Stripe: Finally, a Payments API for Developers

It’s late 2010, and if you want to accept payments on your website, you usually have to go through a "Merchant Account" provider that feels like it’s stuck in the 1980s. You have to fill out endless paperwork, wait weeks for approval, and then fight with a "Gateway" API that looks like a SOAP nightmare.

Then there’s PayPal, which is easier to set up but forces your users to leave your site and deal with their confusing checkout flow.

A new company called Stripe (previously /dev/payments) just went into public beta, and for developers, it’s a revelation.

The "Seven Lines of Code"

The Stripe philosophy is that payments should be an API, not a bureaucracy. You can start accepting cards with just a few lines of JavaScript and a simple backend call.

// Stripe.js handles the security so you don't have to
Stripe.card.createToken({
  number: $('.card-number').val(),
  cvc: $('.card-cvc').val(),
  exp_month: $('.card-expiry-month').val(),
  exp_year: $('.card-expiry-year').val()
}, stripeResponseHandler);

The genius is that the credit card data never touches your server. It goes directly to Stripe, which returns a "token." This massively reduces your PCI compliance headache.

Built by Developers for Developers

The documentation is incredible. It’s clear, concise, and full of copy-pasteable examples. They have libraries for Ruby, Python, PHP, and Node.js. It’s clear the founders (the Collison brothers) are developers themselves.

Looking Ahead

Stripe is going to enable a whole new generation of startups. By removing the friction of getting paid, they are making it possible for anyone with a laptop and a good idea to start a global business. The "gatekeepers" of the financial world just got bypassed. It’s about time.

Aunimeda develops websites and web applications for businesses - corporate sites, e-commerce, portals, and custom platforms.

Contact us to discuss your web project. See also: Web Development, E-commerce Development