# Quick Start Guide
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/quick-start-guide/index.md

The Consumer Clarity API lets you provide your cardholders with detailed information about their credit card transactions. This tutorial guides you through the process of onboarding and being able to use this service.

To start using the Consumer Clarity API, you sign in to your [Mastercard Developers](https://developer.mastercard.com/) account and then create a project choosing the Consumer Clarity API service. The project generates the project keys required to use the API for each project phase.

This guide helps you learn:

* How to create your project for the Consumer Clarity service.
* How Mastercard Developers approaches authentication.
* How to generate your credentials and API client.
* How to gain access to the Consumer Clarity Sandbox and Production environments.

Tip: We recommend using Open API generator to integrate with APIs. For more more general information about this flow, see [Generating and Configuring a Mastercard API Client](https://developer.mastercard.com/platform/documentation/getting-started-with-mastercard-apis/generating-and-configuring-a-mastercard-api-client/).

## Access Mastercard APIs {#access-mastercard-apis}

If you haven't done so already, you must first create an account with Mastercard Developers.

1. Go to [Mastercard Developers](https://developer.mastercard.com/) and select **Sign up** to create your account.

2. To activate your account, open the link sent to your email address and sign in.

## Create a New Project and Generate your Credentials {#create-a-new-project-and-generate-your-credentials}

To generate your Sandbox and Production credentials, you must create a new Mastercard Developers project.

1. On Mastercard Developers, go to your [dashboard](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard).

2. Select **Create new project** from the upper right.
   ![Select New Project button](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/create-new-project.png)

3. On the **Project details** page, enter a name for your project.

4. Indicate whether you're creating a project on behalf of a client. If you are, provide the client company name and address.

5. In the **Select your API service** field, choose **Consumer Clarity**.

6. Choose the **Commercial countries** where your customers will be using your banking app.

   Note: If you are creating a project on behalf of a client, the **Commercial countries** must represent the countries where your client is doing business.
7. After you've made your choices, select **Proceed** .
   ![Create New Project for Consumer Clarity API](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-details.png)

8. On the **Project credentials** page, enter a **Key alias** and **Keystore password** for your project. Select **Proceed** . If you have a custom CSR file to use, select **Skip this step** instead. You'll upload your CSR on your project dashboard after your project is created.
   ![Specify project credentials](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-credentials.png)

9. On the **Additional credentials** page, enter the **Mastercard Encryption Key** credentials for your project. For this project, a Mastercard Encryption Key must be created because certain endpoint payloads are encrypted. After you enter a **Key alias** and **Keystore password** , select **Create Project** .
   ![Specify additional project credentials](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-additional-credentials.png)

10. Download your project key zip file containing the *.p12* file required for OAuth authentication in Sandbox. Then select **Open Project** .
    ![Download key file and open project](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-completed.png)

After you complete this flow, your project page opens. On the project **Summary** page, you can see the status of your Sandbox and Production access requests: *Ready* or *Not Requested* . You can also choose to **Request Production access** from this page.
![Completed project Summary page](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-summary.png)

In the navigation panel on the left, you also have access to areas where you can get your Sandbox and Production credentials and upload a CSR file for your project. You can also manage your project settings and add other team members to your project.

### Import sandbox keys {#import-sandbox-keys}

Open the zip file you downloaded in the previous steps. Import the Sandbox keys (the *.p12* file) according to your specific development environment using the Keystore Password for sandbox, which you downloaded as well. For example, in our [Reference Application Tutorial](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/reference-app-tutorial/index.md), we copy the *.p12* file to the `resources` folder in our sample Maven project.

On your project page under **CREDENTIALS** \> **Sandbox** , you can find the consumer key that applies to your environment. The consumer key is a 97 character string separated by an exclamation mark. The format is `<client_id>!<key_id>`. The **Mastercard API Client ID** is the first 48 characters of this key (`<client_Id>`), which uniquely identifies the API calling Financial Institution (Issuer) or Merchant.
![Import Sandbox Keys](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-sandbox-credentials.png)

## Test in Sandbox {#test-in-sandbox}

You are now ready to test the full functionality of the Consumer Clarity API in sandbox. Review our [Reference Application Tutorial](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/reference-app-tutorial/index.md) to learn how to make calls to the Consumer Clarity service in your sandbox.

In addition, these articles provide help in testing our service:

* See our [Testing articles](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/testing/index.md) for examples of responses you can expect to receive from sample requests sent to the Consumer Clarity API.

* Review our [Run Test Cases](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/testing/run-test-cases/index.md) article to learn how to use Postman or Insomnia to test and verify requests and responses.

## Move to Production {#move-to-production}

After you have tested your implementation in our Sandbox environment and are ready, you can move to production.

1. Within your project, select **Request Production access** .
   ![Request production access](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-move-to-production.png)

2. On the **Service details** page, enter the required information on the form, then select **Proceed** .
   ![Production access service details](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/consumer-clarity/documentation/img/project-production-service-details.png)

3. On the **Project credentials** page, enter a **Key alias** and **Keystore password** for your project. Select **Proceed**.

4. On the **Additional credentials** page, enter **Mastercard Encryption Key** credentials for your project. After you enter a **Key alias** and **Keystore password** , select **Update Project**.

Production Credentials are generated instantaneously, but they still must be approved for Production environment access before you can go live. After your Production access request has been reviewed by the [Ethoca Customer Delivery Team](mailto:customerdelivery@ethoca.com), you'll receive notification confirming your access has been approved or denied.

## Next Steps {#next-steps}

Now that you have access to the service and have resources for testing, see [Use Cases](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/use-cases/index.md) to learn about the different use cases of the Consumer Clarity service.

You can also check out these other articles for guidance on interacting with the Consumer Clarity API:

* [Tips for Sending Requests](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/tips-for-sending-requests/index.md)
* [How to Use the Response Data](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/how-to-use-response-data/index.md)