**Last updated**: 11 November 2025 | [**Change log**](/products/card-payments/changelog/)

# Get Started with our Payments API

## Set your headers

Setting your headers is an important part of an API request. The headers represent the meta-data associated with your API request.


```
Authorization: {your_credentials}
Content-Type: application/vnd.worldpay.payments-v5+json
```

| Header | Description |
|  --- | --- |
| `Authorization` | The `Authorization` header is used for authentication and identification of our merchants within Access Worldpay. You **must** use the `Authorization` header for any request you send to our Payments API. |
| `Content-Type` | The `Content-Type` header is required if the request you're sending includes a request body, and if the HTTP method is a `POST` or a `PUT`. |


Note
Replace `{your_credentials}` with your base64-encoded Basic Auth username and password. To get your Access Worldpay credentials contact your Implementation Manager.

## Next Steps

We have reviewed our API Principle approach and consider our resources stable and unlikely to change. This means you can skip querying the root resource for a quicker integration and [POST directly to the API resource](/products/card-payments/v5/authorize-a-payment).

If you do want to discover all available resources, you can expand the below section "Query the root resource" for further steps.

details
summary
Query the root resource
Our APIs guide you by providing you with links to the next available actions.

To discover and start using our APIs you can query the root resource first. This returns the available resources within Access Worldpay.

### Request

GET `https://try.access.worldpay.com/`

Note
No request body is needed for this request.

### Response

You receive all our available API resources in the response.

{
  "_links": {
    "payments:authorize": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/authorizations"
    },
    "service:payments": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments"
    },
    "service:sessions": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/sessions"
    },
    "service:tokens": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/tokens"
    },
    "service:verifications/accounts": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/verifications/accounts"
    },
    "service:verifications/customers/3ds": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/verifications/customers/3ds"
    },
    "service:verifiedTokens": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/verifiedTokens"
    },
    "service:fraudsight": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/fraudsight"
    },
    "service:exemptions": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/exemptions"
    },
    "service:payouts": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payouts"
    },
    "service:payments/alternative/direct": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/alternative/direct"
    },
    "service:payments/alternative/action/paypal": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/alternative/action/paypal"
    },
    "service:payments/alternative/action/ideal": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/alternative/action/ideal"
    },
    "service:payouts/accounts": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payouts/accounts"
    },
    "service:payouts/events": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payouts/events"
    },
    "service:moneyTransfers": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/moneyTransfers"
    },
    "service:foreignExchange": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/foreignExchange"
    },
    "service:accounts/statements": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/accounts/statements"
    },
    "service:accounts/balance": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/accounts/balance"
    },
    "service:accounts/transfer": {
      "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/accounts/transfer"
    },
    "curies": [
      {
        "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/rels/payments/{rel}",
        "name": "payments",
        "templated": true
      }
    ]
  }
}
## Query the payments root resource

Querying the root resource returns the links to the available actions you can perform with our services.

### Request

GET `https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments`

Note
No request body is needed for this request.

### The response

{
    "_links": {
        "resourceTree": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/resourceTree"
        },
        "payments:authorize": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/authorizations"
        },
        "payments:cardOnFileAuthorize": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/authorizations/cardOnFile"
        },
        "payments:migrateRecurringAuthorize": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/authorizations/migrateRecurring"
        },
        "payments:migrateCardOnFileAuthorize": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/authorizations/migrateCardOnFile"
        },
        "payments:migrateCardOnFileSale": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/sales/migrateCardOnFile"
        },
        "payments:events": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/events"
        },
        "payments:recurringMandate": {
            "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/payments/recurringMandates"
        },
        "curies": [
            {
                "name": "payments",
                "href": "https://try.access.worldpay.com/rels/payments/{rel}",
                "templated": true
            }
        ]
    }
}
Note
Use the action links returned to send your request to one of our resources. Do not hardcode the links(URIs).

#### Resources

There are multiple resources returned in your payments root resource request. The table below briefly describe what each resource is used for and advantages of sending a request to the resource.

| Action Link (resources) | Description |
|  --- | --- |
| [`payments:authorize`](/products/card-payments/v5/authorize-a-payment) | When you want to authorize a payment once. |
| [`payments:migrateRecurringAuthorize`](/products/card-payments/v5/authorize-a-payment#migrate-recurring-authorization) | Authorize and make an existing recurring payment agreement compliant with the stored credential mandate. |
| [`payments:migrateCardOnFileAuthorize`](/products/card-payments/v5/authorize-a-payment#migrate-card-on-file-authorization) | Authorize and bringing a new or existing card on file agreements to Access Worldpay. |
| `payments:recurringMandate` | You can't send requests to this resource. This action link is used by our [Verifications API](/products/card-verifications/v5/verifications) to make your [`payments:recurringAuthorize`](/products/card-payments/v5/authorise-a-recurring-payment), [`payments:cardOnFileAuthorize`](/products/card-payments/v5/authorise-a-cardonfile-payment) and [`payments:recurringSale`](/products/card-payments/v5/take-a-sale) requests MIT/ CIT compliant. |


### Link Caching

Note
When you make a request within Access Worldpay, you should always cache the response returned.

[Take a payment](/products/card-payments/v5/authorize-a-payment)