diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.spec.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9458ee3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+import type { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import {
+  BurnFeeService,
+  FINALITY_FAST,
+  FINALITY_STANDARD,
+} from './burn-fee.service';
+
+function makeService(network = 'testnet') {
+  return new BurnFeeService({
+    get: jest.fn((key: string) =>
+      key === 'STELLAR_NETWORK' ? network : undefined,
+    ),
+  } as unknown as ConfigService);
+}
+
+function mockFetch(impl: () => Promise<unknown>) {
+  global.fetch = jest.fn(impl) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+}
+
+/** Circle's real shape for Ethereum → Stellar at the time of writing. */
+const CIRCLE_FEES = [
+  { finalityThreshold: 1000, minimumFee: 1 },
+  { finalityThreshold: 2000, minimumFee: 0 },
+];
+
+const ok = (body: unknown) =>
+  Promise.resolve({ ok: true, status: 200, json: () => Promise.resolve(body) });
+
+describe('BurnFeeService', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  describe('maxFeeFor', () => {
+    const svc = makeService();
+
+    // The bug this guards. A 0.01 USDC payment is 10_000 subunits; 1 bp of it
+    // is exactly 1 subunit. Anything smaller truncates toward zero, and a
+    // maxFee of 0 is precisely the "insufficient fee" that gets a Fast
+    // Transfer silently demoted to a fifteen-minute one.
+    it('never returns zero for a non-zero rate', () => {
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(10_000n, 1)).toBe(1n);
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(1n, 1)).toBe(1n);
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(100n, 1)).toBe(1n);
+    });
+
+    it('rounds up rather than down', () => {
+      // 1 bp of 15_001 subunits is 1.5001 — must not floor to 1.
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(15_001n, 1)).toBe(2n);
+    });
+
+    it('computes whole-basis-point amounts exactly', () => {
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(1_000_000n, 1)).toBe(100n); // 1 USDC, 1bp
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(1_000_000n, 14)).toBe(1400n);
+    });
+
+    it('is zero only when the rate itself is', () => {
+      expect(svc.maxFeeFor(1_000_000n, 0)).toBe(0n);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('minimumFeeBps', () => {
+    it("returns Circle's quoted rate for the fast tier", async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      await expect(
+        makeService().minimumFeeBps(0, 27, FINALITY_FAST),
+      ).resolves.toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('returns the free rate for standard finality', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      await expect(
+        makeService().minimumFeeBps(0, 27, FINALITY_STANDARD),
+      ).resolves.toBe(0);
+    });
+
+    it('queries the sandbox on testnet and the live API on mainnet', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      await makeService('testnet').minimumFeeBps(0, 27);
+      expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'https://iris-api-sandbox.circle.com/v2/burn/USDC/fees/0/27',
+        expect.anything(),
+      );
+
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      await makeService('mainnet').minimumFeeBps(0, 27);
+      expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'https://iris-api.circle.com/v2/burn/USDC/fees/0/27',
+        expect.anything(),
+      );
+    });
+
+    // Null means "fall back to standard finality". Returning 0 instead would
+    // read as "fast is free" and send a burn that gets demoted anyway — the
+    // exact failure this service exists to prevent.
+    it('returns null when Circle errors', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          ok: false,
+          status: 503,
+          json: () => Promise.resolve({}),
+        }),
+      );
+      await expect(makeService().minimumFeeBps(0, 27)).resolves.toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null when the request fails outright', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => Promise.reject(new Error('network down')));
+      await expect(makeService().minimumFeeBps(0, 27)).resolves.toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('returns null when the tier is not quoted for the route', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok([{ finalityThreshold: 2000, minimumFee: 0 }]));
+      await expect(
+        makeService().minimumFeeBps(0, 27, FINALITY_FAST),
+      ).resolves.toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('caches per route so a burn does not re-query on every quote', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      const svc = makeService();
+
+      await svc.minimumFeeBps(0, 27);
+      await svc.minimumFeeBps(0, 27);
+
+      expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('does not let one route cache-poison another', async () => {
+      mockFetch(() => ok(CIRCLE_FEES));
+      const svc = makeService();
+
+      await svc.minimumFeeBps(0, 27);
+      await svc.minimumFeeBps(6, 27);
+
+      expect(global.fetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4d360e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/burn-fee.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import { Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import {
+  cctpEnvFromStellarNetwork,
+  IRIS_BASE_URL,
+  type CctpEnv,
+} from './contracts.js';
+
+/** Fast Transfer. Circle charges for it. */
+export const FINALITY_FAST = 1000;
+/** Hard finality. Free, but minutes rather than seconds. */
+export const FINALITY_STANDARD = 2000;
+
+const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 8000;
+
+/** Circle quotes its minimum in basis points of the burn amount. */
+const BPS_DENOMINATOR = 10_000n;
+
+interface IrisFeeEntry {
+  finalityThreshold?: number;
+  minimumFee?: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * What a Fast Transfer costs, according to Circle.
