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Quick Start Guide

Get started with Celar in 5 minutes. This guide walks you through making your first API call, creating a customer, and testing the platform.

Prerequisites​

Before you start, you'll need:

  • An API key from the Celar Dashboard (see Get Your Keys)
  • A tool to make HTTP requests (cURL, Postman, or your preferred HTTP client)
  • The Sandbox environment: https://api.sandbox.celar.io/api/v1

Step 1: Test Your API Connection​

Make your first API call to verify your credentials are working.

Replace <your_api_key> with your actual API key:

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.sandbox.celar.io/api/v1/customers \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json'

Expected response:

{
  "message": "No customers found",
  "customers": []
}

✅ Great! Your API credentials work. You're now connected to Celar.

Step 2: Create Your First Customer​

A customer is the foundation of any payment operation. Create an individual customer:

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.sandbox.celar.io/api/v1/customers \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "country": "KEN",
  "currency": "KES",
  "email": "alice@example.com",
  "type": "individual",
  "first_name": "Alice",
  "last_name": "Smith",
  "dob": "1990-05-15",
  "government_id_number": "12345678",
  "document_type": "id_card",
  "residential_address": {
    "street_line_1": "123 Main Street",
    "city": "Nairobi",
    "region": "Nairobi County",
    "zip": "00100",
    "country": "KEN"
  }
}'

Expected response:

{
  "message": "1 customer(s) created successfully",
  "customers": [
    {
      "id": "cr_1a2b3c4d5e6f",
      "created_at": "2026-02-27T10:30:00.000Z",
      "country": "KEN",
      "email": "alice@example.com",
      "type": "individual",
      "first_name": "Alice",
      "last_name": "Smith",
      "currency": "KES",
      "kyc_status": "pending",
      "is_active": true
    }
  ]
}

📝 Save the customer ID (e.g., cr_1a2b3c4d5e6f). You'll need it for payments.

Step 3: Verify Your Customer Was Created​

Retrieve the customer you just created:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.sandbox.celar.io/api/v1/customers/cr_1a2b3c4d5e6f' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json'

(Replace cr_1a2b3c4d5e6f with your actual customer ID)

Expected response:

{
  "id": "cr_1a2b3c4d5e6f",
  "created_at": "2026-02-27T10:30:00.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-02-27T10:30:00.000Z",
  "country": "KEN",
  "email": "alice@example.com",
  "type": "individual",
  "first_name": "Alice",
  "last_name": "Smith",
  "currency": "KES",
  "kyc_status": "pending",
  "is_active": true
}

✅ Success! You've created and retrieved your first customer.

What's Next?​

Now that you have a customer, here are the next steps depending on your use case:

💰 I want to accept payments​

Learn about payins to accept stablecoin deposits into your platform.

📤 I want to send payments​

Learn about payouts to send stablecoins to customers or external addresses.

🔄 I want to route funds​

Learn about transfers to move funds between blockchains and settlement rails.

🚀 I want to explore rates and institutions​

  • Check rates to get current exchange rates
  • See institutions for supported banks and mobile money providers

📊 I'm ready to build​

Explore the full Payments API documentation for all payment operations.

Common Issues​

Q: I'm getting a 401 Unauthorized error A: Make sure your API key is correct and you're using the right format: Authorization: Bearer <your_api_key>

Q: The customer creation endpoint returns an error A: Verify that all required fields are included (country, currency, email, type, first_name, last_name, etc.). See Customers API for full details.

Q: How do I test payments? A: Use the Sandbox environment (https://api.sandbox.celar.io). All transactions here are simulated and safe to test with.

Additional Resources​

Ready to go deeper? Check out the Payments Overview to learn about all available payment operations.