Collect your first payment

Follow a guided path to accept your first payment with Evolve Payments and discover where to go next in the documentation.

Before You Start

• Get your test API key from the Evolve Payments dashboard

• Make sure you're in sandbox mode for testing

Step 1: Set Up Your Client

Initialize the Evolve Payments client with your test API key and sandbox environment.

Step 2: Collect Payment Details

Gather the customer's payment information:

• Card number

• Expiration month and year

• Security code (CVC)

• Payment amount

Once you can reliably collect these fields and perform basic validation (for example, required fields and simple format checks), you're ready to move on to creating your first test payment in Step 3.

Step 3: Create the Payment

Send a payment request with the collected information:

Copy

const payment = await evolve.charges.create({
  amount: 2999, // $29.99 in cents
  currency: 'usd',
  paymentMethod: {
    type: 'card',
    number: '4242424242424242',
    expMonth: 12,
    expYear: 2025,
    cvc: '123'
  },
  description: 'First test payment'
});

Step 4: Handle the Result

Check the payment status and respond accordingly:

• Succeeded: Payment completed successfully

• Failed: Payment was declined (show error message)

• Pending: Payment is still processing

Test Your Integration

Use these test card numbers:

• 4242424242424242 - Successful payment

• 4000000000000002 - Declined payment

• 4000000000009995 - Insufficient funds

Important Notes

• Always use amounts in cents (e.g., $10.00 = 1000)

• Test thoroughly before switching to live mode

• Handle errors gracefully with user-friendly messages

• Store the payment ID for your records

Go Live

Once testing is complete:

1. Switch to your live API key

2. Change environment to 'production'

3. Start processing real payments

Your first payment integration is now ready!