Environments & sandbox

nxtPay runs a sandbox for building and testing, and a live environment for real money. No money moves in the sandbox.

Environments

EnvironmentPaymentsUse it for
SandboxPesapal sandbox (test cards, test prompts)Integration, demos, QA
LivePesapal live; MTN / Airtel direct (planned)Real customers, after onboarding

Testing payments in the sandbox

Card payments open Pesapal's hosted page. Use Pesapal's public sandbox test card:

Card number   4761 7390 0101 0010
Expiry        07/28
CVV           123

Mobile money prompts in the sandbox are simulated by the provider; approve or decline them to test both outcomes.

How payment outcomes are confirmed

  1. nxtPay creates a payment and asks the provider to collect it (prompt or hosted page).
  2. The provider sends a notification to nxtPay. It's treated only as a hint.
  3. nxtPay asks the provider's status API for the real result and settles the order or payment exactly once.

This means a forged or repeated callback can never mark something paid.

Going live

  • Merchants: complete onboarding in nxtPay Business (documents, payout account) and pass review.
  • Platforms using the Merchant API: request access; you'll receive sandbox keys first, live keys after review.