Sandbox vs live organizations
Our platform has two types of organizations: sandbox and live.
Sandbox and live are separate environments. When you create an account in our app, you will start in sandbox. Once you go live as a Griffin customer, we will set you up with a live organization.
Once you have your live organization, you will still have access to sandbox through the same user login. But resources cannot be transferred between sandbox and live.
What is an organization?
An organization is a top-level object in our API and acts as a container for the majority of other resources. It has no parent objects.
Each organization is its own discrete entity, and is entirely separate from any other organization. You can be a member of multiple organizations (both live and sandbox), but resources like API keys, legal persons or bank accounts cannot be transferred between them.
Your organization can either be in test-mode (sandbox) or live-mode (live). Organizations cannot switch between modes.
Sandbox organizations
A sandbox organization is a playground for testing the Griffin platform, with no fees, no NDA and no commitment to buy. Anyone can sign up for Griffin and start experimenting in sandbox.
Our aim is for the sandbox to have feature parity with the live environment. The main difference is that the sandbox has limited contact with the outside world, so the data contained in some outcomes is simulated.
As per our sandbox T&Cs, you should only use test data in sandbox.
When you create a bank account in sandbox, it will automatically be credited with £1,000 of test money.
Live organizations
Once you’ve signed up as a customer and we’ve got all the paperwork sorted, we will invite you to join your new live organization. This is an entirely new organization, where you can start onboarding real customers, opening real bank accounts, and moving your money.
You’ll still have access to your sandbox organization for testing, debugging, and trying out new products and features.
In your live organization, we won’t give £1,000 every time you open a bank account, but you will be able to start earning interest on your very real funds!
Key differences
| Sandbox | Live | |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | Are not sent to payment schemes. Are always successful. | Are sent to payment schemes. Can be rejected by Griffin or payment schemes. |
| Onboarding workflows | No third party checks are conducted. | Third party checks are conducted. |
| ID&V emails | You (the person using sandbox) will receive a simulated ID&V email. | ID&V emails are sent to customers. |
| Onboarding decisions | You can choose whether to accept or reject a customer. | Griffin has the final say on whether a customer is accepted or rejected. |
| Available products | You can access all of Griffin’s products. | You get access to the products that you have been approved for. |
| Interest | Not available. | Is paid on all your balances. |
| Bank accounts | Have simulated sort codes and account numbers. Are not reachable by payment schemes. | Are issued with real account numbers and sort codes. Are reachable via payment schemes and Confirmation of Payee. |
| Open banking | Not available. | Available on relevant accounts. |
Getting a live organization
How do I get a live organization?
Once you’ve signed your contract with Griffin and we’ve successfully onboarded your company, our Engineering team will invite you to join your live organization.
What happens to my sandbox organization when I go live?
You will still have access to your sandbox organization, and you can still use it to test out integrations and trial different products. In the app, you can switch between your sandbox and live organizations using the dropdown menu at the top left.
Do users transfer over from sandbox to live?
No, nothing from your sandbox organization transfers over, so you should invite your team to join your live organization. If your team members have already signed up for Griffin, they can join with their existing user account. Remember, your team will now have access to real customer data and real money, so make sure you assign them appropriate roles based on their level of responsibility.
A user’s roles do not transfer between organizations.
Can I use my sandbox API key in my live organization?
No, API keys don’t carry over, so your sandbox API key won’t work in your live organization. Create a new API key in your live organization and use this for your live integration.