Payment API

Sara Heegaard March 3, 20222 minute read

Sara is a copywriter focused on lifting up Recharge's merchants, partners, and their customers. Before Recharge, her past lives included writing and editing at four different subscription... Full bio

What is a payment API?

A payment API is an API (application programming interface) that enables ecommerce businesses to seamlessly manage payments. Payment APIs have the power to optimize the payments process for both businesses and shoppers, as they can make transactions faster and more secure. Pricing for payment APIs can vary depending on the provider. Some payment APIs may be free to use, but charge a processing fee depending on the payment instrument.

Payment APIs can be used for a multitude of different payment services, all centered around creating a seamless checkout experience for both merchants and their customers. They can help empower businesses to act as a credit card processor and accept credit card payments, bank account payments, or debit card–based payments. They can also allow businesses to offer a range of payment methods, increasing convenience for customers by allowing them to use their preferred payment method. They can also be used to track payment details and payment information, enable PCI compliance, and more. 

Benefits of payment APIs for online payments functionality

From a merchant perspective, one major benefit of payment APIs is that they can help automate the payments process, meaning less time and resources are needed on the business end to maintain those systems. A payment API can be used to enable both recurring and one-time payments, making them an important tool for subscription businesses. On the whole, APIs are highly customizable and scalable for developers, and can be integrated with a variety of other ecommerce tools and applications.