Create a payments page

Learn how to create a page to accept payments for your users.

You can create a payments page to accept payments for your users. Refer to your platform profile to determine if direct charges or destination charges is recommended for your business.

Use either Stripe Elements or Checkout to create your payments page. Stripe Elements is a set of prebuilt UI components, like inputs and buttons, for building your checkout flow. If you’d rather not build your own payment form, Checkout provides a Stripe-hosted page to accept payments for one-time purchases and subscriptions.

Destination charges

For demonstrative purposes, the platform will represent a home-rental marketplace that’s creating payments for homeowners renting their places. You can use destination charges in other applications as well.

Step 1: Create a PaymentIntent Server-side

Stripe uses a PaymentIntent object to represent your intent to collect payment from a customer, tracking charge attempts and payment state changes throughout the process.

Create a PaymentIntent on your server with an amount and currency. Always decide how much to charge on the server side, a trusted environment, as opposed to the client. This prevents malicious customers from being able to choose their own prices.

Terminal

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjtT1zdp7dc
: \
  -d "payment_method_types[]"=card \
  -d amount=1000 \
  -d currency="usd" \
  -d application_fee_amount="123" \
  -d "transfer_data[destination]"="{{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}}" \

In our home-rental example, we want to build an experience where customers pay for rentals by using our platform, and where we pay homeowners for renting to customers. To set this experience up:

Indicate the rental is a destination charge with transfer_data[destination].
Specify how much of the rental amount will go to the platform with application_fee_amount.

When a rental charge occurs, Stripe transfers the entire amount to the connected account’s pending balance (transfer_data[destination]). Afterward, Stripe transfers the fee amount (application_fee_amount) to the platform’s account, which is the share of the revenue for facilitating the rental. Then, Stripe deducts the Stripe fees from the platform’s fee amount. An illustration of this funds flow is below:

This PaymentIntent creates a destination charge. If you need to control the timing of transfers or need to transfer funds from a single payment to multiple parties, use separate charges and transfers instead.

Included in the returned PaymentIntent is a client secret, which is used on the client side to securely complete the payment process instead of passing the entire PaymentIntent object. There are different approaches that you can use to pass the client secret to the client side.

You can retrieve the client secret from an endpoint on your server using the browser’s fetch function on the client side. This approach is generally most suitable when your client side is a single-page application, particularly one built with a modern frontend framework such as React. This example shows how to create the server endpoint that serves the client secret:

main.rb

get '/secret' do
  intent = # ... Create or retrieve the PaymentIntent
  {client_secret: intent.client_secret}.to_json
end

This example demonstrates how to fetch the client secret with JavaScript on the client side:

var response = fetch('/secret').then(function(response) {
  return response.json();
}).then(function(responseJson) {
  var clientSecret = responseJson.client_secret;
  // Call stripe.confirmCardPayment() with the client secret.
});

Step 2: Collect card details Client-side

You’re ready to collect card information on the client with Stripe Elements. Elements is a set of prebuilt UI components for collecting and validating card number, ZIP code, and expiration date.

A Stripe Element contains an iframe that securely sends the payment information to Stripe over an HTTPS connection. The checkout page address must also start with https:// rather than http:// for your integration to work.

You can test your integration without using HTTPS. Enable it when you’re ready to accept live payments.

Set up Stripe Elements

Stripe Elements is automatically available as a feature of Stripe.js. Include the Stripe.js script on your checkout page by adding it to the head of your HTML file. Always load Stripe.js directly from js.stripe.com to remain PCI compliant. Do not include the script in a bundle or host a copy of it yourself.

checkout.html

<head>
  <title>Checkout</title>
  <script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>
</head>

Create an instance of Elements with the following JavaScript on your checkout page:

script.js

// Set your publishable key: remember to change this to your live publishable key in production
// See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
var stripe = Stripe('pk_test_TYooMQauvdEDq54NiTphI7jx');
var elements = stripe.elements();

Add Elements to your payment page

Elements needs a place to live in your payment form. Create empty DOM nodes (containers) with unique IDs in your payment form and then pass those IDs to Elements.

checkout.html

View full sample

<form id="payment-form">
  <div id="card-element">
    <!-- Elements will create input elements here -->
  </div>

  <!-- We'll put the error messages in this element -->
  <div id="card-errors" role="alert"></div>

  <button id="submit">Pay</button>
</form>

When the form above has loaded, create an instance of an Element and mount it to the Element container:

client.js

View full sample

// Set up Stripe.js and Elements to use in checkout form
var elements = stripe.elements();
var style = {
  base: {
    color: "#32325d",
  }
};

var card = elements.create("card", { style: style });
card.mount("#card-element");

The card Element simplifies the form and minimizes the number of required fields by inserting a single, flexible input field that securely collects all necessary card and billing details. Otherwise, combine cardNumber, cardExpiry, and cardCvc Elements for a flexible, multi-input card form.

