stripe-integration

Stripe payment processing uses Checkout Sessions or PaymentIntents to handle transactions securely. Create a session with your product details, redirect users to Stripe's hosted page or embedded form, and verify payment completion through webhooks. This approach isolates sensitive card data from your servers, meeting PCI DSS compliance requirements.

Stripe subscriptions automate recurring charges by storing customer payment methods via SetupIntents and scheduling recurring PaymentIntents. Define billing intervals, amounts, and linked products, then use webhooks to monitor subscription events like renewals, cancellations, and failures for accurate billing workflows.

Webhook handling requires verifying the signature of incoming events using Stripe's signing secret to confirm authenticity. Parse the event payload, identify the event type—payment_intent.succeeded, charge.refunded, invoice.paid—and trigger corresponding actions. This prevents forged requests and ensures only legitimate Stripe events trigger business logic.

Yes, Stripe integrates with Flask through the official Python SDK. Install the stripe package, initialize it with your API keys, and call Stripe methods within Flask route handlers to create sessions, retrieve customer records, and manage webhooks alongside your application logic.

Stripe reduces your PCI burden significantly by handling card data directly. You remain responsible for HTTPS, secure API key storage, and logging practices, but you avoid storing or processing raw card numbers. Following Stripe's recommended patterns—Checkout Sessions and SetupIntents—keeps your compliance scope minimal.

Stripe customer records store multiple payment methods, allowing users to save cards and choose which to charge. Use PaymentIntents to specify the payment method, and issue refunds via the Refunds API with the original charge ID. Webhooks notify you of refund completion for reconciliation.