Testing

Stripe provides a number of resources for testing your integration. Make sure to test the following use cases before launch, and use our Postman collection to make the testing process simpler.

Each Stripe account includes a test and live mode. Test mode includes a separate set of data and API keys that you can use exclusively for testing your integration; we recommend using test mode to build the integration and replace your test keys with live keys when you’re ready to go live.

You’re welcome to test on as many accounts as you’d like; however, if you create a new test account, make sure to let your Stripe contact know so they can apply any custom configurations. You can open additional Stripe accounts directly from the Dashboard.

QA testing use cases

USE CASE	ACTION
Charge success (if capturing immediately)	No error. Charge should populate as “Succeeded” in the Stripe Dashboard under “Payments.” Charge should be captured.
PaymentIntent authorization success (if capturing funds for later)	`{ ... "capture_method": "manual", ... "status": "requires_capture", ... }`
PaymentIntent capture success (if capturing immediately or in response to capturing funds for later)	`{ ... "status": "succeeded", ... }`
Charge fail	Charge should show as “Failed” in the Stripe Dashboard and return the below: `{ "error": { "charge": "ch_zYUAB2nwT47qK3X9", "code": "card_declined", "decline_code": "<<REASON HERE>>", "doc_url": "https://stripe.com/docs/error-codes/card-declined", "message": "Your card was declined.", "type": "card_error" } }`
Radar block	No matter which version of Radar you use, a charge may be blocked due to high risk, or because of a rule. The response will be the same as above in Charge fail.
Charge disputed	Charge should show as “Disputed” in “Payments.” Charge amount plus dispute fee should be debited from the balance, and a Dispute object should be created (and its associated `charge.dispute.created` event): `{ "object": { "id": "du_d8XPpVYOgP2bQE3w", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_klrD017073ljxaut", ... "status": "needs_response" } }`
Charge inquiry opened	Inquiries are similar to disputes, with three key distinctions: no funds are withdrawn unless the inquiry is elevated to a dispute, they remain refundable until disputed, and have a different set of statuses. A `charge.dispute.created` event is fired: `{ "object": { "id": "du_PIIROMHfIOXhKPtm", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_kqBtMObH3dWQMH9M", ... "is_charge_refundable": true, ... "status": "warning_needs_response" } }`
Dispute won	When a dispute is won, the funds of the original charge are restored to the account, less the dispute fee. The existing Dispute object is updated (and a `charge.dispute.closed` event is fired): `{ "object": { "id": "du_CJbeJEN0RwsXNbsS", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_TDh1NNKyw4vKMDom", ... "status": "won" } }`
Dispute lost	When a dispute is lost, the existing Dispute object is updated (and a `charge.dispute.closed` event is fired): `{ "object": { "id": "du_HWfwQG0rzdfkvHmE", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_pXg9tFzEe0UQBUJ4", ... "status": "lost" } }`
Inquiry won	When an inquiry is won, your balance remains the same, as no funds were removed when the inquiry was initially opened. The existing Dispute object is updated (and a `charge.dispute.closed` event is fired): `{ "object": { "id": "du_rDFmZ1Beww5vwYXQ", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_cY6H1ahUUelJpUy6", ... "status": "warning_closed" } }`
Inquiry lost	When an inquiry is lost, it will escalate to a dispute. At that time the status will be changed with a charge.dispute.updated event, and funds will be withdrawn in a `charge.dispute.funds_withdrawn` event: `{ "object": { "id": "du_tKZcsjBkffKOOYOg", "object": "dispute", "charge_id": "ch_YSeBOsRSpIHZ47Wz", ... "status": "needs_response" } }`
Charge refunded	Charge should show as “Refunded” in the Stripe Dashboard and return the below: `{ "id": "re_ITmDqFi5Nu57xqoX", "object": "refund", "amount": "<<FULL AMOUNT>>", "charge": "ch_DFiTHxb3y5e8Ytnv", ... "payment_intent": "pi_8CqzpbI5OhHzVg4R", // if you are using PaymentIntents ... "status": "succeeded" }`
Charge partially refunded	Charge should show as “Refunded” in the Stripe Dashboard. The refund amount will be different from the charge amount, and the partially-refunded charges may still be disputed. `{ "id": "re_FHBBPkydA6h2fzSs", "object": "refund", "amount": "<<PARTIAL AMOUNT>>", "charge": "ch_hFN4W68HkGeFTfWY", ... "payment_intent": "pi_eyVcPIh5ECImNawh", // if you are using PaymentIntents ... "status": "succeeded" }`
Account balance goes negative	Ensure that your bank accounts can accept debits from Stripe, and test a negative balance on Stripe.
Successful payout	If you’ve enabled webhooks for a successful payout (recommended), test your handling of the event.
Failed payout	If you’ve enabled webhooks for a failed payout (recommended), test your handling of the event.

Postman collection

Postman is a widely-used API development tool. To make integrating Stripe simpler, we provide a Payments-specific Postman collection with the tools you’ll need to test the server-side component of your integration.

Importing the collection

To get started, you’ll need access to the Postman application. The app is available in a browser-based version or a standalone desktop version. As soon as you have either version launched, the first step is to import the collection:

Desktop

Go to File > Import.

Web

Click the Import button on the upper left hand corner.

Select the tab titled Link and paste in the link for the Payments collection:

The Import Modal

You’ll now see the top level collection listed in your instance of Postman.

Using the collection

To get started, populate the {{secret_key}} collection variable. To do this, navigate to the collection you just imported in the workspace and you’ll see a tab titled Variables as shown below.

The Variables Tab for the Collection

Copy your testmode Stripe secret key from the Stripe Dashboard and paste it into the field titled Initial Value. When you’ve done that, you’re ready to begin making requests.

Other variables will get populated by scripts during the runtime of the collection. For example, when creating a charge or payment intent, a script in the collection will save that ID to be used in subsequent requests, such as a refund.

Additional testing resources

We recommend using the following Stripe documentation to test your integration:

The Stripe testing guide provides test card numbers to simulate successful or failing transactions, disputes, bank accounts, and more.
The Integration security guide contains information about PCI compliance, secure connections, and other relevant security topics.

Next steps

Resources