+ *
+ * This exists because a burn that asks for Fast Transfer while offering
+ * `maxFee: 0` is not rejected — it is silently demoted. Circle keeps the
+ * message at `pending_confirmations` with `delayReason: insufficient_fee` and
+ * waits for hard finality instead, so a payment advertised as "8–20 seconds"
+ * quietly becomes a fifteen-minute one, with nothing in our own logs to say so.
+ *
+ * The fee is small (1 bp on Ethereum → Stellar at the time of writing, i.e. one
+ * subunit on a one-cent payment) but it has to be non-zero and it has to be
+ * asked for.
+ */
+@Injectable()
+export class BurnFeeService {
+  private readonly logger = new Logger(BurnFeeService.name);
+  private readonly env: CctpEnv;
+
+  /** Cached per source→destination pair; Circle's fees move rarely. */
+  private readonly cache = new Map<string, { bps: number; at: number }>();
+  private static readonly TTL_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000;
+
+  constructor(private readonly config: ConfigService) {
+    this.env = cctpEnvFromStellarNetwork(
+      this.config.get<string>('STELLAR_NETWORK'),
+    );
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Minimum fee in basis points for `finalityThreshold` on this route, or
+   * `null` if Circle could not be reached or quotes no such tier.
+   *
+   * Null is a real answer, not an error: the caller's job is to fall back to
+   * standard finality rather than send a burn that will be demoted anyway.
+   */
+  async minimumFeeBps(
+    sourceDomain: number,
+    destinationDomain: number,
+    finalityThreshold: number = FINALITY_FAST,
+  ): Promise<number | null> {
+    const key = `${sourceDomain}:${destinationDomain}:${finalityThreshold}`;
+    const hit = this.cache.get(key);
+    if (hit && Date.now() - hit.at < BurnFeeService.TTL_MS) return hit.bps;
+
+    const url = `${IRIS_BASE_URL[this.env]}/v2/burn/USDC/fees/${sourceDomain}/${destinationDomain}`;
+
+    try {
+      const controller = new AbortController();
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS);
+      let res: Response;
+      try {
+        res = await fetch(url, { signal: controller.signal });
+      } finally {
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+      }
+
+      if (!res.ok) {
+        this.logger.warn(
+          `Circle fee lookup ${sourceDomain}→${destinationDomain} returned ${res.status}; falling back to standard finality.`,
+        );
+        return null;
+      }
+
+      const rows = (await res.json()) as IrisFeeEntry[];
+      const row = rows.find((r) => r.finalityThreshold === finalityThreshold);
+      if (!row || typeof row.minimumFee !== 'number') {
+        this.logger.warn(
+          `Circle quotes no tier ${finalityThreshold} for ${sourceDomain}→${destinationDomain}; falling back to standard finality.`,
+        );
+        return null;
+      }
+
+      this.cache.set(key, { bps: row.minimumFee, at: Date.now() });
+      return row.minimumFee;
+    } catch (err) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Circle fee lookup failed for ${sourceDomain}→${destinationDomain}: ${
+          err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+        }. Falling back to standard finality.`,
+      );
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Converts Circle's basis points into a `maxFee` for `amount`.
+   *
+   * Rounds up, and never returns 0 for a non-zero rate: 1 bp of a one-cent
+   * payment is 0.0001 USDC, which truncates to nothing in 6-decimal subunits —
+   * and a maxFee of 0 is exactly the "insufficient fee" the caller is trying to
+   * avoid. Paying one subunit more than strictly required beats being demoted
+   * to a fifteen-minute settlement over a rounding error.