Always collect a postal code to increase card acceptance rates and reduce fraud.

The single input card Element automatically collects and sends the customer’s postal code to Stripe. If you build your payment form with multi-input card Elements (cardNumber, cardExpiry, cardCvc), add a separate input field for the customer’s postal code.

For a full list of supported Element types, refer to our Stripe.js reference documentation.

Elements validates user input as it is typed. To help your customers catch mistakes, listen to change events on the card Element and display any errors:

card.on('change', function(event) {
  var displayError = document.getElementById('card-errors');
  if (event.error) {
    displayError.textContent = event.error.message;
  } else {
    displayError.textContent = '';
  }
});

Postal code validation depends on your customer’s billing country. Use our international test cards to experiment with other postal code formats.

Step 3: Submit the payment to Stripe Client-side

Rather than sending the entire PaymentIntent object to the client, use its client secret from Step 1. This is different from your API keys that authenticate Stripe API requests.

The client secret should still be handled carefully because it can complete the charge. Do not log it, embed it in URLs, or expose it to anyone but the customer.

To complete the payment when the user clicks, retrieve the client secret from the PaymentIntent you created in Step 1 and call stripe.confirmCardPayment with the client secret.

Pass additional billing details, such as the cardholder name and address, to the billing_details hash. The card Element automatically sends the customer’s postal code information. However, combining cardNumber, cardCvc, and cardExpiry Elements requires you to pass the postal code to billing_details[address][postal_code].

client.js

View full sample

var form = document.getElementById('payment-form');

form.addEventListener('submit', function(ev) {
  ev.preventDefault();
  stripe.confirmCardPayment(clientSecret, {
    payment_method: {
      card: card,
      billing_details: {
        name: 'Jenny Rosen'
      }
    }
  }).then(function(result) {
    if (result.error) {
      // Show error to your customer (e.g., insufficient funds)
      console.log(result.error.message);
    } else {
      // The payment has been processed!
      if (result.paymentIntent.status === 'succeeded') {
        // Show a success message to your customer
        // There's a risk of the customer closing the window before callback
        // execution. Set up a webhook or plugin to listen for the
        // payment_intent.succeeded event that handles any business critical
        // post-payment actions.
      }
    }
  });
});

stripe.confirmCardPayment may take several seconds to complete. During that time, disable your form from being resubmitted and show a waiting indicator like a spinner. If you receive an error, show it to the customer, re-enable the form, and hide the waiting indicator.

If the customer must authenticate the card, Stripe.js walks them through that process by showing them a modal. You can see an example of this modal experience by using the test card number with any CVC, future expiration date, and postal code in the demo at the top of the page.

When the payment completes successfully, the value of the returned PaymentIntent’s status property is succeeded. Check the status of a PaymentIntent in the Dashboard or by inspecting the status property on the object. If the payment is not successful, inspect the returned error to determine the cause.

Step 4: Fulfillment Server-side

After the payment is completed, you’ll need to handle any fulfillment necessary on your end. A home-rental company that requires payment upfront, for instance, would connect the homeowner with the renter after a successful payment.

Configure a webhook endpoint (for events from your account) in your dashboard.

