Errors

Explore our error messages for different scenarios. See the full list of messages here.

When working with our API, you'll encounter five main kinds of errors: authorization errors, validation errors, server errors, Flutterwave errors, and provider errors. Each type of error comes with an appropriate HTTP status code.

All errors share the same basic response format: a status key set to "error", and a message describing the error. There may also be a data object containing more details, for example:

{
    "status": "error",
    "message": "merchant secret key required",
    "data": null
}

Payment errors

Payment errors usually arise when your transaction request doesn't pass compliance checks or encounters processing issues. Explore our error messages:

Validation errors

Validation errors are returned when your request fails one or more validation rules. Examples include not passing required parameters. They come with a 400 Bad Request status code:

{
    "status": "error",
    "message": "Cardno is required",
    "data": null
}

Authorization errors

You'll get authorization errors when you don't provide your secret key to authorize an API call, or when the key provided isn't correct. They come with a 401 Unauthorized status code:

{
    "status": "error",
    "message": "Authorization required",
    "data": null
}

Server errors

Server errors occur when something goes wrong on our end. In such a case, you should retry after a while, or reach out to our support. They come with a 500 Internal Server Error status code.

{
  "error_id": "ERRNO796977608T1620310828419",
  "message": "Application error. Please contact support",
  "code": "app_error"
}

Next steps