+   */
+  maxFeeFor(amountSubunits: bigint, bps: number): bigint {
+    if (bps <= 0) return 0n;
+    const numerator = amountSubunits * BigInt(bps);
+    const rounded =
+      numerator / BPS_DENOMINATOR + (numerator % BPS_DENOMINATOR ? 1n : 0n);
+    return rounded > 0n ? rounded : 1n;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/cctp.module.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/cctp.module.ts
index c0f19ca..78595d6 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/cctp.module.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/cctp/cctp.module.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { ConfigModule } from '@nestjs/config';
 import { AttestationService } from './attestation.service.js';
+import { BurnFeeService } from './burn-fee.service.js';
 import { CctpService } from './cctp.service.js';
 import { EvmCctpClient } from './evm-cctp.client.js';
 import { ForwarderService } from './forwarder.service.js';
@@ -24,12 +25,13 @@ import { StellarCctpClient } from './stellar-cctp.client.js';
   imports: [ConfigModule],
   providers: [
     AttestationService,
+    BurnFeeService,
     ForwarderService,
     EvmCctpClient,
     StellarCctpClient,
     RouterService,
     CctpService,
   ],
-  exports: [RouterService, CctpService],
+  exports: [RouterService, CctpService, BurnFeeService],
 })
 export class CctpModule {}
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.spec.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.spec.ts
index 528d0e7..eb742e3 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.spec.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { StellarService } from '../stellar/stellar.service';
 import { WebhooksService } from '../webhooks/webhooks.service';
 import { LinksService } from '../links/links.service';
 import { CctpService } from '../cctp/cctp.service';
+import { BurnFeeService } from '../cctp/burn-fee.service';
 import { NotificationsService } from '../notifications/notifications.service';
 import { EscrowService } from '../escrow/escrow.service';
 
@@ -112,6 +113,19 @@ describe('PaymentsService', () => {
     prepareBurn: jest.fn(),
   };
 
+  // Circle's fee lookup. Defaults to the real Ethereum → Stellar answer (1 bp)
+  // so selectCrypto takes the Fast Transfer path these tests describe; a test
+  // that wants the standard-finality fallback can resolve null instead.
+  const burnFeeService = {
+    minimumFeeBps: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(1),
+    maxFeeFor: jest.fn((amount: bigint, bps: number) => {
+      if (bps <= 0) return 0n;
+      const n = amount * BigInt(bps);
+      const r = n / 10_000n + (n % 10_000n ? 1n : 0n);
+      return r > 0n ? r : 1n;
+    }),
+  };
+
   // BullMQ queue double — submitBurn enqueues a cctp.observe job after
   // recording the source tx hash. Tests assert the call was made; the
   // worker itself is exercised by its own spec.
@@ -183,6 +197,7 @@ describe('PaymentsService', () => {
         { provide: WebhooksService, useValue: webhooksService },
         { provide: LinksService, useValue: linksService },
         { provide: CctpService, useValue: cctpService },
+        { provide: BurnFeeService, useValue: burnFeeService },
         // BullMQ uses a stringly-typed token (`getQueueToken(name)`) for
         // queue injection. We replicate it here without pulling the BullMQ
         // helper into the test — keeps the test surface tiny.
@@ -349,6 +364,74 @@ describe('PaymentsService', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('selectCrypto — EVM source, Fast Transfer fee', () => {
+    const evmPayment = {
+      ...paymentRecord,
+      destAmount: new Prisma.Decimal('0.01'),
+      merchant: {
+        id: 'merchant_123',
+        settlementAddress:
+          'GBBN5WUDNH5P7ZG3CKJIWZ6CXQY2PXL23H2K36QIE53UGAXWZDWJP3D7',
+      },
+      quote: null,
+    };
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      prisma.payment.findUnique.mockResolvedValue(evmPayment);
+      prisma.quote.findUnique.mockResolvedValue({
+        id: 'qt_1',
+        fromAmount: new Prisma.Decimal('0.01'),
+        fromAsset: 'USDC',
+        fromChain: 'ethereum',
+        toAmount: new Prisma.Decimal('0.01'),
+        toAsset: 'USDC',
+        toChain: 'stellar',
+        rate: new Prisma.Decimal(1),
+        feeAmount: new Prisma.Decimal(0),
+        feeBps: 50,
+        expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + 600_000),
+      });
+      quotesService.createQuote.mockResolvedValue({ id: 'qt_1' });
+      cctpService.prepareBurn.mockResolvedValue({
+        to: '0xTokenMessenger',
+        data: '0xdeadbeef',
+        value: '0x0',
+        description: 'burn',
+      });
+    });
+
+    // Circle does not reject a Fast Transfer that offers maxFee 0 — it accepts
+    // the burn and quietly waits for hard finality, reporting
+    // `delayReason: insufficient_fee`. So the burn must carry a real fee, or
+    // the checkout's "8–20 seconds" is a lie every single time.
