Stripe Connect with React and API only Rails

Question

I'm having some issues with Stripe Connect. I have an API only backend in Rails and a frontend in React. I have successfully created Connect Accounts for new businesses which register in my frontend. However when a customer wants to buy something from the business, the payment doesn't work.

I create a Stripe::PaymentIntent in my rails backend when the frontend calls /business/payment_secret and return the client secret which is provided by the Payment Intent. The frontend then calls stripe.confirmCardPayment with the given client secret and the card which was used in the form. However, I always get "No such payment intent" error.

I've read somewhere that I need to add the stripeAccount config to the stripe object which is plugged into Elements. I tried to plug in the stripe account id of the business the customer is purchasing from but it didn't work.

Also it was very awkward to create the stripe object which has the business the customer is purchasing from can change depending on which items the user adds to the cart. Is there a standard way of doing that?

Or how does the payment process for connected accounts look like with an API only backend and a react frontend?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

You need to review the various charge types to determine which fits your business needs, combined with the account type(s) you're using.

It sounds like you might be creating "direct charge" payment intents using the stripe-account header on your server then trying to confirm them in the client without that. You'll need to initialize Stripe.js using the same stripeAccount option.

The issue you're referring to with multiple potential accounts is one to think about in your customer flow. What if a customer wants to buy two items from two different connected accounts? For that flow you'd need to change your integration to use separate charges and transfers.