CRYPTO`          | The process of sending digital assets (like Bitcoin or Ethereum) from one blockchain wallet address to another.                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| `CRYPTO_EXCHANGE` | An operation involving the trading of digital assets—either swapping fiat currency for crypto, or trading one cryptocurrency for another.<Info>CRYPTO\_EXCHANGE is treated the same as an INTERNAL operation. This means that both parties (DEBTOR and CREDITOR) must be customers of the financial institution.</Info> |
| `FASTER_PAYMENTS` | The official real-time banking payment system in the UK. It facilitates near-instant money transfers between UK bank accounts.                                                                                                                                                                                          |

<Note>You can always retrieve the full list of available operation types via [Classifier API](/api-reference/classifiers/operation-type). </Note>

## Financial Flow Direction

Financial flow direction refers to the movement of money between entities or accounts. It dictates which party role must be a customer and helps to determine which direction is used for money.

### Incoming

| Description       | Party Role         | Is Customer | Account Turnover Direction |
| ----------------- | ------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------- |
| Direct sender     | DEBTOR             | NO          | OUT                        |
| Direct receiver   | CREDITOR           | YES         | IN                         |
| Ultimate sender   | ULTIMATE\_DEBTOR   | YES/NO      | OUT                        |
| Ultimate receiver | ULTIMATE\_CREDITOR | YES/NO      | IN                         |

### Outgoing

| Description       | Party Role         | Is Customer | Account Turnover Direction |
| ----------------- | ------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------- |
| Direct sender     | DEBTOR             | YES         | OUT                        |
| Direct receiver   | CREDITOR           | NO          | IN                         |
| Ultimate sender   | ULTIMATE\_DEBTOR   | YES/NO      | OUT                        |
| Ultimate receiver | ULTIMATE\_CREDITOR | YES/NO      | IN                         |

### Internal

| Description       | Party Role         | Is Customer | Account Turnover Direction |
| ----------------- | ------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------- |
| Direct sender     | DEBTOR             | YES         | OUT                        |
| Direct receiver   | CREDITOR           | YES         | IN                         |
| Ultimate sender   | ULTIMATE\_DEBTOR   | YES/NO      | OUT                        |
| Ultimate receiver | ULTIMATE\_CREDITOR | YES/NO      | IN                         |

## Flexible Fields

While most operations share basic fields (like amount and currency), some require specific data to ensure accurate risk scoring:

* **Card Operations:** Include merchant details, MCC codes, and terminal info.
* **SEPA/SWIFT:** Focus on sender/receiver IBANs and intermediary bank details.

If a field is not relevant to a specific operation type (for example, a merchant name for a SEPA transfer), you can simply leave it blank.

## Other Caveats

If operation party does not contain currency, the currency is inherited from operation currency. Exception in `CRYPTO_EXCHANGE` where creditor does not inherit operation currency even if the currency is absent.