# API Basics
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/bin-lookup/documentation/api-basics/index.md

## API Security {#api-security}

### Client Authentication {#client-authentication}

Mastercard uses OAuth 1.0a for authenticating your application. You can manage your authentication keys from your [Developer Dashboard](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard) after you created a project using BIN Lookup service. Mastercard provides [client authentication libraries](https://github.com/Mastercard?q=oauth) in several languages you can integrate to your project or use as reference OAuth 1.0a implementations:

|                      |                                                     ![Java](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/bin-lookup/img/java.svg) **Java**                                                      |                                                    ![C#](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/bin-lookup/img/csharp.svg) **C#**                                                     |                            ![Python](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/bin-lookup/img/python.svg) **Python**                             |                             ![NodeJS](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/bin-lookup/img/nodejs.svg) **NodeJS**                             |                                      ![Go](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/bin-lookup/img/go.svg) **Go**                                      |
|----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Download/install** | [![](https://img.shields.io/maven-central/v/com.mastercard.developer/oauth1-signer.svg?style=flat&color=f99f1c&label=)](https://search.maven.org/artifact/com.mastercard.developer/oauth1-signer/) | [![](https://img.shields.io/nuget/v/Mastercard.Developer.OAuth1Signer.Core.svg?style=flat&color=f99f1c&label=)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Mastercard.Developer.OAuth1Signer.RestSharpV2/) | [![](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/mastercard-oauth1-signer.svg?style=flat&color=f99f1c&label=)](https://pypi.org/project/mastercard-oauth1-signer/)   | [![](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/mastercard-oauth1-signer.svg?style=flat&color=f99f1c&label=)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mastercard-oauth1-signer) | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/mastercard/oauth1-signer-go.svg?style=flat&color=f99f1c&label=)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-go) |
| **View on GitHub**   | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/mastercard/oauth1-signer-java.svg?label=&style=social)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-java)                                                 | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/mastercard/oauth1-signer-csharp.svg?label=&style=social)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-csharp)                                         | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/mastercard/oauth1-signer-python.svg?label=&style=social)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-python) | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/mastercard/oauth1-signer-nodejs.svg?label=&style=social)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-nodejs)  | [![](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/mastercard/oauth1-signer-go.svg?label=&style=social)](https://github.com/Mastercard/oauth1-signer-go)                |

For a detailed overview of the OAuth 1.0a approach Mastercard uses, refer to [Using OAuth 1.0a to Access Mastercard APIs](https://developer.mastercard.com/platform/documentation/authentication/using-oauth-1a-to-access-mastercard-apis/).

### Transport Encryption {#transport-encryption}

The transport between client applications and Mastercard is secured using [TLS/SSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security), which means data are encrypted by default when transmitted across networks.

## How to Consume the BIN Lookup API? {#how-to-consume-the-bin-lookup-api}

### Generating your own API client {#generating-your-own-api-client}

Create customizable API clients from the BIN Lookup API specification and let Mastercard's open-source client libraries handle the authentication for you. This approach offers the most flexibility and is strongly recommended.

Follow our [Generating and Configuring a Mastercard API Client](https://developer.mastercard.com/platform/documentation/security-and-authentication/generating-and-configuring-a-mastercard-api-client/) tutorial with the [BIN Lookup API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/bin-lookup/documentation/api-section/api-reference/index.md). Ignore steps 5 and 7 as the BIN Lookup API does not currently have payload encryption.

### Using a method of your choice {#using-a-method-of-your-choice}

BIN Lookup exposes a RESTful API: you are free to use the HTTP client of your choice and can still leverage the Mastercard open-source [client libraries](https://developer.mastercard.com/platform/documentation/authentication/using-oauth-1a-to-access-mastercard-apis/) for signing your requests. Refer to the [BIN Lookup API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/bin-lookup/documentation/api-section/api-reference/index.md).

## Environments {#environments}

### Sandbox {#sandbox}

The BIN Lookup Sandbox is an isolated server environment distinct from production. It is a shared environment that everyone who creates a project has access to. All data in the sandbox is test data but representative of what is available in production, it is useful to understand the structure, and nature, of the data that is available with the service.

The base URL for calling Sandbox endpoints is
* Sandbox

```Sandbox
https://sandbox.api.mastercard.com/bin-resources
```

All endpoints, and data elements are available in Sandbox by default and it is free to use. The only limitation is that the data is entirely mocked and **cannot** be used in production solutions.

### Production Access {#production-access}

Once your request for production access is approved by the Mastercard team, you'll receive access to the production environment with a one-month free trial. This trial provides access to real data but includes limitations on how the data can be accessed and the number of data elements returned.

To maintain access beyond the trial period and unlock premium features, you must complete the billing process. If billing is not completed within one month, your access will be revoked. See [Available Plans](https://developer.mastercard.com/bin-lookup/documentation/pricing-plans/index.md) for more information.

To proceed, [contact us](mailto:DBN.BinTableResource.Support@mastercard.com) after requesting production access.

The base URL for calling Production endpoints is
* Production

```Production
https://api.mastercard.com/bin-resources
```

## API Status {#api-status}

The BIN Lookup API has synthetic monitoring in place that is constantly checking that the API is up and functioning as expected. This information is made available publicly so that you can check the uptime and if there have been any recent issues with the product. Check the [status page](https://developer.mastercard.com/api-status) for this information.

## Developer Tooling {#developer-tooling}

We have created a selection of helpful developer tools that you can use to make integration with the API seamless, and to help you get the most out of the account range data provided. The tools are available for you to give you a head start when developing a connection.

[See All Dev Tools →](https://developer.mastercard.com/bin-lookup/documentation/developer-tools/index.md)
* *Postman Collection*

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* *Python Sample Code*
* More on the way...