---
name: stripe-best-practices
description: >-
  Use when user says "Stripe", "Stripe integration", or "payment flow". Checkout, webhooks, idempotency, security, testing.
---

# Stripe Best Practices
Latest Stripe API version: **2026-04-22.dahlia**. Always use the latest API version and SDK unless the user specifies otherwise.

## Integration routing

| Building…                                                                | Recommended API                     | Details                  |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| One-time payments                                                        | Checkout Sessions                   | <references/payments.md> |
| Custom payment form with embedded UI                                     | Checkout Sessions + Payment Element | <references/payments.md> |
| Saving a payment method for later                                        | Setup Intents                       | <references/payments.md> |
| Connect platform or marketplace                                          | Accounts v2 (`/v2/core/accounts`)   | <references/connect.md>  |
| Subscriptions or recurring billing                                       | Billing APIs + Checkout Sessions    | <references/billing.md>  |
| Embedded financial accounts / banking                                    | v2 Financial Accounts               | <references/treasury.md> |
| Security (key management, RAKs, webhooks, OAuth, 2FA, Connect liability) | See security reference              | <references/security.md> |

Read the relevant reference file before answering any integration question or writing code.

## Critical rules

- *Never include `payment_method_types` in any Stripe API call*, with one exception: Terminal (in-person payments) integrations must pass `payment_method_types: ['card_present']` on the PaymentIntent. For all other integrations, omit this parameter entirely to enable dynamic payment methods, which enables you to configure payment method settings from the Dashboard and dynamically display the most relevant eligible payment methods to each customer to maximize conversion. To customize which payment methods you accept, use [`payment_method_configurations`](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-method-configurations.md) or `excluded_payment_method_types` instead of `payment_method_types`.

## Key documentation

When the user’s request does not clearly fit a single domain above, consult:

- [Integration Options](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-methods/integration-options.md) — Start here when designing any integration.
- [API Tour](https://docs.stripe.com/payments-api/tour.md) — Overview of Stripe’s API surface.
- [Go Live Checklist](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/checklist/go-live.md) — Review before launching.
