---
updatedAt: 2026-04-22T17:04:14.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://borderlessapi.readme.io/llms.txt
---

# Contacts API Introduction

Learn what you can do with the Contacts API.

# Contacts API

With the Contacts API you will be able to customize the Contacts experience on your platform. The borderless™ Contacts API allows you to:

* **Add Contacts** to your borderless™ Account.
* **Manage Contact information** including pulling the latest payment details and adding or adjusting banking information.

> 📘 Integration Time
>
> The borderless™ Contacts API generally takes 1-2 days to implement. The integration time may vary based on your company's needs and available development resources.

# Definitions

| Term                 | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| :------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Contact**          | A borderless™ ***Contact*** is a recipient of a payment. A Contact can be a borderless™ user or a non-borderless™ user. Every Contact has a unique borderless™ @handle. To learn more about @handles please visit [@Handle Overview](https://borderlessapi.readme.io/reference/handle-overview). |
| **Internal Contact** | A borderless™ ***Internal Contact*** is a Contact that is a borderless™ user and has a borderless™ Account of their own.                                                                                                                                   |
| **External Contact** | A borderless™ ***External Contact*** is a Contact that is NOT a borderless™ user and does NOT have a borderless™ Account of their own.                                                                                                                     |

# Adding Contacts

There are 3 Methods to add Contacts to your borderless™ Account:

* External Contacts API
* borderless™ Link™
* Contact Registration

To learn more about adding Contacts please visit [Adding Contacts](https://borderlessapi.readme.io/reference/contacts-api-experience).

> 🚧 Authentication
>
> Remember that all borderless™ API calls must be Authenticated. To learn more about Authentication, please visit the [Authentication](https://borderlessapi.readme.io/reference/authentication) page.