Collect payment details before creating an Intent

Build an integration where you can render the Payment Element prior to creating a PaymentIntent or SetupIntent.

Subscriptions is a pricing model where users make recurring payments to access a product. In this integration guide, learn how to build a custom payment flow that enables you to render the Payment Element, create a Subscription, and confirm the payment from the customer’s browser.

Set up Stripe
Server-side

First, create a Stripe account or sign in.

Use our official libraries to access the Stripe API from your application:

Enable payment methods

Caution

This integration path doesn’t support BLIK or pre-authorized debits that use the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS).

View your payment methods settings and enable the payment methods you want to support. You need at least one payment method enabled to create a PaymentIntent.

By default, Stripe enables cards and other prevalent payment methods that can help you reach more customers, but we recommend turning on additional payment methods that are relevant for your business and customers. See Payment method support for product and payment method support, and our pricing page for fees.

For Subscriptions, configure your invoice settings and supported payment methods. To prevent mismatches and errors, your invoice settings must match your Payment Element settings.

Collect payment details
Client-side

You’re ready to collect payment details on the client with the Payment Element. The Payment Element is a prebuilt UI component that simplifies collecting payment details for a variety of payment methods.

The Payment Element contains an iframe that securely sends payment information to Stripe over an HTTPS connection. Avoid placing the Payment Element within another iframe because some payment methods require redirecting to another page for payment confirmation.

The checkout page address must start with https:// rather than http:// for your integration to work. You can test your integration without using HTTPS, but remember to enable it when you’re ready to accept live payments.

Set up Stripe.js

The Payment Element 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. Don’t 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/basil/stripe.js"></script>
</head>

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

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

Add the Payment Element to your checkout page

The Payment Element needs a place to live on your checkout page. Create an empty DOM node (container) with a unique ID in your payment form:

checkout.html
<form id="payment-form">
  <div id="payment-element">
    <!-- Elements will create form elements here -->
  </div>
  <button id="submit">Submit</button>
  <div id="error-message">
    <!-- Display error message to your customers here -->
  </div>
</form>

When the form above has loaded, create an Elements instance with the mode, amount, and currency. These values determine which payment methods are shown to your customer.

Then, create an instance of the Payment Element and mount it to the container DOM node.

Note

The amount passed to the Payment Element should reflect what a customer will be charged immediately. This could either be the first installment of the subscription or 0 if the subscription has a trial period.

checkout.js
const options = {
  mode: 'subscription',
  amount: 1099,
  currency: 'usd',
  // Fully customizable with appearance API.
  appearance: {/*...*/},
};

// Set up Stripe.js and Elements to use in checkout form
const elements = stripe.elements(options);

// Create and mount the Payment Element
const paymentElementOptions = { layout: 'accordion'};
const paymentElement = elements.create('payment', paymentElementOptions);
paymentElement.mount('#payment-element');

The Payment Element renders a dynamic form that allows your customer to pick a payment method. The form automatically collects all necessary payments details for the payment method selected by the customer.

You can customize the Payment Element to match the design of your site by passing the appearance object into options when creating the Elements provider.

Collect addresses

By default, the Payment Element only collects the necessary billing address details. To collect a customer’s full billing address (to calculate the tax for digital goods and services, for example) or shipping address, use the Address Element.

OptionalCustomize the layout
Client-side

You can customize the Payment Element’s layout (accordion or tabs) to fit your checkout interface. For more information about each of the properties, see elements.create.

You can start using the layout features by passing a layout type and other optional properties when creating the Payment Element:

const paymentElement = elements.create('payment', {
  layout: {
    type: 'accordion',
    defaultCollapsed: false,
    radios: true,
    spacedAccordionItems: false
  }
});

The following image is the same Payment Element rendered using different layout configurations:

Payment Element layouts

OptionalCustomize the appearance
Client-side

Now that you’ve added the Payment Element to your page, you can customize its appearance to make it fit your design. To learn more about customizing the Payment Element, see Elements Appearance API.

Customize the Payment Element

OptionalSave and retrieve customer payment methods

You can configure the Payment Element to save your customer’s payment methods for future use. This section shows you how to integrate the saved payment methods feature, which enables the Payment Element to:

Prompt buyers for consent to save a payment method
Save payment methods when buyers provide consent
Display saved payment methods to buyers for future purchases
Automatically update lost or expired cards when buyers replace them

The Payment Element and a saved payment method checkbox

Save payment methods.

The Payment Element with a Saved payment method selected

Reuse a previously saved payment method.

Enable saving the payment method in the Payment Element

Create a CustomerSession on your server by providing the Customer ID and enabling the payment_element component for your session. Configure which saved payment method features you want to enable. For instance, enabling payment_method_save displays a checkbox that allows customers to save their payment details for future use.

