Ecobank API

Getting Started

This section provides a comprehensive guide to help you quickly integrate with Ecobank’s Sandbox API. By following the steps outlined below, you can configure your environment, authenticate your application, and begin interacting with our API services.

Below is the step-wise integration flow:

Create an Account

To be able to test all endpoint and authenticate applications, you need to create an account following the steps:

  1. Click on the “Sign In” menu option on the navigation menu

  2. Click on the option “Continue as Partner” button.

  3. On the pop-up form, click on the “Sign up now” link button right under the ‘Sign in’ button.

  4. On the new user details pop-up form, fill the form as follows

a.    Enter email address and click on the “send verification code” button to receive a verification code in the email used.

b.    A new field, thus, verification code will be shown, check your email and enter the verification code in the field provided on the form, then click on “Verify code” button. If code wasn’t received, you can request a new code by clicking on the “Resend Code" button.

c.    Complete the other fields of the form and click on the “create” button.

d.    A confirmation form is given to complete the registration to confirm your email, first name and last name on the form labelled “Complete sign up”, then click on “Sign Up” button. Once account is created successfully, you will automatically be logged in.

Login to Account

  1. Once you have successfully created your account, click on the “Sign In” menu option on the navigation menu.

  2. Click on the option “Continue as Partner” button.

  3. Enter your email address and password in the fields provided and click on the “Sign In” button to login

  4. Upon successful login, you will notice additional navigation buttons for ‘Reports’ and ‘Profile’ on the navigation bar.

‘Forgot Password’ feature is for password reset when needed.

Environment Setup:

2.4.1 Sandbox Environment:

This section is intended to ensure that you have access to the Ecobank Sandbox environment and all other required service products necessary for testing and development.

For initial testing, use the default values provided in the sandbox payloads. These values are configured to generate predefined static responses and should be used to validate the integration, request/response formats, and expected service behaviour.

2.4.1.1 How to set up Sandbox Environment.

  1. Sign-in into your sandbox account, following the steps indicated at the Login to Account section.

  2. Once sign-in, click on the “Products” menu option on the navigation menu to access the products page.

  3. Select the preferred product service by clicking on it, e.g. Bill Payment, then enter the product name in the subscription text field. E.g. Below image demonstrates Bill Payment Service.

4. After entering the subscription name, the subscribe button is activated. Click on the “Subscribe” button, to enable the service with your account. E.g. Below shows a demonstration.

5. You can subscribe to all the preferred services following the steps indicated under this section from step 3 – step 5.

6. To view a list of preferred service, click on the “Profile” menu on the navigation bar. E.g. below

7. Note that every subscribed product has it own primary and secondary keys, these will be used for service authentication during integration and testing.

 

2.4.2. UAT Environment

 Here, personalized production-like credentials will be provided to the partner upon successful completion of the sandbox testing phase, and after all necessary pre-requisites are satisfied. The credentials will enable the partner to validate the service using partner-specific configurations and experience the production-like environment.

2.4.3 Production Environment

Partner is expected to request production credentials once:

·   UAT has been completed

·  Test cases document completed, shared and validated (by the bank’s technical team)

·  All other production-readiness clearances and documentation are completed. Partner may need to liaise with their relevant Ecobank business team on this point.

2.5 Development Tools

1.          API Client: A tool like Postman or cURL to test API requests and responses are recommended.

2.         Programming Environment: A development environment that supports HTTP requests protocol (e.g., Java, C#, PHP, JavaScript, Python. etc.).

3.          Network Configuration: Enable all necessary configurations to allow the Ecobank API endpoints to properly communicate with the appropriate services.

2.6  Keynote

  1. Obtain the required credentials and API keys for authentication.

  2. Review the available services like Bill Payment, Xpress Cash Token, Account Services, Direct Payment From Ecobank Account. etc., and select the appropriate endpoint for your operation.

  3. Ensure that your HTTP request includes the appropriate protocol:

    • The correct HTTP method (POST).

    • The base URL (sandbox or production), combined with the specific endpoint.

    • The required headers (including the Authorization token).

    • Any necessary query parameters, path parameters, or request body for the operation.

  4. Review the response, which will typically include status codes and the response body in JSON format. A successful request will return a 200 OK status, while error codes (e.g., 400 Bad Request or 401 Unauthorized) indicate the specified issues to be addressed.

  5. The platform enforces rate limits to ensure optimal performance for all users. Ensure your application is designed to handle rate limit errors and implement appropriate retry logic.

  6. To maintain seamless API integration, ensure your application is equipped to handle various error responses. Refer to the Response Codes section of this documentation for details on error codes, descriptions, and troubleshooting steps.