Then create an HTTP endpoint on your server to monitor for completed payments to then enable your sellers or service providers to fulfill purchases.

server.rb

# Using Sinatra.
require 'sinatra'
require 'stripe'

set :port, 4242
# Set your secret key. Remember to switch to your live secret key in production.
# See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
Stripe.api_key = "sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjtT1zdp7dc"

# Uncomment and replace with a real secret. You can find your endpoint's
# secret in your webhook settings.
# webhook_secret = 'whsec_...'

post '/webhook' do
  payload = request.body.read
  sig_header = request.env['HTTP_STRIPE_SIGNATURE']

  event = nil

  # Verify webhook signature and extract the event.
  # See https://stripe.com/docs/webhooks/signatures for more information.
  begin
    event = Stripe::Webhook.construct_event(
      payload, sig_header, webhook_secret
    )
  rescue JSON::ParserError => e
    # Invalid payload.
    status 400
    return
  rescue Stripe::SignatureVerificationError => e
    # Invalid Signature.
    status 400
    return
  end

  if event['type'] == 'payment_intent.succeeded'
    payment_intent = event['data']['object']
    handle_successful_payment_intent(payment_intent)
  end

  status 200
end

def handle_successful_payment_intent(payment_intent)
  # Fulfill the purchase.
  puts payment_intent.to_s
end

Learn more in our fulfillment guide for payments.

Testing webhooks locally

Testing webhooks locally is easy with the Stripe CLI.

First, install the Stripe CLI on your machine if you haven’t already.
Then, to log in run stripe login in the command line, and follow the instructions.
Finally, to allow your local host to receive a simulated event on your connected account run stripe listen --forward-to localhost:{PORT}/webhook in one terminal window, and run stripe trigger --stripe-account={{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}} payment_intent.succeeded (or trigger any other supported event) in another.

Step 5: Disputes

As the settlement merchant on charges, your platform is responsible for disputes. Make sure you understand the best practices for responding to disputes.

Subscriptions

You can create a recurring payment on a connected account with subscriptions. Subscriptions are created with direct charges. Optionally, specify an application_fee_percent to direct a percentage of each invoice payment to your platform.

The Checkout page is branded using the business name, icon, logo, and color of the connected account.

It is possible to include a combination of one-time line items and recurring plans in a Checkout Session. If specified, application_fee_percent will apply to both one-time and recurring items.

Step 1: Create a Checkout session Server-side

On your server, make the following call to Stripe’s API:

Terminal

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/checkout/sessions \
  -u sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjtT1zdp7dc
: \
  -d "payment_method_types[]"="card" \
  -d "line_items[][price]"="{{PRICE_ID}}" \
  -d "line_items[][quantity]"=1 \
  -d "subscription_data[application_fee_percent]"=10 \
  -d "mode"="subscription" \
  -d "success_url"="https://example.com/success" \
  -d "cancel_url"="https://example.com/cancel" \
  -H "Stripe-Account: {{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}}"

Step 2: Add a checkout button Client-side

On your checkout page, include the Stripe.js script by adding it to the head of your HTML file.

checkout.html

<head>
  <title>Checkout</title>
  <script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>
</head>

Fetch the Session ID from your server. Add a button to your client with a click handler that calls Stripe’s frontend API:

// Initialize Stripe.js with the same connected account ID used when creating
// the Checkout Session.
var stripe = Stripe('pk_test_TYooMQauvdEDq54NiTphI7jx', {
  stripeAccount: '{{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}}'
});

var checkoutButton = document.getElementById('checkout-button');

checkoutButton.addEventListener('click', function() {
  stripe.redirectToCheckout({
    // Make the id field from the Checkout Session creation API response
    // available to this file, so you can provide it as argument here
    // instead of the {{CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}} placeholder.
    sessionId: '{{CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}}'
  }).then(function (result) {
    // If `redirectToCheckout` fails due to a browser or network
    // error, display the localized error message to your customer
    // using `result.error.message`.
  });
});

Branding

Your platform and Standard connected accounts can use the Branding settings in the Dashboard to customize branding on the payments page. Destination charges will use the platform’s branding. For direct charges, platforms can use the Accounts API to configure the branding settings for Express and Custom accounts.

The account update API accepts the following parameters for branding:

icon - Displayed next to the business name in the header of the Checkout page.
logo- If specified, displayed instead of the icon and business name in the header of the Checkout page.
primary_color - Used as the background color on the Checkout page.
secondary_color - Used as the button color on the Checkout page.

Terminal

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/accounts/{{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}} \
  -u sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjtT1zdp7dc
: \
  -d "settings[branding][icon]"="file_123" \
  -d "settings[branding][logo]"="file_456" \
  -d "settings[branding][primary_color]"="#663399" \
  -d "settings[branding][secondary_color]"="#4BB543"