Developer Quickstart

This quickstart guides you through generating your developer API key, checking wallet balances, verifying recipient account details, and initiating your first payout.

Prerequisites

Before making requests, ensure you have:

A registered Tabs Merchant Account
Your secret API key (sk_live_... or sk_test_...)
A command-line terminal with curl, or an HTTP client like Postman or Insomnia

Step 1: Generate an API key

Log in to the Tabs Merchant Portal.
In the navigation sidebar, click Developers.
Select the API Keys tab and click Generate Secret Key.
Choose an environment (Live or Test), enter a descriptive label (e.g. Backend API), and select permissions.
Copy your generated key immediately. Tabs displays plaintext keys only once for security.

Never commit your secret API key to version control or expose it in client-side code.

Step 2: Check your wallet balances

Call the GET /v1/wallets endpoint to confirm your API key works and view your balances. Amounts are returned in minor currency units (e.g. kobo or cents):

curl -X GET "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/wallets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

const response = await fetch("https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/wallets", {
  method: "GET",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
});

const wallets = await response.json();
console.log(wallets);

import requests

url = "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/wallets"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

Sample response

[
  {
    "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4a5b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d",
    "currency": "NGN",
    "balanceMinor": "45000000"
  },
  {
    "id": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-4b5c-9d0e-1f2a3b4c5d6e",
    "currency": "USD",
    "balanceMinor": "1250000"
  }
]

Step 3: Verify recipient account details

Before sending funds, resolve the recipient’s bank account with name enquiry:

curl -X POST "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts/name-enquiry" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bankCode": "058",
    "accountNumber": "0123456789"
  }'

const response = await fetch("https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts/name-enquiry", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    bankCode: "058",
    accountNumber: "0123456789",
  }),
});

const verification = await response.json();
console.log(verification.accountName);

import requests

url = "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts/name-enquiry"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}
payload = {
    "bankCode": "058",
    "accountNumber": "0123456789",
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())

Sample response

{
  "accountNumber": "0123456789",
  "accountName": "ADEWALE ADELEKE",
  "bankCode": "058"
}

Step 4: Initiate an idempotent payout

Execute a payout using a unique Idempotency-Key header. This protects your transaction if a network error occurs:

curl -X POST "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 9b1deb4d-3b7d-4bad-9bdd-2b0d7b3dcb6d" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": 25000,
    "sourceCurrency": "NGN",
    "payoutCurrency": "NGN",
    "bankCode": "058",
    "accountNumber": "0123456789",
    "recipientName": "ADEWALE ADELEKE",
    "narration": "Contractor invoice #402"
  }'

import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";

const response = await fetch("https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Idempotency-Key": randomUUID(),
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    amount: 25000,
    sourceCurrency: "NGN",
    payoutCurrency: "NGN",
    bankCode: "058",
    accountNumber: "0123456789",
    recipientName: "ADEWALE ADELEKE",
    narration: "Contractor invoice #402",
  }),
});

const payout = await response.json();
console.log(payout);

import uuid
import requests

url = "https://api.tabsglobal.co/v1/payouts"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_test_your_secret_key_here",
    "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()),
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}
payload = {
    "amount": 25000,
    "sourceCurrency": "NGN",
    "payoutCurrency": "NGN",
    "bankCode": "058",
    "accountNumber": "0123456789",
    "recipientName": "ADEWALE ADELEKE",
    "narration": "Contractor invoice #402",
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())

Sample response

{
  "id": "7d9c0245-31ba-4f27-a0c3-fba4313f89e2",
  "reference": "PO-AB12CD34",
  "type": "PAYOUT",
  "status": "PROCESSING",
  "currency": "NGN",
  "amountMinor": "2500000",
  "ngnAmountMinor": "2500000",
  "recipient": "ADEWALE ADELEKE",
  "metadata": {
    "railReference": "NIP-9948102941",
    "provider": "embedly"
  },
  "createdAt": "2026-09-21T02:00:00.000Z",
  "completedAt": null,
  "payout": {
    "rate": 1,
    "transferFeeMinor": "0",
    "totalDebitMinor": "2500000",
    "recipientAddress": null,
    "bank": null,
    "accountNumber": "0123456789",
    "routing": null,
    "sortCode": null,
    "iban": null,
    "bic": null,
    "narration": "Contractor invoice #402",
    "eta": "Instant",
    "railReference": "NIP-9948102941"
  }
}

Next steps

Now that you have executed your first transfer:

Set up webhooks

Listen for payout.completed and deposit.credited events in real-time.

Explore the API reference

Browse all endpoints, request parameters, and response structures.

Getting Started

Collections & Accounts

Webhooks

Wallets API

Payouts API

Foreign Exchange (FX) API

Beneficiaries API

Transactions API

Developer Quickstart

Prerequisites

Step 1: Generate an API key

Step 2: Check your wallet balances

Sample response

Step 3: Verify recipient account details

Sample response

Step 4: Initiate an idempotent payout

Sample response

Next steps

Set up webhooks

Explore the API reference

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Generate an API key

​Step 2: Check your wallet balances

​Sample response

​Step 3: Verify recipient account details

​Sample response

​Step 4: Initiate an idempotent payout

​Sample response

​Next steps

Set up webhooks

Explore the API reference

Prerequisites

Step 1: Generate an API key

Step 2: Check your wallet balances

Sample response

Step 3: Verify recipient account details

Sample response

Step 4: Initiate an idempotent payout

Sample response

Next steps