# Welcome

The Accounts Payable and Receivable API allows you to scale your finance operations without the complexity of dealing with blockchains and smart contracts.

With the API you can:

* Issue invoices and accept payments in crypto & fiat from your customers
* Track the status of your invoices without polling blockchains or bank accounts
* Create salary payments to pay your employees in crypto & fiat

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The backbone of the Request Finance API is the Request Network. The Request Network is a decentralized protocol built on Ethereum and maintained by the Request Foundation. For more information on how the two relate to each other, please visit [this page](https://docs.request.finance/faq#what-is-the-relation-between-the-request-finance-api-and-the-request-network).
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