Skip to main content
Anton processes real money across regulated corridors. Going live is not flipping a switch — it is a structured process that protects you, your recipients, and the platform. Every merchant follows the same path.
1

Onboarding

Complete the merchant application and get approved.
2

Sandbox Development

Build and test your integration against the sandbox environment.
3

Certification Call

Walk through your integration with our team.
4

Fund Your Account

Wire funds and confirm balances via the API.
5

Move to Production

Switch to production credentials and go live.

​
1. Onboarding

Before you write any code, your business needs to be approved. The onboarding process collects the information we need for KYB verification, compliance screening, and corridor eligibility. Typical timeline: 3-7 business days from application submission to sandbox access, depending on the complexity of your business structure and responsiveness to RFIs.

Submit your merchant application

Complete the 8-step application through the merchant portal. This includes business details, registered address, ownership structure, and intended use of the platform.
Provide incorporation documents, proof of address, and beneficial owner identification through the merchant portal. Documents are stored securely and reviewed by our compliance team.
If our team needs additional information, you will receive a Request for Information (RFI) in the merchant portal. Respond promptly — open RFIs block approval.
Once approved, your sandbox environment is provisioned. You will receive sandbox API keys and access to the merchant portal at api.antonpayments.dev.

​
2. Sandbox Development

Build your integration against the sandbox at api.antonpayments.dev. Every API endpoint behaves identically to production — compliance checks are simulated, funds are test balances, and payouts settle instantly. Typical timeline: 1-3 weeks depending on integration complexity.

​
Integration checklist

These are not suggestions. Every item below is validated during your certification call.

Idempotency keys on all mutations

Every POST request that creates or modifies a resource must include an Idempotency-Key header. This prevents duplicate payouts if a request is retried due to network issues or timeouts. Use a unique, deterministic key per operation (e.g., your internal transaction ID). See Idempotency.

Webhook integration

You must consume webhooks — polling alone is not sufficient for production. Register a webhook subscription, verify HMAC-SHA256 signatures on every delivery, and handle duplicate events by tracking processed event IDs. See Handle Webhooks.
Implement exponential backoff with jitter for 5xx errors. Respect Retry-After headers on 429 responses. Never retry 4xx errors (except 429). Map error codes to appropriate actions in your system. See Error Handling.
Amounts are strings, never floating-point. Use decimal or string arithmetic for all money operations. Floating-point rounding errors cause real financial discrepancies.
Your system must handle every payout status — not just completed and failed. Account for screening, pending_approval, processing, returned, and cancelled. Each status may require different logic in your system. See Payouts.
Query your balance before submitting payouts to ensure sufficient funds in the required currency. Payouts submitted without adequate balance will be rejected. See Balances.
Create payees and attach instruments before creating payouts. Verify that payee and instrument IDs are stored and referenced correctly. See Manage Payees.
All list endpoints use cursor-based pagination with limit, cursor, has_more, and next_cursor. Ensure your integration handles pagination correctly for payees, payouts, and batch results. See Pagination.

​
Security checklist

API keys in environment variables or secrets manager

Never hardcode keys. Use your platform’s secrets management — AWS Secrets Manager, GCP Secret Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or equivalent. Rotate keys if you suspect exposure.

Server-side only

API keys must only be used from backend servers. Never expose them in browser JavaScript, mobile apps, client-side code, or version control.
All API calls must use HTTPS. The API rejects non-TLS connections. Your webhook receiver must also be HTTPS with a valid certificate.
Verify the Anton-Signature header on every webhook delivery using HMAC-SHA256. Reject requests with invalid or missing signatures. See Handle Webhooks.
Ensure your application does not log payee bank details, API keys, full account numbers, or other PII. Mask or omit sensitive fields in all logging and error reporting.

​
3. Certification Call

Once your sandbox integration is complete, schedule a certification call with our team. This is a technical walkthrough — not a sales call. Typical timeline: 1 session (30-60 minutes). Come prepared and it will be straightforward.

What we review

  • End-to-end payout flow (payee, instrument, payout)
  • Webhook consumption and signature verification
  • Idempotency key implementation
  • Error handling and retry logic
  • Security posture (key storage, TLS, logging)
  • Balance and status management
  • Pagination handling

What to prepare

  • Working sandbox integration
  • Sample payout logs showing full lifecycle
  • Webhook delivery logs with signature verification
  • Error handling demonstration
  • Your team’s questions about production behavior
Schedule your call by contacting your account manager or emailing integrations@antonpayments.com.

​
4. Fund Your Account

After certification, fund your production account before submitting your first live payout. Typical timeline: 1-2 business days for wire settlement.
1

Receive funding instructions

Your account manager will provide wire instructions for your production account, including the accepted currencies and minimum deposit.
2

Send the wire

Initiate a wire transfer from your business bank account. Include your Anton merchant ID as a reference.
3

Confirm balances via the API

Once the wire settles, verify your balances via the Balances API. Funds typically appear within 1-2 business days depending on the corridor.

​
5. Move to Production

With certification complete and your account funded, switch to production.

Swap your base URL

Update from https://api.antonpayments.dev to https://api.antonpayments.com.

Use production API keys

Replace ak_test_... keys with ak_live_.... Generate production keys from the merchant portal.
Create new webhook subscriptions pointing to your production webhook URLs. Sandbox subscriptions do not carry over.
Confirm the corridors you need are active for your merchant account via the Corridors API. Corridor availability may differ from sandbox.
Sandbox payees and instruments do not exist in production. Create your production payees and instruments, and update your internal references accordingly.

​
Sandbox vs. production

SandboxProduction
API URLapi.antonpayments.devapi.antonpayments.com
API keysak_test_...ak_live_...
ComplianceSimulated screening (auto-pass)Real OFAC, PEP, and sanctions checks
FundsPre-loaded test balancesReal money — must fund account
DeliveryInstant simulationReal rail processing (minutes to days)
WebhooksDelivered normallyDelivered normally
Rate limitsRelaxedEnforced per plan

​
Launch checklist

Before sending your first production payout, verify each item:
  • Base URL set to https://api.antonpayments.com
  • Using ak_live_... API keys (not test keys)
  • API keys stored in secrets manager (not hardcoded)
  • Webhook endpoint registered with production URL
  • Webhook signature verification enabled and tested
  • Idempotency keys included on all POST requests
  • Error handling with exponential backoff implemented
  • Rate limit handling (429 + Retry-After) implemented
  • Balance check before payout submission
  • All payout statuses handled in your system
  • Logging configured without sensitive data exposure
  • Monitoring and alerting configured for failures

​
Launch recommendations

Start small. Do not batch your first production payouts. Send a small number of low-value payouts first and verify the full lifecycle — creation, screening, processing, delivery, and webhook confirmation — before ramping up volume.

Monitor delivery rates

Track the ratio of completed vs. failed payouts from day one. A spike in failures could indicate issues with payee data quality, corridor availability, or rail provider status.

Monitor webhook delivery

Set up alerts for failed webhook deliveries. If your endpoint goes down, events queue and you lose real-time visibility. Implement a dead-letter process for missed events.

Watch your balances

Set up alerts when balances drop below a threshold. If your balance hits zero, payouts will be rejected until you fund. Do not let a funding gap interrupt operations.

Track API error rates

Monitor your 4xx and 5xx rates. A sudden increase in client errors could indicate a code regression. An increase in server errors should be reported to Anton support immediately.

​
Need help?

Integration support

Technical questions, certification scheduling, and integration guidance.

Merchant portal

Manage API keys, view payouts, monitor balances, and configure webhooks.