Sample - Plaid API
POST/sandbox/payment/simulate

Simulate a Sandbox payment event

Triggers a simulated payment status change in the Sandbox environment. Supply payment_id, webhook, and status to set the payment state and receive the corresponding payment event webhook.

  • RetriesRetries up to 2×, 500ms backoff, 30s timeout.

5 body fields

Sandbox payment simulation request containing the payment identifier, webhook destination, and target status.

client_idstringoptional
Your Plaid API `client_id`. The `client_id` is required and may be provided either in the `PLAID-CLIENT-ID` header or as part of a request body.
secretstringoptional
Your Plaid API `secret`. The `secret` is required and may be provided either in the `PLAID-SECRET` header or as part of a request body.
payment_idstringrequired
The ID of the payment to simulate
webhookstringrequired
The webhook url to use for any payment events triggered by the simulated status change.
statusstringrequired
The status to set the payment to. Valid statuses include: - `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_FAILED` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED` - `PAYMENT_STATUS_REJECTED`

2 status codes
200Returns the request identifier and the payment's previous and newly simulated statuses.
request_idstringrequired
A unique identifier for the request, which can be used for troubleshooting. This identifier, like all Plaid identifiers, is case sensitive.
old_statusstringrequired
The status of the payment. Core lifecycle statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INPUT_NEEDED`**: Transitional. The payment is awaiting user input to continue processing. It may re-enter this state if additional input is required. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_AUTHORISING`:** Transitional. The payment is being authorised by the financial institution. It will automatically move on once authorisation completes. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED`:** The payment has been authorised and accepted by the financial institution. In many EU markets, `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED` is not supported, and a payment will remain in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` until the funds settle, making this a terminal success state in those cases. A payment in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` should be treated as a successfully submitted payment; do not gate downstream processing on reaching `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED`. For a full explanation of payment statuses and how to handle each, see the [Payment Status guide](https://plaid.com/docs/payment-initiation/payment-status/). **`PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED`: Terminal.** The funds have left the payer's account and the payment is en route to settlement. Note that this status does not confirm that funds have arrived in the recipient's account; do not use it as proof of fund receipt. Support is more common in the UK than in the EU; where unsupported, a successful payment remains in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` before settling. When using Plaid Virtual Accounts, `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED` is not terminal -- the payment will continue to `PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED` once funds are available. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED`: Terminal.** The funds are available in the recipient's account. Only available to customers using [Plaid Virtual Accounts](https://plaid.com/docs/payment-initiation/virtual-accounts/). Failure statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS`: Terminal.** The payment failed due to insufficient funds. No further retries will succeed until the payer's balance is replenished. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_FAILED`: Terminal (retryable).** The payment could not be initiated due to a system error or outage. Retry once the root cause is resolved. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_BLOCKED`: Terminal (retryable).** The payment was blocked by Plaid (e.g., flagged as risky). Resolve any compliance or risk issues and retry. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_REJECTED`: Terminal.** The payment was rejected by the financial institution. No automatic retry is possible. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED`: Terminal.** The end user cancelled the payment during authorisation. Standing-order statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_ESTABLISHED`: Terminal.** A recurring/standing order has been successfully created. Deprecated (to be removed in a future release): `PAYMENT_STATUS_UNKNOWN`: The payment status is unknown. `PAYMENT_STATUS_PROCESSING`: The payment is currently being processed. `PAYMENT_STATUS_COMPLETED`: Indicates that the standing order has been successfully established.
Allowed:PAYMENT_STATUS_INPUT_NEEDEDPAYMENT_STATUS_PROCESSINGPAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATEDPAYMENT_STATUS_COMPLETEDPAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDSPAYMENT_STATUS_FAILEDPAYMENT_STATUS_BLOCKEDPAYMENT_STATUS_UNKNOWNPAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTEDPAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLEDPAYMENT_STATUS_AUTHORISINGPAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED
new_statusstringrequired
