# API Introduction

A brief introduction to using the Alternative Payments API to build custom payment and billing workflows.

#### Introduction to the Alternative Payments API

The Alternative Payments API provides a secure, standards-based interface for partners to integrate payment and billing operations directly into their own systems. Rather than clicking through a dashboard, your applications can create customers, generate payment experiences, issue invoices, track transactions, and reconcile payouts programmatically.

Unlike payment gateways that only handle a single transaction flow, this API is designed for service businesses and platforms that want deeper control over how payments and billing data move through their software stack.

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#### What the API Enables

At a glance, the Alternative Payments API lets you:

• Create and manage customer records and associated payment methods.\
• Generate hosted payment links for one-off charges or invoice-based billing.\
• Create, retrieve, and manage invoices with line items and PDF links.\
• Track payments with filters for status, type, customer, or invoice.\
• Access payout information and reconcile which transactions were included.[ ](https://docs.alternativepayments.io/)

All interactions are done over REST with JSON, authenticated via OAuth 2.0 client credentials using API keys.[ ](https://docs.alternativepayments.io/)

This setup gives you the flexibility to automate routine billing work, bring payment workflows into internal systems, or build custom user experiences. It’s not about replacing your dashboard; it’s about extending it into the tools your business already uses.

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#### Next Steps

For complete technical details including how to authenticate, example requests, available endpoints, and error handling, see the full API documentation:

{% embed url="<https://docs.alternativepayments.io/>" %}

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