Using the Formance API, you have the ability to conveniently transfer funds between your accounts or bank accounts on the associated payment service provider using transfer initiations. This feature allows you to easily manage your finances and ensure that your funds are where you need them to be. Currently, our system supports two types of fund transfers. The first type is an INTERNAL transfer, which allows you to move funds between your accounts within our platform. This is useful if you have multiple accounts and want to consolidate your funds or allocate them to different purposes. The second type is a PAYOUT, which enables you to transfer funds from your internal account to an external account. This is beneficial if you need to pay external vendors or suppliers or simply want to withdraw funds to your personal bank account. A transfer initiation consists of several stages:
  • Creation: In this stage, you create a transfer initiation that will be held in a pending state until it is approved.
  • Approval: During this stage, you have the option to change the status of the transfer initiation to either VALIDATED or REJECTED. If the transfer initiation is approved, it will be executed immediately. On the other hand, if it is rejected, it will not be executed.
  • Execution: In the execution stage, the transfer initiation is carried out, and the designated payments service provider is contacted to facilitate the movement of funds between accounts or bank accounts, depending on the type of transfer initiation.
It is important to follow these stages to ensure a smooth and efficient transfer process.

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Listing Transfer Initiations

You can list all transfer initiations by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation list
If there are some transfer initiations, you will see the following: 
ID                                         | CreatedAt            | UpdatedAt            | Description | Source Account ID     | Destination Account ID | ConnectorID   | Type     | Amount | Asset | Status                 | Error
<Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID> | 2019-05-15T14:00:00Z | 2019-05-15T14:00:00Z | description | <Formance Account ID> | <Formance Account ID>  | <ConnectorID> | TRANSFER | 300    | EUR/2 | WAITING_FOR_VALIDATION |

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Viewing a Transfer Initiation details

You can view a transfer initiation details by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation get <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>
If the transfer initiation exists, you will see the following: 
# Information
ID                   | <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>
CreatedAt            | 2019-05-15T14:00:00Z
UpdatedAt            | 2019-05-15T14:00:00Z
Description          | description
SourceAccountID      | <Formance Account ID>
DestinationAccountID | <Formance Account ID>
ConnectorID          | <ConnectorID>
Type                 | TRANSFER
Amount               | 300
Asset                | EUR/2
Status               | WAITING_FOR_VALIDATION
Error                |

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Creating a Transfer Initiation

You can create a transfer initiation by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation create transfer_initiation.json
With transfer_initiation.json containing: 
{
    "reference": "ref1",
    "sourceAccountID": "<Internal Account ID>",
    "destinationAccountID": "<Internal Account ID>" ,
    "description": "description",
    "provider": "ProviderName",
    "connectorID": "<ConnectorID>",
    "type": "TRANSFER",
    "amount": 300,
    "asset": "EUR/2",
    "validated": false
}
The transfer initiation request must contain the following fields:
  • reference: A unique reference for the transfer initiation. This reference is essential to ensure that the transfer initiation is not duplicated.
  • sourceAccountID: The ID of the account from which the funds will be taken. It is crucial to provide the correct ID, which can be found in the account details. This ID is in the internal formance account format.
  • destinationAccountID: The ID of the account to which the funds will be sent. Similar to the sourceAccountID, the correct internal formance account ID should be provided. It can be found in the account details.
  • description: A description of the transfer initiation. This field allows you to provide additional information about the purpose or nature of the transfer.
  • provider or ConnectorID: You have to specify either the name of the payment service provider or the connector ID. If you specify the name of the payment service provider, the connector ID will be automatically retrieved from the database, but it will fail with a validation error if you have more than one connector for this payment service provider.
  • type: The type of transfer initiation. This field determines whether the transfer is a TRANSFER or a PAYOUT. If it is a TRANSFER type, the funds will be moved between INTERNAL accounts. Both the source and destination accounts must be INTERNAL accounts. If it is a PAYOUT type, the funds will be moved from an INTERNAL account to an EXTERNAL account. In this case, the source account should be an INTERNAL account, and the destination account should be an EXTERNAL account.
  • amount: The amount of funds to be transferred. Please specify the exact amount to ensure accurate and successful transfer.
  • asset: The asset of the funds to be transferred.
  • validated: A boolean value. If set to true, the transfer initiation will be created in a VALIDATED state, indicating that it is ready for execution. If set to false, the transfer initiation will be in a pending state and will require approval before it can be executed.
Please ensure that all the required fields are accurately filled out in the transfer initiation request. If the transfer initiation is successfully created, you will see the following: 
SUCCESS  Transfer Initiation created with ID: <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>

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Deleting a Transfer Initiation

You can delete a transfer initiation by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation delete <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>
If the transfer initiation is successfully deleted, you will see the following: 
SUCCESS  Transfer Initiation <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID> Deleted!
Please take note that it is only possible to delete transfer requests that are currently in a pending state. This means that transfer requests that have already been processed or are in any other state cannot be deleted.

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Approving a Transfer Initiation

If the validated field is set to false, the transfer initiation will be in a pending state and will require approval before it can be executed. You can approve a transfer initiation by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation update_status <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID> <Status>
With <Status> being either VALIDATED or REJECTED. If the transfer initiation is successfully approved or rejected, you will see the following: 
SUCCESS Update Transfer Initiation status with ID: <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID> and status <Status>
When you approve the transfer initiation, the payment service provider that is associated with it is contacted and the TRANSFER or PAYOUT is initiated. This is an important step in the process as it ensures that the funds are properly transferred to the intended recipient. In case there is an error during the creation process, you will receive a direct notification with the specific error when you approve it. This helps to quickly identify and resolve any issues that may arise. On the other hand, if there are no errors, the transfer initiation will be marked as PROCESSING. This means that the transfer is currently being processed and the payment service provider is working on completing the transaction. It is important to note that this process may take some time depending on various factors such as the payment service provider’s internal procedures. Once the transfer is successfully processed, it will be updated to PROCESSED. This indicates that the transfer has been completed successfully and the funds have been successfully transferred to the recipient. However, there may be cases where the transfer fails to process successfully. In such cases, the transfer initiation will be marked as FAILED. This means that the transfer was not successfully completed and further actions may be required to address the issue. It is important to closely monitor the status of the transfer initiation to ensure that any issues are promptly addressed and resolved. Note that if the transfer initiation is in a FAILED state, you will be able to see the error message that was returned by the payment service provider by fetching the details of the transfer initiation. You will be able to retry a FAILED transfer initiation (c.f. below).

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Retrying a Transfer Initiation

If the transfer initiation is in a FAILED state, you can retry it by using FCTL and the following command: 
fctl payments transfer_initiation retry <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>
If the transfer initiation is successfully retried, you will see the following: 
SUCCESS  Retry Transfer Initiation with ID: <Formance Internal Transfer Initiation ID>
Please take note that it is only possible to retry transfer initiation that are currently in a FAILED state.