Get started

Quickstart

Make your first request to the CSwitch sandbox in five minutes.

This guide gets you from nothing to a working sandbox request. You'll need a terminal with curl, or any HTTP client.

1. Get a sandbox key

In the dashboard, open Developers and copy your secret key. Sandbox keys start with sk_test_ and only ever touch fake money.

2. Make your first request

Create a virtual account: a real-looking account number that belongs to one of your customers.

Create a virtual account

curl https://sandbox.cswitchcba.com/v1/virtual-accounts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Ngozi Eze", "customer": "cus_8Fq2"}'

You'll get back a 10-digit account_number. In live mode, any transfer to it lands in your CSwitch balance with Ngozi's name on it.

3. Start a payment

Create a payment for ₦42,000. Amounts are always in kobo, so that's 4200000.

Start a payment

curl https://sandbox.cswitchcba.com/v1/payments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{"amount": 4200000, "email": "ngozi@example.com", "reference": "order_2231"}'

Send your customer to the checkout_url in the response. When they've paid, verify the payment on your server.

4. Listen for webhooks

Set a webhook URL in the dashboard to hear about payments as they happen. See Webhooks to check signatures.

5. Go live

When everything works in the sandbox, follow the go-live checklist.