+    it('pays the fee Circle asks for rather than offering zero', async () => {
+      await service.selectCrypto('pay_123', 'ethereum');
+
+      const [req] = cctpService.prepareBurn.mock.calls.at(-1) as [
+        { speed: string; maxFee: bigint },
+      ];
+      expect(req.speed).toBe('fast');
+      // 0.01 USDC = 10_000 subunits; 1 bp of that is exactly 1.
+      expect(req.maxFee).toBe(1n);
+      expect(req.maxFee).not.toBe(0n);
+    });
+
+    // Sending a fast burn we know will be demoted would mean the status page
+    // promises seconds and delivers a quarter of an hour. Standard finality is
+    // slower but it is the truth.
+    it('drops to standard finality when the fee cannot be looked up', async () => {
+      burnFeeService.minimumFeeBps.mockResolvedValueOnce(null);
+
+      await service.selectCrypto('pay_123', 'ethereum');
+
+      const [req] = cctpService.prepareBurn.mock.calls.at(-1) as [
+        { speed: string; maxFee: bigint },
+      ];
+      expect(req.speed).toBe('standard');
+      expect(req.maxFee).toBe(0n);
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('selectCrypto — Stellar-native source', () => {
     const merchantWithWallet = {
       ...paymentRecord,
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.ts
index b6204a9..ff9ea3a 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/payments/payments.service.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import { WebhooksService } from '../webhooks/webhooks.service';
 import { LinksService } from '../links/links.service';
 import { CctpService } from '../cctp/cctp.service';
 import { getDomain, type DomainEntry } from '../cctp/domains';
+import { BurnFeeService, FINALITY_FAST } from '../cctp/burn-fee.service';
 import {
   getEvmContracts,
   getUsdcAddress,
@@ -178,6 +179,7 @@ export class PaymentsService implements OnModuleInit, OnModuleDestroy {
     private readonly webhooksService: WebhooksService,
     private readonly linksService: LinksService,
     private readonly cctpService: CctpService,
+    private readonly burnFees: BurnFeeService,
     @InjectQueue(CCTP_OBSERVE_QUEUE) private readonly cctpQueue: Queue,
     @InjectQueue(SETTLEMENT_HOLD_QUEUE) private readonly holdQueue: Queue,
     private readonly escrowService: EscrowService,
@@ -944,14 +946,34 @@ export class PaymentsService implements OnModuleInit, OnModuleDestroy {
       amountSubunits,
     ]);
 
+    // Fast Transfer is not free, and asking for it without paying is not an
+    // error Circle reports back — it accepts the burn, then holds the message
+    // at `pending_confirmations` with `delayReason: insufficient_fee` and waits
+    // for hard finality anyway. This asked for `speed: 'fast'` with
+    // `maxFee: 0n`, so every payment took the slow path while the checkout
+    // promised 8–20 seconds.
+    //
+    // Ask Circle what the tier costs and offer exactly that. If the lookup
+    // fails, drop to standard finality rather than send a burn we know will be
+    // demoted: slower, but it is what actually happens, and the logs say so.
+    const destinationDomain = getDomain('stellar')!.domain;
+    const feeBps = await this.burnFees.minimumFeeBps(
+      source.domain,
+      destinationDomain,
+      FINALITY_FAST,
+    );
+    const speed = feeBps === null ? 'standard' : 'fast';
+    const maxFee =
+      feeBps === null ? 0n : this.burnFees.maxFeeFor(amountSubunits, feeBps);
+
     const burnPayload = await this.cctpService.prepareBurn({
       fromChain: sourceChain,
       toChain: 'stellar',
       amount: amountSubunits,
       recipient,
-      speed: 'fast',
+      speed,
       mintMode: 'forwarder',
-      maxFee: 0n,
+      maxFee,
     });
     if ('xdr' in burnPayload) {
       throw new Error('Unexpected Stellar payload for EVM source');