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This page walks you through everything you need to go from zero to your first live payment request. By the end you will have a merchant account, a working API key, a product in the system, and a checkout session ready to accept payments. All code examples use the PHP SDK. If you prefer raw REST calls, see the Authentication guide for curl examples.
1

Create your account

Go to merchant.paydios.io/sign-up and register with your email address. After signing up, verify your email using the confirmation link sent to your inbox, then complete your merchant profile in the dashboard. A complete profile is required before you can process live payments.
2

Get your API keys

In the merchant dashboard, navigate to Dashboard → API Keys at merchant.paydios.io/dashboard/api-keys.You will see two credentials you need:
  • Secret Key (sk_live_xxx) — used for all server-side API calls. Keep this private.
  • Merchant ID — your unique account identifier, required in checkout session endpoints.
Copy both values and store them securely.
Never include your Secret Key in frontend code, client-side JavaScript, or any publicly accessible file. It grants full API access to your account. Use environment variables on your server instead.
3

Install the PHP SDK

Install the official Paydios PHP SDK with Composer:
Add your Secret Key to your .env file:
Do not commit your .env file to version control.
4

Create your first product

A product represents an item or service you sell. Create one using the SDK:
The unit_amount field is always in the smallest currency unit (cents for USD). A value of 2999 equals $29.99. Save the returned product ID — you will use it to associate products with checkout sessions.
You can also create and manage products directly from the merchant dashboard without writing any code.
5

Create a checkout session

A checkout session represents a single payment intent. Create one to generate a hosted checkout page your customer can pay through:
Redirect your customer to $checkoutUrl so they can complete payment using their preferred method — card, wallet, crypto, or local rail. Store $sessionId to verify the payment status afterwards.
6

Verify the payment

After your customer completes (or attempts) payment, verify the session status on your server:
Always verify payment status server-side before fulfilling an order. Do not rely solely on client-side redirects to confirm payment.

Next steps

Authentication

Learn how API key authentication works, how to pass keys securely, and how to handle auth errors.

PHP SDK Guide

Explore the full PHP SDK reference — products, sessions, Laravel setup, and testing.