Getting Started

Set up Atlar account

The first step is to set up an account using our dashboard. Upon account creation, you get the option to add testbank as well as test data. It is recommended to do so in order to have some data to work with.

Getting the Access Keys

You can now navigate into Settings > Roles. Roles specify the scope of features and functionality that a user is able to access. For this getting started guide, create a new role with full access to Accounts, Counterparties, External Accounts, Transfers, Mandates & Direct debits.

Note that if you would try to access/modify some resource without the right permission on the role, you will get a 403 Forbidden response.

With the role created, you can head to Settings > Users and create a new 'Programmatic Access' user. Once created, the ACCESS_KEY and SECRET will be displayed. Make sure to store the secret securely. Furthermore, it is only shown here at this point. Should you lose it, you can delete the user and create a new one.

Create a Counterparty with an External Account

Counterparties must be created prior to initiating any Credit Transfers or Direct Debits. You can do this either in the dashboard or via our /v1/counterparties API endpoint.

curl 'https://api.atlar.com/v1/counterparties' \
  -u 'ACCESS_KEY:SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "Customer #312",
    "externalAccounts": [{
      "identifiers": [{
        "holderName": "Richard Wagner",
        "market": "DE",
        "number": "DE35500105179577423866",
        "type": "IBAN"
      }]
    }]
  }'

Save the ID of the created externalAccount since this will be used when making your first payment. The ID can also be found by navigating into the counterparty details in the dashboard.

Retrieve the ID of the initiating Account

In order to make a Credit Transfer or collect a Direct Debit via our API on one of your configured bank accounts, we need to retrieve the ID of the account. To do that, you can either navigate into the account details in the dashboard or query our /v1/accounts endpoint.

curl 'https://api.atlar.com/v1/accounts' \
  -u 'ACCESS_KEY:SECRET'

Making your first Credit Transfer

After you’ve configured the Roles & Users, set up Counterparties and retrieved the IDs, you’re ready to create your first Credit Transfer. To create a Transfer, you’ll need to specify the sourceAccountId, identifying one of your bank accounts, and the destinationExternalAccountId, identifying the account of the counterparty you’re making the payment to.

To make a SEPA Credit Transfer curl:

curl 'https://api.atlar.com/v1/credit-transfers' \
  -u 'ACCESS_KEY:SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "amount": {
        "currency": "EUR",
        "value": 2500
    },
    "date": "yyyy-mm-dd",
    "paymentSchemeType": "SCT",
    "destinationExternalAccountId": "<external account id>",
    "sourceAccountId": "<source account id>",
    "remittanceInformation": {
      "value": "payout-12345",
      "type": "UNSTRUCTURED"
    }
  }'

Making your first Direct Debit Collection

After you’ve configured the Roles & Users, set up Counterparties and retrieved the IDs, you need to set up a direct debit mandate via the API or Dashboard in order to start collecting Direct Debits. Note that a legal mandate has to be signed with the customer first.

To create a direct debit, you’ll need to specify the destinationAccountId, identifying one of your bank accounts, and the sourceExternalAccountId, identifying the account of the counterparty that you’re collecting money from.

To set up a mandate, curl:

curl 'https://api.atlar.com/v1/mandates' \
  -u 'ACCESS_KEY:SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "active": false,
    "creditorReference": "creditor_id_123",
    "directDebitSchemeType": "SDD_CORE",
    "externalAccountId": "<external account ID>",
    "mandateReference": "mandate_id_123",
    "signatureDate": "yyyy-mm-dd"
  }'

Now that you’ve successfully set up the direct debit mandate, you are ready to make your first Direct Debit collection.

To make a SEPA Direct Debit, curl:

curl 'https://api.atlar.com/v1/direct-debits' \
  -u 'ACCESS_KEY:SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "amount": {
      "currency": "EUR",
      "value": 2500
    },
    "date": "yyyy-mm-dd",
    "directDebitSchemeType": "SDD_CORE",
    "destinationAccountId": "<destination account ID>",
    "sourceExternalAccountId": "<external account ID>",
    "remittanceInformation": {
      "value": "Direct-Debit",
      "type": "UNSTRUCTURED"
    }
  }'

Staying up to date with a payment

You can stay up to date with the payment by receiving webhooks. You can set up webhooks via our /v1/webhooks endpoint.

What’s next?

Create additional roles and invite your colleagues to the platform. To further configure your account, you can create approval chains to suit your payment needs in Settings. For example, you can specify a threshold below which credit transfers and direct debits are automatically approved or require the approval of a certain user.