zahgHow to Build a Scalable Payment System with Stripe API in 2026 Building a payment system...
Building a payment system from scratch is complex. Between handling credit card security, PCI compliance, and fraud prevention, most teams shouldn't reinvent the wheel. That's where Stripe comes in.
In this guide, I'll walk you through building a production-ready payment system using Stripe's API. By the end, you'll have a system that handles payments, subscriptions, webhooks, and customer management—all secure and compliant.
Let me be direct: don't build your own payment processor. Here's why:
If your business is payments, use Stripe. If your business is something else, definitely use Stripe.
Go to Stripe and sign up. You'll immediately get:
npm install stripe
const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
That's it. You're ready to accept payments.
Here's a complete example: a user buys a product for $29.99.
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.post('/create-payment-intent', async (req, res) => {
try {
const paymentIntent = await stripe.paymentIntents.create({
amount: 2999, // $29.99 in cents
currency: 'usd',
payment_method_types: ['card'],
});
res.json({ clientSecret: paymentIntent.client_secret });
} catch (error) {
res.status(400).json({ error: error.message });
}
});
app.listen(4000, () => console.log('Server running on port 4000'));
On the client side, use Stripe.js to collect the payment:
<script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>
<form id="payment-form">
<div id="card-element"></div>
<button id="submit-button">Pay Now</button>
</form>
<script>
const stripe = Stripe('YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_KEY');
const elements = stripe.elements();
const cardElement = elements.create('card');
cardElement.mount('#card-element');
document.getElementById('submit-button').addEventListener('click', async (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
// Get client secret from your backend
const response = await fetch('/create-payment-intent', { method: 'POST' });
const { clientSecret } = await response.json();
// Confirm the payment
const result = await stripe.confirmCardPayment(clientSecret, {
payment_method: {
card: cardElement,
billing_details: { name: 'John Doe' },
},
});
if (result.error) {
alert(result.error.message);
} else if (result.paymentIntent.status === 'succeeded') {
alert('Payment successful!');
}
});
</script>
That's it. You've built a payment system. The card details never touch your server (Stripe handles that), and you're fully PCI compliant.
Most SaaS companies need recurring payments. Stripe makes this straightforward:
app.post('/create-subscription', async (req, res) => {
try {
const subscription = await stripe.subscriptions.create({
customer: 'cus_123456', // Stripe customer ID
items: [{ price: 'price_plan_id' }],
payment_settings: {
save_default_payment_method: 'on_subscription',
default_mandate_id: 'mandate_123', // For SCA/3DS
},
expand: ['latest_invoice.payment_intent'],
});
res.json(subscription);
} catch (error) {
res.status(400).json({ error: error.message });
}
});
Stripe automatically:
Your app needs to react to Stripe events. Use webhooks:
app.post('/webhook', express.raw({type: 'application/json'}), (req, res) => {
const event = JSON.parse(req.body);
switch (event.type) {
case 'payment_intent.succeeded':
console.log('Payment succeeded:', event.data.object);
// Update your database, send confirmation email
break;
case 'charge.failed':
console.log('Charge failed:', event.data.object);
// Alert user, trigger retry
break;
case 'customer.subscription.deleted':
console.log('Subscription canceled:', event.data.object);
// Disable access, send goodbye email
break;
default:
console.log('Unhandled event:', event.type);
}
res.json({received: true});
});
Pro tip: Use Stripe's webhook signing to verify events are legitimate:
const endpointSecret = process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET;
app.post('/webhook', express.raw({type: 'application/json'}), (req, res) => {
const sig = req.headers['stripe-signature'];
try {
const event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(req.body, sig, endpointSecret);
// Process event...
} catch (error) {
return res.status(400).send(`Webhook error: ${error.message}`);
}
res.json({received: true});
});
Let's say you're building a tool that costs $29/month. Here's the flow:
// Create customer
const customer = await stripe.customers.create({
email: 'user@example.com',
name: 'John Doe',
});
// Attach payment method
const paymentMethod = await stripe.paymentMethods.create({
type: 'card',
card: { /* card details from frontend */ },
});
await stripe.paymentMethods.attach(paymentMethod.id, {
customer: customer.id,
});
// Create subscription
const subscription = await stripe.subscriptions.create({
customer: customer.id,
items: [{ price: 'price_monthly_plan' }],
default_payment_method: paymentMethod.id,
});
Boom. Your SaaS is now monetized.
Use the Stripe Dashboard to:
For local development, use Stripe CLI to forward webhooks to your machine:
stripe listen --forward-to localhost:4000/webhook
For most startups, this is cheaper than hiring a payments engineer.
Building with Stripe is fast, secure, and scales with you. You can launch a revenue-generating SaaS in a weekend using their API.
Start here: Stripe Dashboard → Create account → Get API keys → Follow the examples above.
Want to learn about advanced features like Connect (for marketplaces), Radar (for fraud), or Billing (for invoicing)? Let me know in the comments.
Published: February 2026
Questions? Check Stripe Docs or leave a comment.