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Webhook

Definition

A webhook is an HTTP notification mechanism where a service sends data to a URL the client configured whenever an event happens, so the client doesn't have to poll for it.

LATAM context

Webhooks are ideal for asynchronous flows like batch document processing. In finO$'s API, webhooks are on the roadmap: today, after uploading a PDF, you poll the statement's status until it's completed.

Concrete example

Today's pattern, without a webhook: POST /api/v1/statements uploads the PDF and responds 202; you call GET /api/v1/statements/{id} every few seconds until status is completed, and then its transactions show up in /api/v1/transactions.

How it shows up on your bank statement

It has no place in the document: it's the way you find out that a statement finished processing without having to keep asking. The alternative is polling (checking every few seconds whether the job is done), which works but wastes calls.

How does finO$ handle this?

Notification webhooks are on the roadmap. In the meantime, async processing is tracked by polling the statement's status. See the API reference.

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Frequently asked questions about Webhook

What happens if my server is down when the webhook fires?

A well-built sender retries with growing delays for a while. Even so, it's worth not depending on the webhook alone: storing the job ID and being able to query it later avoids losing results if the retries run out.

How do I verify a webhook actually came from who it claims to?

With a header signature, computed over the message body using a shared secret. Without that check, anyone who knows your URL can send you fake events.