Environments
BillerAPI provides separate sandbox and production environments so you can develop and test without affecting real data.
Sandbox vs Production
Every BillerAPI account has access to both environments. Sandbox uses test data and test billers — no real credentials are ever processed. Production connects to real biller sites and returns real bill data.
| Sandbox | Production | |
|---|---|---|
| Base URL | https://sandbox.api.billerapi.com | https://api.billerapi.com |
| API key prefix | bb_test_ | bb_live_ |
| Billers | 5 test billers (see below) | Real biller integrations |
| Data | Synthetic test data, deterministic responses | Real bills and account data |
| Rate limits | Same as production | 100 req/min (most endpoints) |
| Webhooks | Sandbox events only | Real-time events |
There is also a staging environment at https://api.staging.billerapi.com used for internal testing. This is not available to external developers.
Switching Environments
To move from sandbox to production, change two things: the base URL and the API keys. All endpoint paths, request bodies, and response shapes stay the same.
Environment configuration
// Sandbox
const BASE_URL = 'https://sandbox.api.billerapi.com';
const CLIENT_SECRET = 'bb_test_xxxxxxxx';
// Production — just swap these two values
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.billerapi.com';
const CLIENT_SECRET = 'bb_live_xxxxxxxx';Sandbox Test Billers
The sandbox environment includes five test billers that simulate different biller types. These are always available and return deterministic test data.
| Biller ID | Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| test_electric_company | Test Electric Company | Utility |
| test_credit_card | Test Credit Card | Financial |
| test_internet_provider | Test Internet Provider | Telecom |
| test_insurance_company | Test Insurance Co. | Insurance |
| test_water_utility | Test Water Utility | Utility |
Use account number 4242424242 with any username and password to simulate a successful account link. See the Getting Started guide for the full list of test account numbers and scenarios.
Related
- Go Live Guide — checklist for moving from sandbox to production
- Getting Started — first integration walkthrough using sandbox
- Authentication — API key management and security