Your first NuePay payment.

One account. Different applications.

Give each website or application a named key in API Keys. NuePay identifies the application from its secret. You do not send its nickname or account number with Bearer authentication.

Each application has a stable application_id, its own transaction history and optional webhook. Renaming it or regenerating its secret preserves that ID. Applications share the merchant's wallet; their balances are not separate. You can have up to 10 named keys.

Base URL: https://api.nuepay.net/v1

Start with a simulated collection

1. Open API Keys and choose Sandbox Key beside your application. Validate your PIN and copy the test key.
2. Set NUEPAY_TEST_KEY on your development server. Choose a new UUID for the payment.
3. Send this request. No approval prompt is sent to the phone.

curl 'https://api.nuepay.net/v1/collections' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUEPAY_TEST_KEY" \
  -H 'Idempotency-Key: REPLACE_WITH_A_NEW_UUID' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"amount":"500.00","currency":"UGX","phone":"0772000000","merchant_reference":"order-123"}'

HTTP 202 means accepted, with status: process. Copy data.reference from the response, then simulate success:

curl 'https://api.nuepay.net/v1/sandbox/transactions/YOUR_REFERENCE/simulate' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NUEPAY_TEST_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"outcome":"success"}'

Use failed for a decline or timeout for an uncertain outcome. Timeout remains process and can later succeed or fail. Repeating a final result does not repeat a credit or refund. Live keys cannot use simulation.

Sandbox accounts start with UGX 1,000,000 in simulated funds, shared across the account's applications. Test collections and payouts never move real money.

Amounts, fees and safe retries

For collections, amount is the wallet credit. Fees are added to the payer's charge and the charge is rounded up to a whole shilling. For disbursements, amount is what the recipient receives; the wallet pays that amount plus the fee. The current maximum principal is UGX 5,000,000 per payment.

Call POST /quotes with {"type":"collection","amount":"500.00","currency":"UGX"} before displaying a charge. At the current collection fee, the wallet receives UGX 500 and the payer is charged UGX 520. The response explicitly includes payer_charge, wallet_credit, recipient_amount and wallet_debit as applicable. A quote does not reserve funds or lock a fee.

Keep the same Idempotency-Key UUID when retrying one payment after a connection error. A matching retry returns the original payment with HTTP 200. Reusing it for another payload or operation returns idempotency_conflict. Each application and environment has its own request scope. Regenerating a secret preserves existing payment identity.

Webhooks and payment outcomes

Save an HTTPS Web Hook URL in the application's edit dialog. Read its signing secret from the same dialog. Sandbox callbacks are off by default; explicitly enable “Also send sandbox events to this URL” to test your receiver. Every new event contains livemode; keep sandbox handling separate from live order fulfilment.

Events include collection.process, collection.success, collection.failed and their disbursement equivalents. Fulfil only after status: success. An Under review result stays process with status_reason: review_required. A new accepted request is not confirmation of payment.

1. Read the exact raw request body and X-NuePay-Timestamp. Reject timestamps more than five minutes from your server clock.
2. Compute hexadecimal HMAC-SHA256 of timestamp + "." + raw_body using your webhook signing secret.
3. Compare "v1=" + digest with X-NuePay-Signature using constant-time comparison.
4. Match body id with X-NuePay-Event-Id. Store processed event IDs and accept only newer payment version values.
5. Return a 2xx response after saving the event durably. Delivery may be duplicated or arrive out of order.

Failed deliveries retry after 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 12 hours and then 24 hours, up to ten attempts. Inspect delivery history and PIN-protected retries on API Keys. API secret rotation and webhook secret rotation are separate actions.

Troubleshooting

Errors include a readable message, a stable code, and an HTTP attempt request_id. Validation errors also include errors by field. Match the ID with API request history in the dashboard. HTTP 429 means rate limited: wait before retrying, and retain the same payment idempotency UUID.

Limits: 120 authenticated requests per key and environment per minute, 300 requests per IP per minute, and 20 failed authentication attempts per IP per minute. Disbursements require verified payout setup and sufficient funds. Live collection and disbursement availability follows account and provider status.