Errors - Chipper Platform

Every error has the same shape:

{
  "error": "insufficient_funds",
  "message": "Insufficient funds",
  "details": { "available": "120.00", "required": "150.00", "currency": "GHS" },
  "requestId": "req_q7vei435zifs51ia0lqr"
}

error is stable and machine-readable — branch on it. message is for humans and may change. details appears when there’s structured context. requestId matches the x-request-id header. Validation errors add a details array naming each bad field:

{
  "error": "validation_error",
  "message": "Request validation failed",
  "details": [{ "field": "to.currency", "message": "Required" }],
  "requestId": "req_…"
}

Codes

HTTP	`error`	Meaning	Retry?
400	`validation_error`	The body failed validation — see `details`	No — fix the request
400	`bad_request`	Semantically invalid (e.g. amount on both sides of a payout)	No
400	`insufficient_funds`	The balance can’t cover the amount + fee	After funding
400	`payout_limit_exceeded`	A per-transaction, daily, or monthly cap was hit	Later, or with a smaller amount
401	`unauthorized`	Missing, malformed, expired, or revoked API key	No
403	`forbidden`	Key lacks the scope, or caller IP isn’t allowlisted	No
403	`organization_suspended`	Contact api-support@chippercash.com	No
404	`not_found`	No such resource in your organization	No
409	`duplicate`	A resource with this identity already exists (`details.existingId`)	No — use the existing one
409	`conflict`	The operation conflicts with current state	Depends
422	`invalid_recipient`	Destination failed validation (wrong number, closed account)	No — fix the destination
429	`rate_limited`	Too many requests (`details.retryAfter` seconds)	Yes, after `retryAfter`
503	`no_provider_available`	No live provider for that method right now	Yes, with backoff
503	`rate_unavailable`	FX rate temporarily unavailable	Yes, with backoff
500	`internal_error`	Our fault — the `requestId` lets us find it	Yes, once

Handling advice

Treat 5xx and 429 as retryable with exponential backoff; everything 4xx as a bug in the request or a business condition to surface.
For money-moving retries, always reuse the same externalReference — see Idempotency.
Payment failures are not HTTP errors. A payout the provider rejects returns 201 and later becomes status: "failed" with a statusMessage — watch the webhook.

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