Introduction to Installments

The Installments API enables you to offer card-based installment plans to your customers. These installment payments are provided by participating issuing banks to their customers.
An installment payment is one in a series of payments that constitute a single purchase of goods or services. They are billed to a customer in multiple transactions over a period of time agreed to by you and the customer. The agreement enables you to charge a specific amount at specified intervals. For example, a single purchase can be paid over a 3, 6, or 12-month period depending on the plan's set up by the issuing banks. The customer's credit or debit card statement reflect the installment amount instead of the full purchase amount.
Installments services are processed using one of these payment identifiers:
  • Primary Account Number (PAN)
  • Payment Account Reference (PAR)
  • Token
In addition to the customer's payment information, choosing and cancelling an installment plan also requires one of these authorization transaction IDs:
  • Authorization code
  • Network Transaction ID (NTID)

Requirements

You must complete these requirements before you can begin using the Installments API:
Cybersource
 Merchant ID
To sign up for a sandbox account, see the Sandbox Account Sign Up page.
REST API Key
To create a REST API key with an existing organization or merchant account, see the
Creating and Using Security Keys User Guide
. If you sign up for a sandbox account, the sign up process creates a test key.
Getting Started with the REST API
To begin implementing the Installments API, you must set up your system to be REST compliant. When using REST, you must set up secure communications between your client and server using a
JSON Web Token
 or an
HTTP signature
. For more information, see the
Getting Started with the REST API
. If you need to set up your system to be REST compliant, the set up process creates a sandbox account and a test key.