Accept a Sofort payment
Learn how to accept Sofort, a common payment method in Europe.
Warning
SOFORT has been discontinued as of 31 March 2025. For more information, read our support page.
Caution
We recommend that you follow the Accept a payment guide unless you need to use manual server-side confirmation, or your integration requires presenting payment methods separately. If you’ve already integrated with Elements, see the Payment Element migration guide.
Sofort is a single use, delayed notification payment method that requires customers to authenticate their payment. Customers pay with Sofort by redirecting from your app to their bank’s portal to authenticate the payment. It typically takes 2 to 14 days to receive notification of success or failure.
Note
To accept Sofort, you must comply with the Sofort Terms of Service.
Set up StripeServer-sideClient-side
Server-side
This integration requires endpoints on your server that talk to the Stripe API. Use our official libraries for access to the Stripe API from your server:
Client-side
The React Native SDK is open source and fully documented. Internally, it uses the native iOS and Android SDKs. To install Stripe’s React Native SDK, run one of the following commands in your project’s directory (depending on which package manager you use):
Next, install some other necessary dependencies:
- For iOS, navigate to the ios directory and run
pod install
to ensure that you also install the required native dependencies. - For Android, there are no more dependencies to install.
Stripe initialisation
To initialise Stripe in your React Native app, either wrap your payment screen with the StripeProvider
component, or use the initStripe
initialisation method. Only the API publishable key in publishableKey
is required. The following example shows how to initialise Stripe using the StripeProvider
component.
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react'; import { StripeProvider } from '@stripe/stripe-react-native'; function App() { const [publishableKey, setPublishableKey] = useState(''); const fetchPublishableKey = async () => { const key = await fetchKey(); // fetch key from your server here setPublishableKey(key); }; useEffect(() => { fetchPublishableKey(); }, []); return ( <StripeProvider publishableKey={publishableKey} merchantIdentifier="merchant.identifier" // required for Apple Pay urlScheme="your-url-scheme" // required for 3D Secure and bank redirects > // Your app code here </StripeProvider> ); }
Create a PaymentIntentServer-sideClient-side
A PaymentIntent represents your intent to collect payment from a customer and tracks the lifecycle of the payment process.
Server-side
Create a PaymentIntent
on your server and specify the amount
to collect and the eur
currency (Sofort doesn’t support other currencies). If you have an existing Payment Intents integration, add sofort
to the list of payment method types.
Changing the preferred language
By default, Stripe presents the Sofort authorization page in a language based on the specified country code. You can customize this to the language preferred by your customer by specifying it as part of the request and changing the value of the preferred_
property. The supported values are de
, en
, es
, it
, fr
, nl
, and pl
.
Instead of passing the entire PaymentIntent object to your app, return its client secret. The PaymentIntent’s client secret is a unique key that lets you confirm the payment and update payment details on the client, without allowing manipulation of sensitive information, like payment amount.
Client-side
On the client, request a PaymentIntent from your server and store the client secret.
const fetchPaymentIntentClientSecret = async () => { const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/create-payment-intent`, { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', }, body: JSON.stringify({ email, currency: 'eur', payment_method_types: ['sofort'], }), }); const { clientSecret, error } = await response.json(); return { clientSecret, error }; };
Collect payment method details
In your app, collect your customer’s email address.
export default function SofortPaymentScreen() { const [email, setEmail] = useState(); const handlePayPress = async () => { // ... }; return ( <Screen> <TextInput placeholder="E-mail" onChange={(value) => setEmail(value.nativeEvent.text)} /> </Screen> ); }
Submit the payment to Stripe
Retrieve the client secret from the PaymentIntent you created and call confirmPayment
. This presents a webview where the customer can complete the payment on their bank’s website or app. Afterwards, the promise resolves with the result of the payment.
export default function SofortPaymentScreen() { const [email, setEmail] = useState(); const billingDetails: PaymentMethodCreateParams.BillingDetails = { name: 'John Doe', }; const { error, paymentIntent } = await confirmPayment(clientSecret, { paymentMethodType: 'Sofort', paymentMethodData: { billingDetails, country: 'DE', } }); if (error) { Alert.alert(`Error code: ${error.code}`, error.message); } else if (paymentIntent) { Alert.alert( 'Success', `The payment was confirmed successfully! currency: ${paymentIntent.currency}` ); } return ( <Screen> <TextInput placeholder="E-mail" onChange={(value) => setEmail(value.nativeEvent.text)} /> </Screen> ); }
Handle post-payment events
As Sofort is a delayed notification payment method, the PaymentIntent’s status remains in a payment_intent.processing state for up to 14 days from its creation (also known as the cut-off date). In a sandbox, the PaymentIntent’s status remains in the processing state for three minutes to simulate this.
- Stripe recommends fulfilling purchases during the processing state. On average, you can expect approximately 0.2% of Sofort payment attempts to fail after entering the processing state. This only applies to Sofort payments due to its low payment failure rate and doesn’t apply to other delayed notification payment methods.
- You may prefer to fulfil orders only after receiving the payment_intent.succeeded event. Stripe sends this event after the payment attempt is confirmed and the funds are guaranteed.
- If a customer doesn’t pay, Stripe sends the payment_intent.failed event and the PaymentIntent returns to a status of
requires_
.payment_ method
Use the Dashboard, a custom webhook, or a partner solution to receive these events and run actions, like sending an order confirmation email to your customer, logging the sale in a database, or starting a shipping workflow.
Manually
Use the Stripe Dashboard to view all your Stripe payments, send email receipts, handle payouts, or retry failed payments.
Custom code
Build a webhook handler to listen for events and build custom asynchronous payment flows. Test and debug your webhook integration locally with the Stripe CLI.
Prebuilt apps
Handle common business events, like automation or marketing and sales, by integrating a partner application.
Disputed payments
The risk of fraud or unrecognized payments is low because the customer must authenticate the payment with their bank. As a result, you won’t have disputes that turn into chargebacks, with funds withdrawn from your Stripe account.
Failed attempts
If a payment attempt hasn’t been confirmed within the cut-off time, the PaymentIntent object’s status automatically transitions from processing
to requires_
. Additionally, if the funds are received after the cut-off date, the customer is automatically refunded.
On average, you can expect approximately 0.2% of Sofort payment attempts to fail. This may vary based on your industry or customer base. Depending on your average payment amount, the type of products or service you provide, and the risk associated with your business, you may prefer to fulfill orders only after receiving the payment_
event.
Refunds
Sofort only accepts refund requests within 180 days from the date of the original payment. After 180 days, it’s no longer possible to refund the payment.
You can submit a refund against pending charges that haven’t been confirmed yet. If you create a full or partial refund when a PaymentIntent’s status is processing
, the refund occurs only after the PaymentIntent’s status is succeeded
. If the PaymentIntent’s status is requires_
after a payment attempt fails, full and partial refunds are marked as cancelled because the money never left the customer’s bank account.