📋 Trust Networks: Setting up connections to partner instances (API key)

To facilitate communication between different FTAPI systems, organizations can establish trust with each other and connect. All FTAPI transfers between users of connected FTAPI systems are made available directly within the respective FTAPI system.

This means the recipient of a transfer:

• does not need to register or log in to the sender's FTAPI system to retrieve the transfer.
• receives the transfer directly into the inbox of their familiar FTAPI environment.

FTAPI admins can grant trust to other organizations under the server setting 'FTAPI Trust Networks'. You will find a step-by-step guide for this later in this article.

Setting up an FTAPI Trust Network

Use the following step-by-step guide to set up a connection with another FTAPI organization.

Preparation: Enabling FTAPI Trust Networks
Before you can use FTAPI Trust Networks (FTN), FTAPI must enable your organization once. Please contact your account manager ("I would like to activate FTN"); the FTAPI team will then enable it and inform you once completed.

Adding a new connection: Step-by-step guide
Once FTN is enabled for your organization, a new connection with another FTAPI organization can be set up using the following steps:

1. Navigate to
   Administration > Trust Network > Add new connection
2. Define your partner's FTAPI domain
   Enter the FTAPI domain of your partner with whom the data exchange should take place. This is the target address
   (e.g., https://example.ftapi.com) of the partner organization.
3. Define your partner's email domains
   Define which of your partner's email domains should be used for data exchange.
   Note: These are not your own domains, but exclusively those of your partner. Your partner must correspondingly enter your email domains on their side.
4. Generate API key
   Generate your personal API key. Transmit this securely to your network partner – for example, by phone or via an FTAPI transfer.
   Important:
   - Never share the API key publicly.
   - The generated API key is only to be used for a 1-to-1 connection. A new API key is required for every new connection.
5. Enter your partner's key
   To continue with the setup, you need your partner's API key. Enter it in the designated field and click Save.
6. Test connection
   After authorization, you can use the "Test connection" button to check if the setup was successful. A successful connection is marked as connected.
7. Trust Network active
   As soon as the connection is active, the Trust Network applies to all users of the connected system who operate under the stored email domains. Newly added colleagues are also automatically part of the Trust Network, provided their email address belongs to the entered domain.

Important note for On-Premises

When operating your own FTAPI instance, it is necessary that incoming and outgoing connections are allowed on port 443.

General notes and limitations

• An FTAPI version 4.51.0 or higher is required to perform this setting.
• From FTAPI version 4.57.0, sending to non-existent recipients also works.
• From FTAPI version 4.60.0, end-to-end encrypted communication (security level 3 & 4) also works with recipients who have not yet set up SecuPass.
• From FTAPI version 4.62.0, transfers to Trust Network recipients are logged in the activity log.
• Currently, no download confirmation is sent to the sender of the transfer.

Related articles

FTAPI Trust Networks: Function & process