> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.novacpayment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create Checkout with Payment Link Reference

> Learn how to create a checkout transaction using a payment link reference.

## Overview

Payment links created on the Novac dashboard are reusable by default, you can share a single link with multiple customers and receive funds from each of them. This works well for general-purpose payment pages, but there are scenarios where you need more control.

<Info>
  When you want to tie a checkout payment to a specific payment link, for example, to handle a one-time purchase, pre-fill customer details, or customize the checkout experience per transaction, you should initiate the checkout via the API instead.
</Info>

In this guide, you'll learn how to retrieve the payment URL `paymentLinkReference` from your dashboard and use it to create a checkout payment via the API.

## Prerequisite

<Accordion title="See details" defaultOpen={true}>
  To get started you must have completed all the following item on the list below:

  * [Create a merchant account](/docs/getting-started/create-merchant-account) - Ensure that you have created an account and completed KYC.
  * [Obtain API keys](/docs/getting-started/obtain-api-keys) - Required to authenticate with the Novac API.
  * [Create a payment link](/docs/accept-payment/accept-payment-with-payment-links) - You need an existing payment link to reference when initiating the checkout.
</Accordion>

***

## Create a Checkout Payment with Payment Link Reference

Creating a checkout payment with payment link reference via API allows you to further customize the experience for your customer. Every single payment link created on the dashboard comes with a unique Payment Link Reference, also known as the `paymentURL`. You can also see this as initiating a transaction via a payment link reference, and it can be used for a one-time payment.

### Finding your Payment Link Reference

You can find this reference by viewing the details of any payment link on your dashboard.

Click on a single payment link from the list to view its details:

<Frame description="Details of a payment link">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/novacpayment/0MgkTFTF1dOmb16m/images/payment-url.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=0MgkTFTF1dOmb16m&q=85&s=d735ebfe1bbd25bcb05e46ddffd4518d" alt="View payment link reference on Novac Dashboard" width="2738" height="1158" data-path="images/payment-url.png" />
</Frame>

<Warning>
  The `paymentURL` you use should correspond to a link that accepts **varying amounts**.\
  This enables you to specify any amount dynamically via the API.\
  However, if an amount was set when creating the link, that **exact amount** must be provided in the request object.
</Warning>

```bash expandable Request theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.novacpayment.com/api/v1/paymentlink/initiate \
  --header 'Authorization: <api-key>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "paymentLinkReference": "oeXQckL",
    "amount": 123,
    "currency": "<string>",
    "metaData": "<string>",
    "redirectUrl": "<string>",
    "allowedPaymentOptions":"<string>",
    "checkoutCustomerData": {
      "email": "<string>",
      "firstName": "<string>",
      "lastName": "<string>",
      "phoneNumber": "<string>"
    },
    "checkoutCustomizationData": {
      "logoUrl": "",
      "paymentDescription": "",
      "checkoutModalTitle": ""
    }
  }'
```

<Info>
  You can control which payment channels appear at checkout by passing `allowedPaymentOptions` in your request. Accepts a single value or multiple comma-separated values, e.g. `"CARD"` or `"CARD,PWBT,OPAY,USSD,PALMPAY,MOMO"`. [Learn more about setting payment preferences](/docs/getting-started/payment-preference)
</Info>

```json expandable Response theme={null}
{
  "status": true,
  "message": "Transaction initialized successfully",
  "data": {
    "transactionReference": "string",
    "amount": 100,
    "statusCode": "01",
    "statusMessage": "Transaction initiated successfully",
    "publicKey": "string",
    "paymentRedirectUrl": "string"
  }
}
```

This is a created checkout payment response; the `paymentRedirectUrl` is used to redirect your customer to where they will complete the payment. It's important to know that we expose the API that powers our checkout for a custom checkout experience.

***

## What's next?

Now that you've created a checkout payment, here are a few directions to explore:

* **Split payments**: Add a [split configuration](/docs/accept-payment/split-payment/setup-primary-settlement-account) to your request to automatically distribute incoming funds across multiple settlement accounts, either by flat amount or percentage.
* **Complete the payment**: Route your customer to the [Novac prebuilt checkout](/docs/accept-payment/complete-payment/prebuilt-checkout) to complete the payment, or use the [custom checkout](/docs/accept-payment/complete-payment/custom-checkout) to build your own UI on top of our API.