NOWPayments Configuration
Set up the NOWPayments crypto gateway, its API key and its IPN secret.
Overview
NOWPayments is the cryptocurrency gateway bundled with Light Store. Checkout sends the customer to a hosted NOWPayments invoice, where they pick a coin and are shown the address to send it to. Prices stay in your store currency; NOWPayments converts them to the chosen coin.
Everything is configured in the admin dashboard under Configuration > Gateways (/admin/gateways), in the NOWPayments section.
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable NOWPayments | Yes | Shows NOWPayments as a payment option at checkout |
| API Key | Yes | Used to open an invoice for each order |
| IPN Secret Key | Yes | Verifies the payment notifications NOWPayments sends to the store |
| Sandbox Mode | No | Talks to api-sandbox.nowpayments.io instead of the live API |
Account setup
- Sign up at nowpayments.io and set up the wallet your payouts go to, under Settings > Payments > Payout wallets.
- Under Settings > Payments > Coins settings, pick which coins customers can pay with.
API key
- Open Settings > Payments > API keys in the NOWPayments dashboard and click Generate API key.
- Copy the key into the API Key field in the store.
IPN secret key
Orders are only fulfilled through Instant Payment Notifications (IPN). There is no webhook URL to register: every invoice the store opens tells NOWPayments to notify https://your-store.com/payments/webhook/nowpayments.
- Open Settings > Payments > Instant payment notifications in the NOWPayments dashboard.
- Generate an IPN secret key and copy it into the IPN Secret Key field in the store. NOWPayments only shows it in full once.
- Enable Enable NOWPayments, save, and use Test connection to check the API key.
Without the IPN secret key, notifications cannot be verified and paid orders are never fulfilled. If your store sits behind Cloudflare or another firewall, make sure it lets NOWPayments' requests through to the IPN URL.
How payments settle
A blockchain payment takes anywhere from seconds to an hour to confirm, depending on the coin. A customer who returns from the invoice sees their order as pending until NOWPayments reports it:
| NOWPayments status | Store |
|---|---|
finished | The payment is completed and the order fulfilled |
failed, expired, refunded | The payment is marked failed |
partially_paid | The payment stays pending and a warning is logged |
waiting, confirming, sending | Nothing changes yet |
A partially paid invoice is completed by the customer sending the rest, or by you marking it finished in the NOWPayments dashboard, which sends the store a new notification.
Sandbox
NOWPayments' sandbox is a separate account at account-sandbox.nowpayments.io with its own API key and IPN secret key. Use those with Sandbox Mode on; live keys do not work against the sandbox, nor the reverse.