Authentication

Every endpoint in the API Reference is authenticated with your business API key, sent as an x-api-key header.

API key authentication

Every request to a business-facing endpoint (quotes, deposits, transactions, wallet, banks, payouts) must include:

x-api-key: live_9f2a1c7e4b8d3f0a6c5e2b9d1a7f4c8e0b3d6a9c2f5e8b1d

Keys are prefixed live_ in production and test_ in staging, so you can tell environments apart at a glance.

curl https://api.tradevu.co/v1/api/balance/NGN \
  -H "x-api-key: live_9f2a1c7e4b8d3f0a6c5e2b9d1a7f4c8e0b3d6a9c2f5e8b1d"

const res = await fetch("https://api.tradevu.co/v1/api/balance/NGN", {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.TRADEVU_API_KEY },
});

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.tradevu.co/v1/api/balance/NGN",
    headers={"x-api-key": TRADEVU_API_KEY},
)

If the header is missing, you’ll get a 403 with api key header is needed to access this resources. If the key is invalid, you’ll get a 401 with Invalid api key. If your business hasn’t been granted API access yet, you’ll get a 401 with You are not allowed to access this resource, contact support for more info [email protected].

Treat your API key like a password. It authenticates as your business and can move funds. Never expose it in frontend code, mobile apps, or public repositories.

Generating a key

Generate and manage your API key from the Tradevu Dashboard — key creation, rotation, and revocation are dashboard-only actions and aren’t exposed through the API.

A business can only hold one active API key at a time. To rotate, revoke the existing key from the dashboard first, then generate a new one. There’s a brief window where no key is valid, so coordinate rotation during low-traffic periods.

Revoking a key immediately invalidates it — any in-flight requests using it will start failing with 401 Invalid api key. Generate a new key and roll it out to your systems before revoking the old one if you need zero downtime.

Response envelope

Most successful responses share this shape:

{
  "message": "Human readable summary",
  "data": { /* endpoint-specific payload */ },
  "error": false
}

A handful of endpoints (PUT /api/set-webhook, GET /api/bank-list/:fromCurrency/:toCurrency, POST /api/simulate-funding, POST /api/payout) return a lighter shape without the error field, and in some cases without data. The API Reference shows the exact response schema per endpoint — check it rather than assuming the envelope above.

Errors are covered in detail on the Errors page.

Get Started

Guides

API key authentication

Generating a key

Response envelope

​API key authentication

​Generating a key

​Response envelope

API key authentication

Generating a key

Response envelope