Transitioning to the Payment Methods API

The Payment Methods API replaces the existing Tokens and Sources APIs as the recommended way for integrations to collect and store payment information. It works with the Payment Intents API to create payments for a wide range of payment methods.

Transitioning to the Payment Methods API

The main difference between the Payment Methods and Sources APIs is that Sources describes transaction state through the status property, which means that each Source object must be transitioned to a chargeable state before it can be used for a payment. In contrast, a PaymentMethod is stateless, relying on the PaymentIntent object to represent payment state.

We are continually adding payment methods support on the Payment Methods API. In the meantime, the Sources API may be right for payment methods not yet supported on the Payment Methods API.

If your integration currently uses the Sources or Tokens API, follow the migration guide to transition to the Payment Intents and Payment Methods APIs.

When you have chosen the API to integrate against, our guide to payment methods may help you determine the right payment method types to support for your customers. This guide includes detailed descriptions of each payment method and describes the differences in the customer-facing flows, along with the geographic regions where they are most relevant. You can enable any payment method available to you within the Dashboard. Activation is generally instantaneous and does not require additional contracts nor include a lengthy process.

Compatibility with Sources and cards

If you previously collected customer payment details with Stripe using cards or Sources, you can start using the Payment Methods API immediately without migrating any payment information for payment types that are available on the Payment Methods API.

Compatible payment instruments that have been saved to a Customer are usable in any API that accepts a PaymentMethod object. For example, you can use a saved card as a PaymentMethod when creating a PaymentIntent:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u 
sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjtT1zdp7dc
: \
  -d "payment_method_types[]"="card" \
  -d "amount"=1099 \
  -d "currency"="usd" \
  -d "customer"="{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d "payment_method"="{{CARD_ID}}"

Remember to provide the customer ID that your compatible payment instrument is saved to when attaching the object to a PaymentIntent.

You can retrieve all saved compatible payment instruments through the Payment Methods API.

{
  "id": "card_1EBXBSDuWL9wT9brGOaALeD2",
  "object": "card",
  "address_city": "San Francisco",
  "address_country": "US",
  "address_line1": "1234 Fake Street",
  "address_line1_check": null,
  "address_line2": null,
  "address_state": null,
  "address_zip": null,

{
  "id": "card_1EBXBSDuWL9wT9brGOaALeD2",
  "object": "payment_method",
  "billing_details": {
    "address": {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "country": "US",
      "line1": "1234 Fake Street",
      "line2": null,
      "postal_code": null,

Note that with this compatibility, no new objects are created; the Payment Methods API provides a different view of the same underlying object. For example, updates to a compatible payment instrument through the Payment Methods API is visible through the Sources API and vice versa.

For SEPA Direct Debit payments, you can reuse a SEPA source as a PaymentMethod by attaching it to a Customer object. Compatible SEPA sources must have a populated mandate hash with a non single_use interval.