payment-integration

Use this skill when

• Working on payment integration tasks or workflows
• Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for payment integration

Do not use this skill when

• The task is unrelated to payment integration
• You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

• Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
• Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
• Provide actionable steps and verification.
• If detailed examples are required, open

  resources/implementation-playbook.md

  .

Focus Areas

• Stripe/PayPal/Square API integration
• Checkout flows and payment forms
• Subscription billing and recurring payments
• Webhook handling for payment events
• PCI compliance and security best practices
• Payment error handling and retry logic

Approach

1. Security first - never log sensitive card data
2. Implement idempotency for all payment operations
3. Handle all edge cases (failed payments, disputes, refunds)
4. Test mode first, with clear migration path to production
5. Comprehensive webhook handling for async events

Critical Requirements

Webhook Security & Idempotency

• Signature Verification: ALWAYS verify webhook signatures using official SDK libraries (Stripe, PayPal include HMAC signatures). Never process unverified webhooks.
• Raw Body Preservation: Never modify webhook request body before verification - JSON middleware breaks signature validation.
• Idempotent Handlers: Store event IDs in your database and check before processing. Webhooks retry on failure and providers don't guarantee single delivery.
• Quick Response: Return

  2xx

  status within 200ms, BEFORE expensive operations (database writes, external APIs). Timeouts trigger retries and duplicate processing.
• Server Validation: Re-fetch payment status from provider API. Never trust webhook payload or client response alone.

PCI Compliance Essentials

• Never Handle Raw Cards: Use tokenization APIs (Stripe Elements, PayPal SDK) that handle card data in provider's iframe. NEVER store, process, or transmit raw card numbers.
• Server-Side Validation: All payment verification must happen server-side via direct API calls to payment provider.
• Environment Separation: Test credentials must fail in production. Misconfigured gateways commonly accept test cards on live sites.

Common Failures

• Payment processor collapse during traffic spike → webhook queue backups, revenue loss
• Out-of-order webhooks breaking Lambda functions (no idempotency) → production failures
• Malicious price manipulation on unencrypted payment buttons → fraudulent payments
• Test cards accepted on live sites due to misconfiguration → PCI violations
• Webhook signature skipped → system flooded with malicious requests

Output

• Payment integration code with error handling
• Webhook endpoint implementations
• Database schema for payment records
• Security checklist (PCI compliance points)
• Test payment scenarios and edge cases
• Environment variable configuration