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## Introduction

This quickstart walks you through authenticating with the Reefpay API and processing your first test transaction. It is intended for developers who are ready to start integrating.

### Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* A Reefpay account with sandbox access
* Your API key
* A tool for making HTTP requests (curl, Postman, or equivalent)


### What you will accomplish

By the end of this quickstart you will have:

* Processed a test credit card sale
* Understood the structure of a transaction response


## Process a test sale

With your API key, send a credit card sale to `POST /v1/transactions`. The example below charges 19.99 US dollars (USD) to a test Visa card.

Replace `YOUR-API-KEY` with the value for your API key.
Amounts are in the smallest currency unit (cents for USD), so `20000` equals 200.00 US dollars (USD).

### Understanding the response example

A successful sale returns a `200 OK` with the transaction details.

* `approved`: `true` confirms the payment was approved.
* `transaction_id`: The unique identifier for the transaction.
* `response_code`: `00` indicates success.
* `reference_id`: The reference ID for the transaction.
* `auth_code`: The authorization code for the transaction.
* `response_description`: The description of the response.
* `requested_amount`: The amount requested for the transaction.
* `card_holder_name`: The name of the card holder.
* `type`: The type of transaction.
* `batch_id`: The settlement batch this transaction belongs to.


## Next steps

You used your API key to authenticate and processed your first test sale. Here are some next steps to continue your integration:

* [About the transaction lifecycle](/docs/concepts/transactions/transaction-lifecycle)
* [Processing a payment with a stored token](/docs/how-tos/process-payments/process-payment-with-token)