diff --git a/src/headless/integrationtest.ts b/src/headless/integrationtest.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b0069c21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/headless/integrationtest.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/*
+ This file is part of GNU Taler
+ (C) 2019 GNUnet e.V.
+
+ GNU Taler is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+ Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+ GNU Taler is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
+ A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+ You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+ GNU Taler; see the file COPYING.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Integration tests against real Taler bank/exchange/merchant deployments.
+ */
+
+import { getDefaultNodeWallet, withdrawTestBalance } from "./helpers";
+import { MerchantBackendConnection } from "./merchant";
+
+const enableTracing = false;
+
+export async function runIntegrationTest(args: {
+  exchangeBaseUrl: string;
+  bankBaseUrl: string;
+  merchantBaseUrl: string;
+  merchantApiKey: string;
+  merchantInstance: string;
+  amountToWithdraw: string;
+  amountToSpend: string;
+}) {
+  const myWallet = await getDefaultNodeWallet();
+
+  await withdrawTestBalance(myWallet, args.amountToWithdraw, args.bankBaseUrl, args.exchangeBaseUrl);
+
+  const balance = await myWallet.getBalances();
+
+  console.log(JSON.stringify(balance, null, 2));
+
+  const myMerchant = new MerchantBackendConnection(
+    args.merchantBaseUrl,
+    args.merchantInstance,
+    args.merchantApiKey,
+  );
+
+  const orderResp = await myMerchant.createOrder(
+    args.amountToSpend,
+    "hello world",
+    "https://example.com/",
+  );
+
+  console.log("created order with orderId", orderResp.orderId);
+
+  const paymentStatus = await myMerchant.checkPayment(orderResp.orderId);
+
+  console.log("payment status", paymentStatus);
+
+  const contractUrl = paymentStatus.contract_url;
+  if (!contractUrl) {
+    throw Error("no contract URL in payment response");
+  }
+
+  const proposalId = await myWallet.downloadProposal(contractUrl);
+
+  console.log("proposal id", proposalId);
+
+  const checkPayResult = await myWallet.checkPay(proposalId);
+
+  console.log("check pay result", checkPayResult);
+
+  const confirmPayResult = await myWallet.confirmPay(proposalId, undefined);
+
+  console.log("confirmPayResult", confirmPayResult);
+
+  const paymentStatus2 = await myMerchant.checkPayment(orderResp.orderId);
+
+  console.log("payment status after wallet payment:", paymentStatus2);
+
+  if (!paymentStatus2.paid) {
+    throw Error("payment did not succeed");
+  }
+
+  myWallet.stop();
+}
diff --git a/src/headless/merchant.ts b/src/headless/merchant.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4861a7d2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/headless/merchant.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*
+ This file is part of GNU Taler
+ (C) 2019 GNUnet e.V.
+
+ GNU Taler is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+ Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+ GNU Taler is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
+ A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+ You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+ GNU Taler; see the file COPYING.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Helpers for talking to the GNU Taler merchant backend.
+ * Used mostly for integration tests.
+ */
+
+ /**
+  * Imports.
+  */
+import axios from "axios";
+import { CheckPaymentResponse } from "../talerTypes";
+import URI = require("urijs");
+
+/**
+ * Connection to the *internal* merchant backend.
+ */
+export class MerchantBackendConnection {
+  constructor(
+    public merchantBaseUrl: string,
+    public merchantInstance: string,
+    public apiKey: string,
+  ) {}
+
+  async createOrder(
+    amount: string,
+    summary: string,
+    fulfillmentUrl: string,
+  ): Promise<{ orderId: string }> {
+    const reqUrl = new URI("order").absoluteTo(this.merchantBaseUrl).href();
+    const orderReq = {
+      order: {
+        amount,
+        summary,
+        fulfillment_url: fulfillmentUrl,
+        instance: this.merchantInstance,
+      },
+    };
+    const resp = await axios({
+      method: "post",
+      url: reqUrl,
+      data: orderReq,
+      responseType: "json",
+      headers: {
+        Authorization: `ApiKey ${this.apiKey}`,
+      },
+    });
+    if (resp.status != 200) {
+      throw Error("failed to create bank reserve");
+    }
+    const orderId = resp.data.order_id;
+    if (!orderId) {
+      throw Error("no order id in response");
+    }
+    return { orderId };
+  }
+
+  async checkPayment(orderId: string): Promise<CheckPaymentResponse> {
+    const reqUrl = new URI("check-payment")
+      .absoluteTo(this.merchantBaseUrl)
+      .href();
+    const resp = await axios({
+      method: "get",
+      url: reqUrl,
+      params: { order_id: orderId, instance: this.merchantInstance },
+      responseType: "json",
+      headers: {
+        Authorization: `ApiKey ${this.apiKey}`,
+      },
+    });
+    if (resp.status != 200) {
+      throw Error("failed to check payment");
+    }
+    return CheckPaymentResponse.checked(resp.data);
+  }
+}