Create payment quote
const url = 'https://api.elephants.inc/api/v1/payments/preflight';const options = { method: 'POST', headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}, body: '{"deducting":{"amount":"example","currency":"example"},"deducting_amount":"example","internal_notes":"example","landing":{"amount":"example","currency":"example"},"landing_amount":"example","payment_contact_id":"2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0","source_currency":"example","tag":"vendor"}'};
try { const response = await fetch(url, options); const data = await response.json(); console.log(data);} catch (error) { console.error(error);}curl --request POST \ --url https://api.elephants.inc/api/v1/payments/preflight \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \ --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data '{ "deducting": { "amount": "example", "currency": "example" }, "deducting_amount": "example", "internal_notes": "example", "landing": { "amount": "example", "currency": "example" }, "landing_amount": "example", "payment_contact_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "source_currency": "example", "tag": "vendor" }'Create a payment quote for a contact. This is the first step in making a payment.
Provide the payment contact ID and either a deducting_amount (how much to send from your account) or landing_amount (how much the recipient will receive). The system will calculate fees and return a quote that can be used to execute the payment.
Fiat payments deduct from the USD balance by default; pass source_currency (for example “EUR”) to spend another held balance, where a corridor to the destination is open. A corridor is a supported route from a source currency to a payout currency and country.
The quote expires at its expires_at; execute the payment with the
quote_id before then.
A contact paid by Ele ID has nothing to quote and is refused with
not_quotable; create the payment directly with createPayment.
Authorizations
Section titled “Authorizations”Request Bodyrequired
Section titled “Request Bodyrequired”Payment preflight parameters
object
Coupled amount+currency to deduct from your account (preferred over deducting_amount)
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
Amount to deduct from your account (mutually exclusive with landing_amount)
Optional internal notes for this payment
Coupled amount+currency the recipient will receive (preferred over landing_amount)
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
Amount recipient will receive (mutually exclusive with deducting_amount)
ID of the payment contact to send to
Currency of the balance to deduct from (e.g. “EUR”). Defaults to USD. Non-USD sources require an open corridor: a supported route from that currency to the destination’s currency and country. When a coupled deducting amount is given, its currency must agree.
Optional category tag for the payment
Responses
Section titled “Responses”Payment quote created
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
The points-cap band split behind a merged booster component: each band’s own rate and the slice of the amount it billed. Null on every other component.
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
The payout rail this quote was priced on — swift or local — which is what the partner fee component reflects. Null only on quotes priced before the rail was recorded.
The slice of points the plan’s monthly allowance still reaches — the receipt’s “included with your plan” figure, estimated: the slice of the award the monthly allowance would cover, the same slice the fee’s within-allowance rate is quoted on. Where no monthly cap is configured the whole estimate reads as allowance. Null when the quote earns no points.
The estimated slice of points past the monthly allowance — the slice the fee’s overage rate is quoted on, so the pair reproduces the fee quoted beside it. Non-zero exactly when a boosted estimate straddles or passes the ceiling — an unboosted one stops there and reads “0”. points_allowance + points_overage equals the estimate. Null when the quote earns no points.
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
The points-cap band split behind a merged booster component: each band’s own rate and the slice of the amount it billed. Null on every other component.
object
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
The slice of points the plan’s monthly allowance still reaches — the receipt’s “included with your plan” figure, estimated: the slice of the award the monthly allowance would cover, the same slice the fee’s within-allowance rate is quoted on. Where no monthly cap is configured the whole estimate reads as allowance. Null when the quote earns no points.
The estimated slice of points past the monthly allowance — the slice the fee’s overage rate is quoted on, so the pair reproduces the fee quoted beside it. Non-zero exactly when a boosted estimate straddles or passes the ceiling — an unboosted one stops there and reads “0”. points_allowance + points_overage equals the estimate. Null when the quote earns no points.
object
Decimal string at the currency’s precision, e.g. “10.50”
Three-letter currency code, e.g. “USD”
object
Example
{ "fee_components": [ { "bands": [ { "band": "within_allowance" } ], "code": "partner_fee" } ], "lock_side": "deducting", "payment_rail": "local", "points_cap_outcome": "not_capped", "rail": "fiat"}Invalid request parameters or body
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}Missing, invalid, or expired bearer token
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}Too many requests
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
object
Example
{ "error": { "type": "rate_limited" }}Headers
Section titled “Headers”How long to wait before retrying, expressed as delay seconds or an HTTP date
Unexpected server error
Error response. error.type is the machine-readable code — branch on it, never on error.message or the HTTP status. error.message is display-grade prose safe to render to a user; when a failure has no specific copy it falls back to a generic sentence, so it never carries a machine code. Unrecognised failures collapse to the generic unprocessable_entity code, so treat type as an open enum: match the codes you handle and fall through to a default branch for the rest.
object
object
Structured error details (e.g. validation errors), when present
Display-grade message, safe to render verbatim. Never a machine code — do not branch on it.
Correlation ID for this request (also in the x-request-id response header). Include it when contacting support.
object
Method used to deliver this challenge
Challenge expiry
Sudo session ID returned to completeStepUp
3-digit number-matching code. This response is the ORIGINATING surface: display the code; a user approving from the Ele mobile app is asked to enter it. Null only for challenges minted before match codes existed.
Available verification methods
The step-up authentication this challenge was minted from — a DIFFERENT id from id (the sudo session). completeStepUp takes id as sudo_session_id; requestStepUpFallback takes this one.
object
object
Machine-readable error code from a stable vocabulary (open enum — handle unknown values)
Example generated
{ "error": { "details": "example", "message": "example", "request_id": "example", "step_up": { "delivery": "example", "expires_at": "2026-04-15T12:00:00Z", "id": "example", "match_code": "example", "methods": [ "example" ], "step_up_authentication_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "webauthn": { "allow_credentials": [ { "id": "example", "transports": [ "example" ], "type": "example" } ], "challenge": "example", "challenge_id": "2489E9AD-2EE2-8E00-8EC9-32D5F69181C0", "rp_id": "example", "timeout": 1, "user_verification": "example" } }, "type": "example" }}