Wed, Nov 9 – Update on the API

Posted on November 8, 2011 by VirtaPay
We have some good news to share in today’s blog post. Version 1.0 of our new API (Application Programming Interface) is nearing completion. It looks like it will be ready to go live nearly a month before we expected!
If you’re a new user and haven’t read about how the API could benefit VirtaPay users, you may want to read this blog post first.

What’s left to finish?

There are two main areas that need work before the API goes live:
  1. Our developers have created all of the API functions for Version 1.0 of the API. They are now doing some final testing before it goes live.
  2. We are preparing documentation to explain to programmers how to call the API functions and how to process the results.

What’s planned next?

Once those things are finished, we will make the API available to all VirtaPay usersat no cost for a while. This will give people and companies a chance to build web services that integrate VirtaPay payments. It will also allow us to do further testing and get feedback from API users to make sure the API is operating properly.
We don’t have specific plans for how long the API will be available for free. But, we eventually plan to make the API only available with a paid subscription for an API license. When the API becomes a “paid only” service, our Premium members can earn US$ from this as our exclusive affiliates. Learn more in this post.

Who can use the API?

The API will be available to all VirtaPay users. However, to create a web service that uses the API to integrate VirtaPay payments, you will either need web programming knowledge or you could hire a freelance web programmer.
An early tip for those eager to get started… the API will be a RESTful interface that returns results as JSON objects. You will only need to know what that means if you plan to develop a web service that uses the VirtaPay API.

What can the API be used for?

There are many useful services that VirtaPay users are hoping to see and just waiting for someone to develop using the API. Here are a few ideas: currency exchanges; get-paid-to websites; marketplaces (for both physical and digital items); mobile payment apps; in-game currency, etc.
We recently posted a more detailed answer to the blog. Be sure to have a look at this post if you are interested in developing a web service that integrates VirtaPay payments, or if you’re just interested to see what’s on the horizon as a VirtaPay user.
At this point, we expect Version 1.0 of the API to go live near the beginning of December. We’ll post more details as they become available.