Go live with ICEPAY

Before you can process live payments, complete your testing, prepare the required documents for your ICEPAY Account, and submit your merchant for Live Approval.

After ICEPAY approves the merchant, you can enable live processing and make a controlled first live payment.

Prepare your account documents

Documents are managed under the ICEPAY Account associated with your merchant. Prepare them before requesting Live Approval so that missing or incorrect information does not delay the review.

What documents might you need?

Open Documents in the ICEPAY Portal to see the document types and Actions required for your account. Depending on your account, you may be asked for:

Document type	What to prepare
ID	Identity documentation for the relevant person. Check the document page for the information you must provide.
Chamber of Commerce extract	Registration documentation for the legal entity being onboarded and any parent entities. The extract must be no more than three months old.
Bank statement	Evidence for the account that will receive payouts, plus the bank details requested in the Portal. Whether a file is required can depend on the bank location; follow the Actions required shown for this document.
UBO	Documentation concerning the ultimate beneficial owners. Contact the ICEPAY team to confirm exactly what your account needs.
Contract	The contract documentation requested for your account. Follow the instructions shown for this document in the Portal.

These are document types in the Portal, not a universal checklist of files to upload. The requirements for your account, and any additional documents ICEPAY requests, take precedence. If you are unsure which document to provide, contact the ICEPAY team before uploading sensitive information.

Upload and submit documents

1. Select the correct ICEPAY Account

   Sign in to the ICEPAY Portal with your ICEPAY User Account and select the ICEPAY Account associated with the merchant you want to take live. If you have access to several ICEPAY Accounts, check the company details before continuing.

2. Open Documents and review the required actions

   Open Documents for the selected account. Review each document’s type, status, and Actions required. Open a document to read its instructions before preparing a file.

   Note

   A document can require information in the Portal as well as an uploaded file. Follow the actions shown on that document’s page rather than assuming an upload alone is sufficient.

3. Prepare the files for each document type

   Make sure the files are complete, legible, current, and relevant to the selected account and document type. For a Chamber of Commerce extract, include documentation for parent entities where applicable and check the three-month age requirement.

   If you cannot tell what evidence is needed for a document—particularly UBO or Contract—ask the ICEPAY team before submitting it.

4. Upload the files to the document

   On the document’s page, choose Upload documents, select the relevant files, and confirm the upload. Add a comment if it will help the ICEPAY team understand the files.

   The merchant upload form accepts PDF, PNG, JPEG, and TIFF files. There is a maximum file size of 5 MB and a maximum of 10 files at a time. Follow any more specific instructions displayed in the Portal.

5. Complete any remaining details

   Return to Actions required on the document page. Enter any requested bank statement details, Chamber of Commerce information, or document validity dates. Check the information against the uploaded files.

6. Submit the document for approval

   Once the page shows Document ready to be submitted, choose Submit document for approval and confirm. ICEPAY can then review it.

   Caution

   Uploading files does not submit the document for review. Submit each required document separately. You cannot change a document while it is being reviewed.

7. Check the status and address feedback

   Return to Documents and check the status of the documents you submitted. If a document is declined, read the feedback and use Restart document approval process to provide corrected files and details, then submit the new document for approval.

   Repeat this flow for the other document types required for your account. If a requirement or status is unclear, contact the ICEPAY team.

Prepare your production integration

Before requesting Live Approval, review your application configuration.

Your production integration should:

• Use the production Merchant ID and credentials rather than test credentials.
• Keep the Merchant Secret and other credentials on your server, never in browser JavaScript, mobile applications, client-side code, or public repositories.
• Send the correct currency, amount, reference, and customer information.
• Store the ICEPAY payment key (key) returned when a payment is created, alongside the order or payment reference (reference) you supplied.
• Verify payment status using the server-side response or webhook.
• Treat the webhook as the source for updating the order status.
• Avoid marking an order as paid only because the customer returned to your success page.

If your application uses environment variables, prepare the production environment without committing secrets to source control. Keep configuration for Test mode and Live mode separate.

