### Request an access token
To get an access token, use the [Request an access token](/products/payments-direct/api-docs/payments-direct-api/reference/payments-direct-api/authentication/authenticate) operation with your `client_id` and `client_secret`. The response contains a token in the `access_token` field.
We recommend rotating your API credentials at regular intervals according to your organization's security policy.
**Note**: Authentication tokens are not a fixed length and can vary, avoid validating tokens based on character length.