Quick Start

This guide walks you through connecting a compatible AI tool to the PayMongo MCP server. By the end, you'll have an authenticated connection and be able to query your PayMongo data through natural language.

Before you start, make sure you have:

A PayMongo account with API keys available from Settings → API Keys.
An MCP-compatible AI tool — such as Claude.
Decided whether you're connecting to test or live data. If you're setting up for the first time, start with test mode.

Step 1 — Get your API key

The MCP server authenticates using your existing PayMongo API keys. No separate credentials are required.

From the Dashboard, go to Settings → API Keys and copy the key for the environment you're connecting to.

Use sk_test_ for test mode — safe for development and experimentation.
Use sk_live_ for live mode — only when you're ready to work with real data.

Store your key in a secure location before moving to the next step. If you're using an .env file or secrets manager, add it there now.

PAYMONGO_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Step 2 — Configure the MCP server endpoint

The PayMongo MCP server is hosted and managed by PayMongo. You connect to it by adding it to your AI tool's MCP server configuration — no deployment or setup on your end is required.

The MCP server endpoint is:

https://mcp.paymongo.com

How you add this depends on your AI tool. The steps below cover Claude — refer to your tool's documentation if you're using a different MCP-compatible environment.

Connecting via Claude

Open Claude and go to Settings → Integrations.
Select Add integration.
Enter the PayMongo MCP server URL: https://mcp.paymongo.com.
When prompted for authentication, enter your PayMongo secret key.
Select Save.

Claude will confirm the connection and list the available PayMongo tools. You're ready to start querying.

Step 3 — Verify the connection

Once connected, run a quick test to confirm the MCP server is responding and your credentials are valid.

Try the following prompt in your AI tool:
"List my most recent PayMongo payments."

A successful response returns a list of recent payments from your account. If you're in test mode and haven't created any test payments yet, the response will return an empty list — this is expected. Create a test payment from the Dashboard or via the API to confirm data is flowing correctly.

If the connection fails, see Troubleshooting for common authentication and configuration issues.

Step 4 — Try your first actions

With the connection verified, here are a few prompts to get started.

Query data

"Show me all payments from the last 7 days."
"What's the status of payment intent pi_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?"
"List any open disputes on my account."

Inspect events

"Show me the last 10 webhook events."
"Did event evt_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx get delivered successfully?"

Manage webhooks

"List all my registered webhook endpoints."
"What events is endpoint wh_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx subscribed to?"

For a complete list of what the MCP server can do, see Supported Tools and Actions in Key Concepts.

Switching between environments

The environment you connect to is determined entirely by the API key you use. To switch from test to live mode — or back — update the key in your AI tool's integration settings.

Keep live and test connections separate. If your AI tool supports multiple integrations, configure a dedicated connection for each environment rather than swapping keys in a single integration.