The status of the payment. Core lifecycle statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INPUT_NEEDED`**: Transitional. The payment is awaiting user input to continue processing. It may re-enter this state if additional input is required. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_AUTHORISING`:** Transitional. The payment is being authorised by the financial institution. It will automatically move on once authorisation completes. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED`:** The payment has been authorised and accepted by the financial institution. In many EU markets, `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED` is not supported, and a payment will remain in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` until the funds settle, making this a terminal success state in those cases. A payment in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` should be treated as a successfully submitted payment; do not gate downstream processing on reaching `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED`. For a full explanation of payment statuses and how to handle each, see the [Payment Status guide](https://plaid.com/docs/payment-initiation/payment-status/). **`PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED`: Terminal.** The funds have left the payer's account and the payment is en route to settlement. Note that this status does not confirm that funds have arrived in the recipient's account; do not use it as proof of fund receipt. Support is more common in the UK than in the EU; where unsupported, a successful payment remains in `PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED` before settling. When using Plaid Virtual Accounts, `PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED` is not terminal -- the payment will continue to `PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED` once funds are available. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED`: Terminal.** The funds are available in the recipient's account. Only available to customers using [Plaid Virtual Accounts](https://plaid.com/docs/payment-initiation/virtual-accounts/). Failure statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS`: Terminal.** The payment failed due to insufficient funds. No further retries will succeed until the payer's balance is replenished. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_FAILED`: Terminal (retryable).** The payment could not be initiated due to a system error or outage. Retry once the root cause is resolved. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_BLOCKED`: Terminal (retryable).** The payment was blocked by Plaid (e.g., flagged as risky). Resolve any compliance or risk issues and retry. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_REJECTED`: Terminal.** The payment was rejected by the financial institution. No automatic retry is possible. **`PAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED`: Terminal.** The end user cancelled the payment during authorisation. Standing-order statuses: **`PAYMENT_STATUS_ESTABLISHED`: Terminal.** A recurring/standing order has been successfully created. Deprecated (to be removed in a future release): `PAYMENT_STATUS_UNKNOWN`: The payment status is unknown. `PAYMENT_STATUS_PROCESSING`: The payment is currently being processed. `PAYMENT_STATUS_COMPLETED`: Indicates that the standing order has been successfully established.
Allowed:PAYMENT_STATUS_INPUT_NEEDEDPAYMENT_STATUS_PROCESSINGPAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATEDPAYMENT_STATUS_COMPLETEDPAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDSPAYMENT_STATUS_FAILEDPAYMENT_STATUS_BLOCKEDPAYMENT_STATUS_UNKNOWNPAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTEDPAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLEDPAYMENT_STATUS_AUTHORISINGPAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED
defaultError response.
error_typestringrequired
A broad categorization of the error. Safe for programmatic use.
Allowed:INVALID_REQUESTINVALID_RESULTINVALID_INPUTINSTITUTION_ERRORRATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDEDAPI_ERRORITEM_ERRORASSET_REPORT_ERRORBASE_REPORT_ERRORRECAPTCHA_ERROROAUTH_ERRORPAYMENT_ERROR
error_codestringrequired
The particular error code. Safe for programmatic use.
error_code_reasonstringoptional
The specific reason for the error code. Currently, reasons are only supported for OAuth-based item errors; `null` will be returned otherwise. Safe for programmatic use. Possible values: `OAUTH_INVALID_TOKEN`: The user's OAuth connection to this institution has been invalidated. `OAUTH_CONSENT_EXPIRED`: The user's access consent for this OAuth connection to this institution has expired. `OAUTH_USER_REVOKED`: The user's OAuth connection to this institution is invalid because the user revoked their connection.
error_messagestringrequired
A developer-friendly representation of the error code. This may change over time and is not safe for programmatic use.
display_messagestringrequired
A user-friendly representation of the error code. `null` if the error is not related to user action. This may change over time and is not safe for programmatic use.
request_idstringoptional
A unique ID identifying the request, to be used for troubleshooting purposes. This field will be omitted in errors provided by webhooks.
causesarrayoptional
In this product, a request can pertain to more than one Item. If an error is returned for such a request, `causes` will return an array of errors containing a breakdown of these errors on the individual Item level, if any can be identified. `causes` will be provided for the `error_type` `ASSET_REPORT_ERROR` or `CHECK_REPORT_ERROR`. `causes` will also not be populated inside an error nested within a `warning` object.
statusintegeroptional
The HTTP status code associated with the error. This will only be returned in the response body when the error information is provided via a webhook.
documentation_urlstringoptional
The URL of a Plaid documentation page with more information about the error
suggested_actionstringoptional
Suggested steps for resolving the error
required_account_subtypesarray<string>optional
A list of the account subtypes that were requested via the `account_filters` parameter in `/link/token/create`. Currently only populated for `NO_ACCOUNTS` errors from Items with `investments_auth` as an enabled product.
provided_account_subtypesarray<string>optional
A list of the account subtypes that were extracted but did not match the requested subtypes via the `account_filters` parameter in `/link/token/create`. Currently only populated for `NO_ACCOUNTS` errors from Items with `investments_auth` as an enabled product.

Error handling

payment_id, webhook, and status are required. status must be one of PAYMENT_STATUS_INITIATED, PAYMENT_STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS, PAYMENT_STATUS_FAILED, PAYMENT_STATUS_EXECUTED, PAYMENT_STATUS_SETTLED, PAYMENT_STATUS_CANCELLED, or PAYMENT_STATUS_REJECTED.