In This Section

In the External Contact API section of the borderless™ documentation you will find:

Definitions for a borderless™ Contact and External Contact
How to Add External Contacts using the External Contact API
How to Manage External Contacts using the External Contact API

Definitions

Term	Definition
Contact	A borderless™ *Contact* is a payment recipient. A Contact can be a borderless™ user or a non-borderless™ user. Every Contact has a unique borderless™ @handle. To learn more about @handles please visit @Handle Overview.
External Contact	A borderless™ *External Contact* is a Contact that is NOT a borderless™ user and does NOT have a borderless™ Account of their own.

Adding External Contacts

Use the borderless™ External Contacts API to add external Contacts via an HTTP POST request. Follow these steps to start adding External Contacts via the External Contact API.

Step 1: Create a borderless™ Account and Get Authenticated

For more information on getting started please visit Getting Started or create a borderless™ Business Account by Creating a borderless™ Account Here.

Step 2: Confirm Data Requirements

In order to add an External Contact you must first confirm what data parameters are required in order to successfully make payments to that Contact. The data parameters are determined by the laws and regulations of the country in which the Contact is located. Use the /externalContact/requiredInformation endpoint to determine what information you need to include when you send a POST request to the /externalContact endpoint.

Step 3: Add Contact

Once you know the data parameters for your Contact, you can use the /externalContact endpoint to add a Contact. A detailed guide to using this endpoint can be found here.

Step 4: Check Contact Status (Optional)

Check the status of your Contact via their borderless™ @handle with the externalContact/{handle}/status endpoint. When a Contact is first added the account will be "PENDING". Once a payment to the Contact has been submitted, Contact will undergo compliance review. If approved, the Contact status will be "VERIFIED".

Managing External Contacts

Follow these steps to Manage your External Contacts.

Step 1: Add External Contacts

Make sure you have created a borderless™ Account, have been authenticated, and that you've added External Contacts either via the External Contacts API or via borderless™ Link™. For more information on getting started please visit Getting Started or create a borderless™ Business Account by Creating a borderless™ Account Here.

Step 2: Retrieve External Contact Information

Use the /contacts/contactInformation endpoint to retrieve your External Contact's details such as:

Display Name
Email
Client Internal Reference
banking details

Step 3: Edit External Contact Information

Use the /contacts/updateContactInformation endpoint to update your External Contact's information. The information you can update depends on the type of account your Contact has. A detailed guide to using this endpoint can be found here