Japan: supported way to verify a Checkout API integration in production before launch

Questions
1

Hello Square team,

Ashley advised me to submit a new topic because my earlier question was hidden by Akismet and could not be located in the review queue.

I am preparing to sell a one-time digital course in Japan for JPY 99,800. Public purchasing is currently disabled.

My integration creates an order-specific payment link through the Checkout API. After the server confirms payment through Square webhooks and payment verification, it sends an access email. The buyer then uses an email verification code to access the course.

Local and Sandbox checks have been completed, but we have not yet verified the full flow with a real production payment.

Before proceeding, could you clarify the supported way to perform this production verification in Japan?

  1. Is a genuine purchase by an independent third party the appropriate approach? Are there restrictions on using the seller’s own card or a card belonging to family or someone involved in the business?

  2. Must the purchase be for the actual course price of JPY 99,800, or is a separate low-value transaction permitted solely to verify the integration? If permitted, what amount and conditions should be used?

  3. Is a payment made with the intention of refunding it after verification permitted? If not, we will avoid that approach.

We have not made a production test charge or arranged a test refund. We want to confirm the permitted method before moving money.

If another Square team handles these questions for Japanese accounts, please direct us to the appropriate contact.

Thank you.

3

Hi, thanks for the detailed write-up, and sorry again about the Akismet issue on your first post.

Production verification with a real payment is the expected final step. Square’s own Japan development guide recommends exactly this pattern: develop and test in Sandbox first, then do final verification in production using small payment amounts. See Develop for Japan — it calls out a minimum payment amount of 1 yen for production testing.

You don’t need a third-party buyer. There’s no requirement that the test purchase come from an independent person. Testing your own integration against your own account is normal, and the docs don’t restrict who the cardholder is for that.

You don’t need to charge JPY 99,800. A low-value payment link (1 yen up to a few hundred yen) is sufficient and is what the Japan guide suggests. Just keep the order shape close to the real one so your webhook handling, payment verification, and access-email code paths are the same.

Refunding a test payment is supported, via the Refunds API or Dashboard, within one year of the original payment. Worth knowing: Square’s refund guidance states that processing fees on the original payment are not returned when you refund — another reason to test with a small amount rather than charging and refunding JPY 99,800. Square does also note that refunds shouldn’t be used as a mechanism for holding deposits or pre-authorizations, but a small number of small-value integration tests isn’t that.

One important Japan-specific requirement: 3D Secure authentication is mandatory for all online card payments in Japan and cannot be disabled or opted out of. Make sure your production test actually exercises the 3DS flow, since that’s a path you may not have fully hit in Sandbox.

Public purchasing being disabled isn’t a blocker — a payment link URL can be opened directly, so you can verify the flow without opening sales.

For anything account-specific (fee rates on your account, payout timing, or restrictions applied to your business), contact Square Support in Japan — we can’t see account details from the forums.

Sources: Develop for Japan (production testing with 1 yen minimum; mandatory 3DS), Refund Payments (1-year window, 20 refunds per payment), Refunds FAQ (processing fees not returned; no deposit/pre-auth workaround).