name: Stripe description: >- Vocabulary of key terms, concepts, objects, and operations used across the Stripe Payments platform. Covers payment processing, billing, financial operations, and platform connectivity. version: "1.0" created: "2026-05-02" modified: "2026-05-02" tags: - Commerce - Payments - Financial Services - Fintech terms: - term: PaymentIntent definition: >- The core object guiding payment collection. A PaymentIntent tracks the lifecycle of a payment from creation through confirmation and capture. Always create one PaymentIntent per order. category: Core Object tags: - Payments - Core - term: Checkout Session definition: >- A hosted or embedded payment form created for a single transaction. Stripe handles the UI and payment method collection. Supports one-time payments, subscriptions, and setup mode. category: Core Object tags: - Checkout - Payments - term: Charge definition: >- Represents a single attempt to debit a payment method. Created when a PaymentIntent is confirmed successfully. Contains status, amount, currency, and dispute information. category: Core Object tags: - Charges - Payments - term: Customer definition: >- A Stripe object representing a business's customer. Stores payment methods, subscription data, balance, and metadata. Required for recurring billing and saved payment methods. category: Core Object tags: - Customers - Identity - term: Subscription definition: >- A recurring billing agreement between a customer and a merchant. Manages billing cycles, trial periods, proration, and automatic invoice generation. category: Core Object tags: - Subscriptions - Billing - term: Invoice definition: >- A statement of amounts owed. Invoices can be drafted, finalized, paid, voided, or marked uncollectible. They are automatically created for subscriptions. category: Core Object tags: - Invoices - Billing - term: PaymentMethod definition: >- Represents a customer's payment instrument (card, bank account, wallet, etc.). Attached to customers and used across PaymentIntents and SetupIntents. category: Core Object tags: - Payment Methods - Payments - term: Refund definition: >- Represents a reversal of a charge. Can be full or partial. May have reason codes and is reflected in the original charge's refunds list. category: Core Object tags: - Refunds - Payments - term: Dispute definition: >- Occurs when a customer questions a charge with their card issuer (chargeback). Stripe provides evidence submission capabilities to contest disputes. category: Core Object tags: - Disputes - Risk Management - term: Payout definition: >- The transfer of collected funds to a connected bank account. Payouts can be automatic (scheduled) or manual. Status transitions: pending → paid or failed. category: Core Object tags: - Payouts - Financial Operations - term: Balance definition: >- The current available and pending funds in a Stripe account. Tracks pending (not yet available) and available (ready for payout) amounts by currency. category: Core Object tags: - Balance - Financial Operations - term: Account definition: >- A Stripe account representing a business. In Connect, custom and express accounts are created under a platform account to enable marketplace or SaaS payment flows. category: Core Object tags: - Accounts - Connect - term: Connect definition: >- Stripe's platform product enabling marketplaces and SaaS platforms to move money to third parties. Uses connected accounts, transfers, and application fees. category: Platform Feature tags: - Connect - Platform - term: Transfer definition: >- Moves funds from a platform's Stripe balance to a connected account. Used in Connect to distribute marketplace earnings. category: Core Object tags: - Transfers - Connect - term: Price definition: >- Defines the unit cost, currency, and billing cycle for a product. Prices can be recurring (for subscriptions) or one-time. category: Core Object tags: - Prices - Billing - term: Product definition: >- Represents a good or service sold through Stripe. Products can have multiple Prices attached for different billing intervals or currencies. category: Core Object tags: - Products - Catalog - term: Coupon definition: >- A percent-off or amount-off discount applied to subscriptions, invoices, or checkout sessions. category: Core Object tags: - Coupons - Discounts - term: SetupIntent definition: >- Used to save a payment method for future use without immediately collecting payment. Triggers 3DS authentication and SCA where required. category: Core Object tags: - Setup - Payment Methods - term: Webhook definition: >- An HTTP callback triggered by events in a Stripe account. Events include payment_intent.succeeded, invoice.payment_failed, customer.subscription.deleted, etc. category: Integration Pattern tags: - Webhooks - Events - term: Idempotency Key definition: >- A unique key included in request headers to safely retry failed API calls without risk of duplicate processing. Stripe caches responses for 24 hours. category: API Pattern tags: - Idempotency - Reliability - term: Radar definition: >- Stripe's machine learning fraud detection system. Evaluates charges based on risk signals and applies rules to block, allow, or review suspicious transactions. category: Platform Feature tags: - Radar - Fraud Detection - Risk Management - term: Issuing definition: >- Stripe's platform for creating and managing virtual and physical payment cards. Used by businesses that need to issue cards to employees, contractors, or customers. category: Platform Feature tags: - Issuing - Cards - term: Terminal definition: >- Stripe's in-person payment solution using hardware card readers. Supports contactless, chip, and magnetic stripe payments via SDK and REST API. category: Platform Feature tags: - Terminal - In-Person Payments - term: Treasury definition: >- Stripe's financial accounts product allowing platforms to create bank-like financial accounts for their users with FDIC insurance, transfers, and outbound payments. category: Platform Feature tags: - Treasury - Financial Accounts - term: Financial Connections definition: >- Allows customers to link their bank accounts directly for instant balance verification, account ownership verification, and ACH payments. category: Platform Feature tags: - Financial Connections - Bank Linking - term: Payment Link definition: >- A shareable URL that creates a hosted payment page without requiring code. Customers follow the link to complete a purchase. category: Core Object tags: - Payment Links - No-Code - term: Meter definition: >- Tracks usage events for usage-based billing. Meters aggregate events and report usage to subscriptions via billing periods. category: Core Object tags: - Billing - Meters - Usage-Based - term: Billing Portal definition: >- A Stripe-hosted self-service page where customers can manage their subscriptions, update payment methods, view invoices, and cancel plans. category: Platform Feature tags: - Billing - Self-Service