Payment Methods represent the various ways customers can pay for goods and services, such as credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts. In the Stax Core Data API, payment methods are securely stored and tokenized to facilitate transactions without exposing sensitive financial information.

Managing payment methods effectively allows merchants to provide a seamless and secure payment experience for their customers.

Overview

Security First

Payment methods are tokenized to replace sensitive data with unique identifiers, ensuring PCI compliance and protecting customer information.

Flexible Integration

Create payment methods via client-side libraries like Stax.js or server-side API calls to fit your integration needs.

Core Operations

Creating Payment Methods

Payment methods can be created by tokenizing sensitive payment information using client-side libraries like Stax.js or server-side API calls.

Important: For PCI compliance and security, it is strongly recommended to use client-side tokenization methods like Stax.js when handling credit card information.

Update Payment Method

Modify details of an existing payment method, such as updating the expiration date or metadata without re-tokenizing.

Delete Payment Method

Soft-delete a payment method, making it inaccessible for future transactions. The payment method is marked as deleted but not permanently removed.

Import Credit Cards

Need to import tokenized credit cards from your current processor? Contact your Account Manager or Partner Success Manager for assistance.

Advanced Features

Card Information Details

When retrieving payment method information for cards, you get access to additional metadata:

Card Type Detection

Debit or Credit Indicator: The bin_type parameter indicates if the card is "DEBIT" or "CREDIT"
Prepaid Card Check: The meta.prepaid boolean indicates if the card is a prepaid debit or gift card

Available Information

Card brand (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
Last four digits
Expiration date
Additional metadata and security indicators

Third-Party Integration

Share a Payment Method with a Third Party

Enable merchants to copy an existing Stax payment method to an external gateway without re-entering card details. This is useful when integrating with third-party services that require access to the payment method.

Important Note: Requires a gateway_token. Contact your Partner Success representative for details.

Surcharge Calculation

Review a Transaction's Surcharge Information

Calculate surcharge information based on a given payment_method_id and transaction amount. This feature helps inform customers of any additional fees associated with using certain payment methods.

Key Details:

Surcharge Calculation: Only applicable to credit cards and when the merchant has surcharging enabled
Surcharge Details: Provides the surcharge rate and amount for transparency
Customer Communication: Use this information to inform customers of additional fees before processing

Best Practices

Security

Always use client-side tokenization (Stax.js) for credit card information to maintain PCI compliance.

Testing

Use provided test cards and bank accounts in sandbox environments to thoroughly test your integration.

Management

Regularly review and manage stored payment methods to maintain data hygiene and customer experience.