You can specify setup_future_usage on a PaymentIntent or Checkout Session to override the default behavior for saving payment methods. This ensures that you automatically save the payment method for future use, even if the customer doesn’t explicitly choose to save it.

Caution

Allowing buyers to remove their saved payment methods by enabling payment_method_remove impacts subscriptions that depend on that payment method. Removing the payment method detaches the PaymentMethod from that Customer.

Your Elements instance uses the CustomerSession’s client secret to access that customer’s saved payment methods. Handle errors properly when you create the CustomerSession. If an error occurs, you don’t need to provide the CustomerSession client secret to the Elements instance, as it’s optional.

Create the Elements instance using the CustomerSession client secret. Then, use the Elements instance to create a Payment Element.

checkout.js
// Create the CustomerSession and obtain its clientSecret
const res = await fetch("/create-customer-session", {
  method: "POST"
});

const {
  customer_session_client_secret: customerSessionClientSecret
} = await res.json();

const elementsOptions = {
  mode: 'payment',
  amount: 1099,
  currency: 'usd',
  customerSessionClientSecret,
  // Fully customizable with appearance API.
  appearance: {/*...*/},
};

// Set up Stripe.js and Elements to use in checkout form, passing the client secret
// and CustomerSession's client secret obtained in a previous step
const elements = stripe.elements(elementsOptions);

// Create and mount the Payment Element
const paymentElementOptions = { layout: 'accordion'};
const paymentElement = elements.create('payment', paymentElementOptions);
paymentElement.mount('#payment-element');

When confirming the PaymentIntent, Stripe.js automatically controls setting setup_future_usage on the PaymentIntent and allow_redisplay on the PaymentMethod, depending on whether the customer checked the box to save their payment details.

Enforce CVC recollection

Optionally, specify require_cvc_recollection both when creating the PaymentIntent and when creating Elements to enforce CVC recollection when a customer is paying with a card.

Detect the selection of a saved payment method

To control dynamic content when a saved payment method is selected, listen to the Payment Element change event, which is populated with the selected payment method.

checkout.js
paymentElement.on('change', function(event) {
  if (event.value.payment_method) {
    // Control dynamic content if a saved payment method is selected
  }
})

OptionalAdditional Elements options
Client-side

The Elements object accepts additional options that influence payment collection. Based on the options provided, the Payment Element displays available payment methods from those you’ve enabled. Learn more about payment method support.

Property	Type	Description	Required
`mode`	`payment` `setup` `subscription`	Indicates whether the Payment Element is used with a PaymentIntent, SetupIntent, or Subscription.	Yes
`currency`	`string`	The currency of the amount to charge the customer.	Yes
`amount`	`number`	The amount to charge the customer, shown in Apple Pay, Google Pay, or BNPL UIs.	For `payment` and `subscription` mode
`setupFutureUsage`	`off_session` `on_session`	Indicates that you intend to make future payments with the payment details collected by the Payment Element.	No
`captureMethod`	`automatic` `automatic_async` `manual`	Controls when to capture the funds from the customer’s account.	No
`onBehalfOf`	`string`	Connect only. The Stripe account ID, which is the business of record. See use cases to determine if this option is relevant for your integration.	No
`paymentMethodTypes`	`string[]`	A list of payment method types to render. You can omit this attribute to manage your payment methods in the Stripe Dashboard.	No
`paymentMethodConfiguration`	`string`	The payment method configuration to use when managing your payment methods in the Stripe Dashboard. If not specified, your default configuration is used.	No
`paymentMethodCreation`	`manual`	Allows PaymentMethods to be created from the Elements instance using stripe.createPaymentMethod.	No
`paymentMethodOptions`	`{us_bank_account: {verification_method: string}}`	Verification options for the `us_bank_account` payment method. Accepts the same verification methods as Payment Intents.	No
`paymentMethodOptions`	`{card: {installments: {enabled: boolean}}}`	Allows manually enabling the card installment plan selection UI if applicable when you aren’t managing your payment methods in the Stripe Dashboard. You must set `mode='payment'` and explicitly specify `paymentMethodTypes`. Otherwise an error is raised. Incompatible with `paymentMethodCreation='manual'`.	No

Create the pricing model
Stripe CLI or Dashboard

Create your products and their prices in the Dashboard or with the Stripe CLI.

This example uses a fixed-price service with two different service-level options: Basic and Premium. For each service-level option, you need to create a product and a recurring price. (If you want to add a one-time charge for something like a setup fee, create a third product with a one-time price. To keep things simple, this example doesn’t include a one-time charge.)

In this example, each product bills at monthly intervals. The price for the Basic product is 5 USD. The price for the Premium product is 15 USD.