Before you request Live Approval

Before submitting the merchant for Live Approval, confirm that:

• You have completed a successful end-to-end payment in Test mode.
• You have submitted the required account documents and addressed any requests for corrections.
• Your redirect URL is configured and reachable, if your integration uses redirects.
• Your webhook URL is configured, publicly reachable, and able to process payment status updates.
• The payment methods you want to offer have been confirmed for your merchant.
• Your checkout branding and merchant information are correct.
• Your system handles successful, pending, failed, cancelled, and expired payments.
• Your system handles webhook retries safely.
• Your refund process has been tested or documented.
• Your pricing, fees, payouts, and settlement expectations have been reviewed with ICEPAY.
• Your Merchant Secret and other credentials are handled only on your server.

Note

Requesting Live Approval does not enable live processing immediately. ICEPAY must first review and approve the merchant.

Request Live Approval

Once your account documents, merchant configuration, and integration are ready, submit the merchant you want to use for Live Approval.

1. Select the merchant you want to use

   In the ICEPAY Portal, open the merchant that will process live payments.

   If you have more than one merchant, verify its Merchant ID and business details before continuing.

2. Review the merchant configuration

   Confirm that the merchant details, website URL, payment methods, checkout branding, redirect URL, and webhook URL are correct.

   Some settings or payment methods may require additional configuration or approval by ICEPAY.

3. Request Live Approval

   From the merchant in the ICEPAY Portal, choose Request Live Approval and submit the request.

   The merchant moves into review while ICEPAY checks the information required for live processing.

   Tip

   Before submitting, revisit Documents for the associated ICEPAY Account. Check that the required documents have been submitted and that you have addressed any requests for corrections.

4. Wait for Live Approval

   Check the merchant’s status in the Portal while the request is being reviewed.

   Once ICEPAY approves the merchant, continue with the steps below to enable live processing and make your first controlled live payment.

   Note

   If Request Live Approval is unavailable or the merchant remains unapproved, check the account documents and merchant details. Contact the ICEPAY team if you need help.

Process your first live payment

After ICEPAY has approved the merchant, you can enable live processing and test the complete production payment flow with a controlled payment.

1. Confirm that the merchant is approved

   Open the merchant in the ICEPAY Portal and confirm that Live Approval has been completed.

   Do not continue if the merchant is still under review.

2. Enable live processing

   Open the merchant settings and set the processing mode to Live.

   Caution

   Live mode processes real payments. Only enable live processing after your production integration is ready.

3. Deploy your production configuration

   Deploy your application using the correct Merchant ID, production credentials, and production settings confirmed with ICEPAY.

   Keep configuration for Test mode and Live mode separate so that test payments cannot be sent accidentally from your production environment.

4. Create a controlled live payment

   Create one small live payment using a controlled order or internal test purchase.

   Use a recognizable payment reference so that you can identify the transaction in both your system and the ICEPAY Portal.

5. Complete the payment flow

   Complete the payment through the normal checkout flow and allow your integration to process the redirect and webhook as it would for a real customer payment.

Caution

A live payment uses real payment details and may result in a real charge. Use a controlled amount and follow your internal approval process before making the first live payment.

Verify your first live payment

After the payment is completed, verify the transaction in both systems.

In the ICEPAY Portal

Find the payment using its reference. Confirm its:

• Amount and currency.
• Merchant.
• Payment method.
• Payment status.
• Creation and update time.
• Test mode or Live mode.

In your merchant system

Confirm that your system:

• Received the webhook.
• Validated the received payment information.
• Updated the order only after receiving a valid successful status.
• Stored the ICEPAY payment reference.
• Displayed the correct order status to the customer.
• Handled the redirect independently from the server-side payment notification.

Source of truth

If the Portal and your system show different results, treat the Portal payment details and the server-side payment status as the source for investigation. Do not fulfil an order based only on a browser redirect.

