stripe-best-practices

Use Checkout Sessions for on-session payments since it handles taxes, discounts, and shipping automatically. Use PaymentIntents for off-session payments or when you need to model checkout state independently and just create a charge.

No, omit payment_method_types entirely to enable dynamic payment methods, which lets Stripe show the most relevant methods per customer. The only exception is Terminal in-person payments, which require card_present.

Use the Accounts v2 API with configuration.recipient requesting stripe_transfers, dashboard set to express, and destination charges with application_fee_amount. Never use deprecated v1 account types like express or custom in account creation.

Restricted API keys (rk_ prefix) have only the permissions you assign, so a compromised key does far less damage than a secret key (sk_ prefix). Follow least privilege by creating a separate restricted key per service or use case.

Use Metronome for any new usage-based billing integration, including prepaid credits, enterprise contracts, and high-volume event ingestion. Stay on Billing Meters only if you already use it for simple pay-as-you-go needs.

automatic_tax and explicit tax_rates are mutually exclusive, so you must clear default_tax_rates and item-level tax_rates first. Use the API rather than the Dashboard to schedule the change at the next billing cycle and avoid prorations.