Overview
Iron offers three ways to integrate. They sit on a spectrum from no-code to full-code, and most partners use a combination depending on the team and use case.
This article walks through each model — what it is, who it's for, and the trade-offs. If you're just starting out, this will help you pick the right starting point.
The three integration models
Dashboard (no-code)
The Iron dashboard at app.iron.xyz is a web-based admin console for managing your Iron account. You can perform most Iron operations directly from the UI — no engineering needed.
What you can do from the dashboard:
View and manage customers and transactions
Run onramps, offramps, and swaps manually
Manage Virtual Accounts
Configure webhooks and API keys
Invite team members with role-based permissions
Pull reports and exports
Best for: ops teams, OTC desks, treasuries, and small-to-medium volume use cases where flows can be handled manually or batched.
Trade-offs: doesn't scale to high-frequency or fully automated flows. Customer-facing UX has to be built separately if you need one.
Widgets (low-code)
Iron's widgets are pre-built UI flows that you embed into your own product. Iron hosts the widget, handles the heavy lifting (compliance, edge cases, design), and you embed it via iframe or popup with a few lines of configuration.
Widgets are available for the most common end-user flows:
Virtual Account creation and top-up
Onramp (fiat to stablecoin)
Offramp (stablecoin to fiat)
KYC and identity verification
Checkout (stablecoin acceptance at point of sale)
You can customize styling — colors, fonts, button styles — to match your brand.
Best for: partners who want a fast time-to-market with minimal engineering lift, or who want Iron to own the compliance UX (KYC, fraud, edge cases).
Trade-offs: less control over the exact UX. Customization is constrained to the parameters Iron exposes.
API (full-code)
Iron's REST APIs give you full programmatic access to every product. You build the customer experience end-to-end and call Iron's APIs for the underlying payment and stablecoin operations.
What's available via API:
All Iron products (Virtual Accounts, onramp, offramp, swap, payouts, issuance, checkout)
Customer creation and KYC orchestration
Webhook events for every state transition
Full sandbox environment for end-to-end testing
Best for: partners with engineering capacity who want maximum control over UX, performance, and scale. Required for high-volume use cases, deeply embedded integrations, and any flow that doesn't fit the widget patterns.
Trade-offs: more engineering investment up front, and you own the customer-facing UX and all of its edge cases (although Iron's hosted KYC widget can still be used inside an otherwise API-driven integration).
How to choose
A quick rule of thumb:
If you... | Start with |
Want to use Iron operationally without building anything | Dashboard |
Have a customer-facing product but limited engineering capacity | Widgets |
Are building a payments platform or wallet | API |
Want a hosted KYC flow inside a custom integration | API + KYC widget |
Need a fast pilot with the option to scale later | Widgets, then API |
Tip: You don't have to pick one. Most partners use a combination — dashboard for ops, widgets for some flows, API for the high-frequency ones. Start simple and expand as you learn what your customers need.
Common patterns
A few patterns that come up regularly with partners:
Pilot then scale — partners start with widgets to get to market fast, then replace specific flows with API integration as volume grows or UX needs deepen
API + KYC widget — partners build a fully custom UX over Iron's API but use Iron's hosted KYC widget to avoid implementing identity verification themselves
Dashboard alongside API — even fully API-integrated partners use the dashboard for ops, reconciliation, and ad-hoc actions
Multiple environments — most teams maintain separate sandbox and production credentials, with CI/CD targeting sandbox for automated testing
Sandbox
All three integration models are available in the sandbox environment at app.sandbox.iron.xyz. The sandbox mirrors production functionality with test data and no real money movement, so you can build and test against the full Iron platform before going live.
Tip: For full technical detail, see the developer documentation at docs.iron.xyz.
FAQs
Can I switch between integration models?
Can I switch between integration models?
Yes. The underlying account is the same regardless of how you interact with it. You can start with the dashboard, add widgets later, and migrate to API integration as needed.
How customizable are the widgets?
How customizable are the widgets?
Widgets support styling customization (colors, fonts, button styles) and configuration of the available options shown to users. The flow itself is fixed to Iron's tested patterns. For deeper customization, use the API.
Do I need to be a developer to use Iron?
Do I need to be a developer to use Iron?
No. The dashboard requires no engineering. Widgets need minimal embed code. API integration needs a developer.
What's the difference between widgets and the dashboard?
What's the difference between widgets and the dashboard?
Widgets are end-user-facing flows you embed into your product (your customer uses them). The dashboard is an internal admin tool for your team (your operators use it).
Is there extra cost for widgets or API access?
Is there extra cost for widgets or API access?
Pricing is per-transaction, not per-integration-model. You don't pay more for using the API versus the dashboard. Discuss specifics with your partnership manager.
What about mobile?
What about mobile?
Widgets are web-based but work inside web views in mobile apps. For native mobile integration, the API is the recommended path — the developer docs cover mobile-specific patterns.