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POST

Create a payment

ENDPOINT/v1/payments

Creates a transaction of type PAYMENT: a payin or payout against an external bank account. PAYIN credits the financial account; PAYOUT debits it. The response is the Transaction; its id is the transaction_id used on every transaction endpoint. Send Idempotency-Key so retries return the original transaction instead of originating twice.

Authentication & Headers

HeaderTypeRequirementDescription
AuthorizationstringREQUIREDAPI key passed as an HTTP Bearer token: Bearer rk_live_...
X-Program-IDUUIDPROGRAM-SCOPEDProgram boundary UUID that scopes the issuing card, wallet, or transfer.
Content-TypestringREQUIREDMust be application/json.
Idempotency-KeystringOPTIONALUnique UUID to prevent duplicate execution of financial creations or mutations.

Request Body Schema

application/json
financial_account_idstringuuid
REQUIRED

Financial account to credit (`PAYIN`) or debit (`PAYOUT`).

external_bank_account_idstringuuid
REQUIRED

External bank account that is the ACH counterparty.

amountobject
REQUIRED

Size to originate. `amount` is a positive integer of minor units; `125000` with `USD` is $1,250.00.

Properties of amount
amountanyrequired
currencystringrequired
ISO 4217 alphabetic currency code.
methodstring
REQUIRED

Rail used to move the funds. `ACH_NEXT_DAY` settles on the next banking day. `ACH_SAME_DAY` uses same-day ACH when both banks support it. `RTP` and `FEDNOW` are instant rails; they require the matching payout capability (`cap-payout-rtp`, `cap-payout-fednow`) on the product.

Enum values:ACH_NEXT_DAYACH_SAME_DAYRTPFEDNOW
sec_codeany
optional

Required for ACH methods. Omit for `RTP` and `FEDNOW`.

payment_typestring
REQUIRED

Direction relative to `financial_account_id`. `PAYIN` credits the financial account (pull from the external bank account). `PAYOUT` debits the financial account (push to the external bank account). These are the Payin and Payout capabilities of the product.

Enum values:PAYINPAYOUT
memostring
optional

Descriptor shown on activity. Omit to leave null.

Response Codes & Schemas

201The PAYMENT transaction was created.
application/json
{
  "id": "8f1a4c60-2e7b-4d23-c0f5-7a0d3e9c4576",
  "object": "transaction",
  "type": "PAYMENT",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "transfer_ids": [],
  "amount": {
    "amount": 125000,
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "wallet_id": "4d8f2a10-6c3e-4b91-9e5a-2f7c8d1e0b44",
  "financial_account_id": "9b3e1c70-4d2a-4f86-8c1b-5e7a2d9f0c14",
  "direction": "CREDIT",
  "category": "ACH",
  "memo": "ACH autopay collection",
  "events": [
    {
      "id": "3a6c8d14-5b91-4e24-f7a0-4d2b9c3e6175",
      "type": "CREATED",
      "amount": {
        "amount": 125000,
        "currency": "USD"
      },
      "result": "APPROVED",
      "financial_account_id": "9b3e1c70-4d2a-4f86-8c1b-5e7a2d9f0c14",
      "created_at": "2026-08-20T12:00:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "created_at": "2026-08-20T12:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-08-20T12:00:00Z",
  "external_bank_account_id": "1b6d8f20-4c53-4a87-9e2d-0f5a7c8b3914",
  "method": "ACH_NEXT_DAY",
  "sec_code": "PPD",
  "payment_type": "PAYIN",
  "result": "APPROVED",
  "return_reason_code": null
}
400Bad Request: malformed JSON, failed schema validation, or conflicting parameters.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "invalid_request",
    "message": "invalid order by: foo. Valid options are: [created_at updated_at]",
    "param": "order_by",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/invalid_request"
  }
}
401Unauthorized: missing, malformed, or unknown API key.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "authentication_error",
    "code": "authentication_error",
    "message": "A valid API key is required.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/authentication_error"
  }
}
403Forbidden: the API key is denied by RBAC, or it cannot access this program. A resource that exists on another program or organization returns `404 not_found`, not `403`.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "permission_error",
    "code": "permission_denied",
    "message": "The API key cannot access this program.",
    "param": "X-Program-ID",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/permission_denied"
  }
}
404Not Found: unknown id, or the resource is not visible to this API key.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "not_found_error",
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "No card found for the given id.",
    "param": "card_id",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/not_found"
  }
}
409Conflict: incompatible state, or Idempotency-Key reused with a different body.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "conflict_error",
    "code": "conflict",
    "message": "The card cannot be reissued from its current state.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/conflict"
  }
}
422Unprocessable Entity: the document is valid JSON but violates a business rule.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "insufficient_funds",
    "message": "The source financial account does not have enough available balance.",
    "param": "amount",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/insufficient_funds"
  }
}
429Too Many Requests: the API key exceeded its rate limit.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "rate_limit_error",
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after the number of seconds in Retry-After.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/rate_limited"
  }
}
500Internal Server Error: unexpected failure. Retry with the same Idempotency-Key.
application/json
{
  "error": {
    "type": "api_error",
    "code": "internal_error",
    "message": "An unexpected error occurred. Retry with the same Idempotency-Key.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/internal_error"
  }
}