Go to the Add a product page and create two products. Add one price for each product, each with a monthly recurring billing period:

Premium product: Premium service with extra features
- Price: Flat rate | 15 USD
Basic product: Basic service with minimum features
- Price: Flat rate | 5 USD

After you create the prices, record the price IDs so you can use them in other steps. Price IDs look like this: price_G0FvDp6vZvdwRZ.

When you’re ready, use the Copy to live mode button at the top right of the page to clone your product from a sandbox to live mode.

Create the customer
Client and Server

Stripe needs a customer for each subscription. In your application frontend, collect any necessary customer information and pass it to the backend.

If you need to collect address details, the Address Element enables you to collect a shipping or billing address for your customers. To learn more, see Address Element.

register.html
<form id="signup-form">
  <label>
    Email
    <input id="email" type="text" placeholder="Email address" value="test@example.com" required />
  </label>

  <button type="submit">
    Register
  </button>
</form>

register.js
const emailInput = document.querySelector('#email');

fetch('/create-customer', {
  method: 'post',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: emailInput.value,
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

On the server, create the Stripe customer object.

Create the subscription
Server-side

When the customer submits your payment form, use a Subscription to facilitate the confirmation and payment process. To create a subscription, you need a Customer and a Price.

Note

If you’re using a multi-currency Price, use the currency parameter to tell the Subscription which of the Price’s currencies to use. (If you omit the currency parameter, then the Subscription uses the Price’s default currency.)

Included on a Subscription is a client secret. Return this value to your client for Stripe.js to use to securely complete the payment process. For subscriptions that don’t collect a payment up front (for example, subscriptions with a free trial period), use the client secret from the pending_setup_intent.

Confirm the subscription
Client-side

Use stripe.confirmPayment or stripe.confirmSetup to confirm the subscription using details from the Payment Element. Indicate where Stripe should redirect the customer after confirmation by providing a return_url to the confirm function. With some payment methods, the customer is redirected to an intermediate site, like a bank authorization page, before being redirected to the return_url. You can also set redirect to if_required to only redirect customers that check out with redirect-based payment methods.

checkout.js
const form = document.getElementById('payment-form');
const submitBtn = document.getElementById('submit');

const handleError = (error) => {
  const messageContainer = document.querySelector('#error-message');
  messageContainer.textContent = error.message;
  submitBtn.disabled = false;
}

form.addEventListener('submit', async (event) => {
  // We don't want to let default form submission happen here,
  // which would refresh the page.
  event.preventDefault();

  // Prevent multiple form submissions
  if (submitBtn.disabled) {
    return;
  }

  // Disable form submission while loading
  submitBtn.disabled = true;

  // Trigger form validation and wallet collection
  const {error: submitError} = await elements.submit();
  if (submitError) {
    handleError(submitError);
    return;
  }

  // Create the subscription
  const res = await fetch('/create-subscription', {
    method: "POST",
  });
  const {type, clientSecret} = await res.json();
  const confirmIntent = type === "setup" ? stripe.confirmSetup : stripe.confirmPayment;

  // Confirm the Intent using the details collected by the Payment Element
  const {error} = await confirmIntent({
    elements,
    clientSecret,
    confirmParams: {
      return_url: 'https://example.com/order/123/complete',
    },
  });

  if (error) {
    // This point is only reached if there's an immediate error when confirming the Intent.
    // Show the error to your customer (for example, "payment details incomplete").
    handleError(error);
  } else {
    // Your customer is redirected to your `return_url`. For some payment
    // methods like iDEAL, your customer is redirected to an intermediate
    // site first to authorize the payment, then redirected to the `return_url`.
  }
});

Manage the subscription

To complete the integration, you may want to:

listen for webhooks
provision access to your service
allow customers to cancel their subscriptions

To learn more, see Build a subscription integration.

Collect payment details before creating an Intent

Build an integration where you can render the Payment Element prior to creating a PaymentIntent or SetupIntent.

Set up StripeServer-side

Enable payment methods

Caution

Collect payment detailsClient-side

Set up Stripe.js

Add the Payment Element to your checkout page

Note

Collect addresses

OptionalCustomize the layoutClient-side

OptionalCustomize the appearanceClient-side

OptionalSave and retrieve customer payment methods

Enable saving the payment method in the Payment Element

Caution

Enforce CVC recollection

Detect the selection of a saved payment method

OptionalAdditional Elements optionsClient-side

Create the pricing modelStripe CLI or Dashboard

Create the customerClient and Server

Create the subscriptionServer-side

Note

Confirm the subscriptionClient-side

Manage the subscription

See also

Set up Stripe
Server-side

Collect payment details
Client-side

OptionalCustomize the layout
Client-side

OptionalCustomize the appearance
Client-side

OptionalAdditional Elements options
Client-side

Create the pricing model
Stripe CLI or Dashboard

Create the customer
Client and Server

Create the subscription
Server-side

Confirm the subscription
Client-side