# Payment Initialization ###### The first step of the Ratepay payment workflow is the PAYMENT_INIT. This operation is called to initialize the Ratepay transaction and obtain a valid transaction ID. The transaction ID must be passed with every subsequent Gateway request related to the same Ratepay transaction. ## Request Parameters ### `` Section | Parameter | Condition | Enumeration | | --- | --- | --- | | [`system-id`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/system-id) | Mandatory | | | [`operation`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/operation) | Mandatory | `PAYMENT_INIT` | | [`credential`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/credential) | Mandatory | | The **PAYMENT_INIT** **request** do not contain a `` section. ### XML Example ```xml

myshop

PAYMENT_INIT

INTEGRATION_TE_DACH

4c0a11923fa3433fb168f9c7176429e9 ``` ## Response Parameters ### `` Section | Parameter | Condition | Enumeration | | --- | --- | --- | | [`system-id`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/system-id) | Mandatory | | | [`transaction-id`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/transaction-id) | Mandatory | | | [`operation`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/operation) | Mandatory | `PAYMENT_INIT` | | [`response-type`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/response-type) | Mandatory | - success: `STATUS_RESPONSE`- failure: `STATUS_ERROR` | | [`processing`](/docs/developer/api_integration/payment_1.8/payment_api_documentation/api_explorer/head/processing) | Mandatory | | The **PAYMENT_INIT** **response** do not contain a `` section. ### XML Example ```xml

MyTestsystem

xx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

3EQP.SBYM.CBSR.3302

PAYMENT_INIT

STATUS_RESPONSE

2016-01-06T16:56:19.000 Successfully Processing successful Transaction initialized ```