Comparison
Sandbox and production have full feature parity. The only differences are the URL, the data they hold, performance, and who is responsible for what. Each Program gets a dedicated subdomain keyed by itsprogramRef, a unique identifier issued by Paylead at onboarding. Substitute it into the URLs below; the rest of the host is fixed per environment.
| Property | Sandbox | Production |
|---|---|---|
| Base URL | ||
| Data | Test entities you create yourself, no PII | Real Consumers, real transactions |
| Persistence | Permanent (you manage your own cleanup) | Permanent |
| Access | Granted on signup | Granted after sandbox validation |
| Feature set | 100% of production features | Same |
| Webhook delivery | Sandbox signing secret | Production signing secret |
| Pricing | Free | Per contract |
Sandbox and production hold separate datasets. IDs created in sandbox never appear in production and the reverse.
Pick the right environment
| You are… | Use |
|---|---|
| Building the first integration | Sandbox |
| Running automated tests in CI | Sandbox |
| Demoing to internal stakeholders | Sandbox |
| Validating PSD2 transaction ingestion | Sandbox first, then Production |
| Serving real Consumers | Production (staged, see below) |
Production rollout phases
Going live in production is staged. Paylead validates your integration at each phase before opening the next:| Phase | Audience | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha | A restricted, controlled cohort (typically your own test users and Paylead team) | Paylead validates the end-to-end integration against production plumbing. |
| Beta | A limited group of real Consumers | Pilot run at small scale before full availability. |
| General availability | All your Consumers | Full production rollout. |
Switching environments in code
The only differences between environments are the base URL and the token. Keep both behind environment variables.Code examples coming soon. The Paylead API (v2) is still under construction. Request and response examples for this section will be published once the contract is finalized. In the meantime, contact your Paylead account manager for early-access details.
Get sandbox access
Paylead grants sandbox access when you sign up for an account in Shift. If you are not yet a Program Manager, contact your Paylead representative.Promote to production
Complete sandbox integration
Implement the Paylead API endpoints you need against the sandbox. Cover every endpoint you will call in production.
Run the validation suite
Paylead provides an integration checklist. Execute end-to-end scenarios: Consumer enrollment, transaction ingestion, Reward attribution, Ventilation export.
Request production review
Open a ticket in Shift or contact your Paylead representative with your integration summary. Paylead reviews logs and edge cases.
Your services run against
api-{programRef}.paylead.eu with production tokens. Sandbox tokens stay in CI and staging.Sandbox limits
The sandbox is shaped for development, not load testing.- Data is not reset automatically; you manage your own cleanup.
- Per-Program rate limits apply. See Rate limits and confirm your thresholds with your account manager.
- Feature parity with production is complete. Anything you can do in production, you can do in sandbox.
What’s next
Consumer lifecycle
Enroll Consumers and manage their accounts.
Share transactions
How a transaction becomes an attributed Reward.
Rate limits
Sandbox vs production throughput.