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Sandbox and Production Environments

FinHub provides two distinct environments for development and operation: Sandbox and Production. Understanding the differences, limitations, and best practices for each environment is crucial for successful integration.

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Sandbox Environment

The sandbox environment is designed for development, testing, and integration purposes before moving to production.

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Key Characteristics

  • Isolated System: Completely separate from production data and systems
  • Test Data: Pre-populated with sample data for testing scenarios
  • No Financial Impact: Transactions in sandbox don’t involve real money
  • Unlimited Testing: Test edge cases and error scenarios without consequences
  • Simulated Services: All production services are simulated in sandbox
  • Faster Approval: Quick access for development teams

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Important Limitations

The sandbox environment has several important limitations that integrators should be aware of:
  • Simplified Regulations: Sandbox doesn’t include all regulatory checks and parametrization present in the production environment
  • Limited Verification: Some verification processes are simplified or mocked
  • Status Code Importance: Integrators must carefully check all API status codes, as some failures that would occur in production may be bypassed in sandbox
  • Feature Restrictions: Some features require additional payment or approval to test, including:
    • SMS notification testing
    • Specific document verification methods
    • Advanced fraud detection
    • High-volume transaction testing
    • Certain payment network integrations

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Best Practices for Sandbox Testing

  1. Check All Status Codes: Don’t assume success; verify all API responses thoroughly
  2. Test Edge Cases: Deliberately test failure scenarios and error handling
  3. Verify Webhooks: Ensure your webhook handling works correctly
  4. Document Limitations: Keep track of any sandbox limitations you encounter
  5. Request Special Features: If you need access to restricted features, contact your account manager

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Production Environment

The production environment is for live, real-world operations with actual financial transactions and full regulatory compliance.

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Key Characteristics

  • Real Financial Transactions: Involves actual monetary transfers
  • Regulatory Compliance: Subject to full financial regulations and compliance requirements
  • Enhanced Security: Additional security measures and monitoring
  • SLA Guarantees: Backed by service level agreements
  • 24/7 Support: Full production support available
  • Regulatory Reporting: Transactions subject to regulatory reporting requirements

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Important Considerations

When moving to production, be aware of these important considerations:
  • Stricter Validation: Production enforces stricter validation rules than sandbox
  • Additional Regulatory Checks: More comprehensive regulatory checks are applied
  • Performance Differences: Response times may differ from sandbox due to additional security and compliance checks
  • Rate Limiting: Production environments may have stricter rate limiting
  • Monitoring Requirements: Higher standards for monitoring and alerting
  • Compliance Documentation: Additional compliance documentation may be required

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Best Practices for Production

  1. Gradual Rollout: Implement a phased approach to production deployment
  2. Enhanced Monitoring: Set up comprehensive monitoring and alerting
  3. Regular Compliance Checks: Stay updated with regulatory requirements
  4. Backup Procedures: Implement proper backup and recovery procedures
  5. Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits of your integration

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Transitioning from Sandbox to Production

Moving from sandbox to production involves several important steps to ensure a smooth transition:
  1. Integration Completion: Finish all development and testing in the sandbox environment
  2. Compliance Review: Submit your integration for a compliance review by the FinHub team
  3. Regulatory Assessment: Complete any necessary regulatory requirements based on your client category
  4. Security Audit: Pass a security assessment of your integration
  5. Production Credentials: Receive production API credentials
  6. Gradual Rollout: Implement a phased approach to production deployment
  7. Monitoring Period: Initial period of enhanced monitoring and support
Financial services are highly regulated. Depending on your jurisdiction and the specific services you’re integrating, additional regulatory requirements may apply before going live. Our team will guide you through any necessary compliance processes.

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Feature Comparison

FeatureSandboxProduction
API EndpointsSame structureSame structure
Regulatory ChecksSimplifiedComplete
Transaction ValidationBasicComprehensive
Payment NetworksLimited/SimulatedFull Access
Document VerificationSimplifiedComplete
PerformanceOptimized for testingOptimized for reliability
SupportStandard24/7 Priority
SLANoneFull guarantees
MonitoringBasicAdvanced
CostFree or reducedFull pricing

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Getting Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions about the differences between sandbox and production environments, please contact our support team: For urgent production issues, please use the emergency contact information provided with your production credentials.