After launch

Once live payments are working:

• Monitor payments and failed transactions regularly.
• Monitor webhook failures and retry processing where necessary.
• Reconcile payments with your orders.
• Review payouts and settlement reports.
• Use the documented refund process when a customer must be refunded.
• Keep production credentials and recovery information secure.
• Restrict access to the ICEPAY Portal and production systems.
• Keep your integration and error logs available for troubleshooting.
• Contact the ICEPAY team before changing important merchant or payment-method settings.

Tip

Keep Test mode available for future integration changes. Test new code and configuration changes before deploying them to your live integration.

Continue with ICEPAY

Payment lifecycle

Understand payment statuses, financial statuses, and how payments move through ICEPAY.

Refunds

Learn how refunds work and how to refund a completed payment.

Payouts

Understand how and when processed funds are paid out to your bank account.

Statements & reconciliation

Reconcile payments, refunds, fees, and payouts using ICEPAY statements.

Contact the ICEPAY team

Get help with your ICEPAY Account, integration, payments, or API.

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Troubleshooting

I cannot submit a document for approval

Open the document in Documents and check Actions required. Complete any missing uploads, document validity dates, or other requested details.

Upload documents and Submit document for approval are separate actions. If the document is already being reviewed, wait for the review outcome rather than uploading another version.

If you cannot complete a requirement or are unsure which file to provide, contact the ICEPAY team. Do not send sensitive documents or credentials through an unapproved channel.

A document was declined

Read the feedback on the document. Use Restart document approval process, provide the corrected files and details, and submit the new document for approval.

If the reason for the decline is unclear, contact the ICEPAY team before submitting it again.

I cannot request Live Approval

Make sure you selected the correct merchant and that all required onboarding and compliance information is complete.

Check Documents for the associated ICEPAY Account. Confirm that required documents have been submitted for approval and that any requests for corrections have been addressed. Also review the merchant’s business and website information.

If Request Live Approval is unavailable or you cannot submit the request, contact the ICEPAY team or your account administrator with your Merchant ID and the message shown in the Portal. Never send your Merchant Secret in a support request.

My merchant was approved but cannot process live payments

Check that you are viewing the correct ICEPAY Account and merchant, verify the Merchant ID used by your production integration, and confirm that the approved merchant is set to Live processing mode.

If live processing is still unavailable, contact the ICEPAY team with your Merchant ID and the information shown in the Portal. Never include credentials or your Merchant Secret in a support request.

A production payment method is unavailable

Payment-method availability can depend on your merchant configuration and the agreement with ICEPAY.

Confirm that the payment method is enabled for the correct merchant and contact the ICEPAY team with your Merchant ID and the payment method you want to use.

Do not rely on a payment method in production until ICEPAY confirms that it is available.

The webhook was not received

Confirm that the endpoint:

• Is publicly reachable from the internet.
• Uses the correct production URL.
• Accepts the HTTP method and content type sent by ICEPAY.
• Returns a successful response after processing the notification.
• Does not block ICEPAY requests with authentication, firewall, or IP restrictions.
• Logs failed requests safely without recording secrets.

Check your server and application logs. If you contact the ICEPAY team, include the payment key, your reference, Merchant ID, approximate time, HTTP response details, and relevant error messages. Do not include credentials or your Merchant Secret.

The payment status has not been updated

Refresh the payment in the Portal and confirm that you are viewing the correct merchant and account.

Check whether your webhook endpoint received the notification and whether your application returned an error. Confirm that your application supports the payment statuses used by your integration.

Contact the ICEPAY team with the payment reference, Merchant ID, timestamp, and error details if the status remains incorrect.

The live payment result was unexpected

Do not fulfil or refund the order until the payment status is confirmed.

Compare the payment reference, amount, currency, merchant, and status in the Portal with the values stored by your system. Check your webhook logs and application logs for processing errors.

If you need help, provide the ICEPAY team with the payment reference, Merchant ID, approximate time, and a description of the expected and actual result. Never provide payment credentials or your Merchant Secret.