Contacts and @handles

ContactsCopy Anchor Link

A contact is a name (and nicknames) with one or more addresses. Kawase uses contacts to understand "send to Alex" and to protect you:

• Address changes are held. When a contact's address changes, the new address waits 24 hours before money can go to it, and the contact is frozen meanwhile. A changed address is a classic way to steal a payment.
• Look-alike addresses are flagged. An address whose first and last four characters match one of your contacts' is treated as a look-alike: Kawase stops and asks for Face ID.
• Payment history builds trust per address and per network: a first payment to an address is treated more carefully than a repeat one.

If you mention someone Kawase doesn't know, it asks you to save them and then carries on with the same payment — you don't have to start over.

@handlesCopy Anchor Link

A @handle is an optional public name you can be paid by: "send 10 to @abu". Rules:

• 3 to 20 characters: lowercase letters, digits and underscore.
• Unique regardless of case; names that would impersonate Kawase, Arc, Circle or staff are reserved.
• You choose it during onboarding (or skip) and can change it in Settings.

A handle resolves to the person's Kawase wallet address. If the person hasn't set up a wallet yet, Kawase tells you instead of guessing.