How To Integrate the Stripe Payment Gateway Into a React Native Application

You’ve developed an incredible software application with a rich feature set! Well, your job doesn’t end here. You need to also integrate a secure payment gateway into your app to enable in-app payment transactions. The payment functionality has become a crucial component in app development these days as the facility of in-app payments is a standard expectation of modern-day app users. This feature is a must-have in finance and eCommerce applications, but most other apps, even social media apps, are now offering this feature as a USP.

Integrating the payment feature into an application is not an easy task and has to be carried out flawlessly and following standard practices. This post will discuss in detail how to integrate the payment processing feature into your app while adhering to the best practices. Here, you’ll learn all about how to integrate the Stripe payment gateway into a React Native application. We have chosen Stripe as it is one of the most secure and widely used platforms globally. We considered React Native as it is one of the most preferred frameworks for developing new-age cross-platform apps. So, let’s get started.

Stripe Payment Gateway: An Overview

Stripe is a SaaS (Software as a Service) company offering an online payment processing platform. This financial software service enables businesses to accept and manage payments over the Internet. Stripe came into being in 2010 and, today, is one of the most popular payment processing services across the globe; its users are spread out in 100+ countries.

Using Stripe's platform, online businesses can accept payments from customers via credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and other popular payment methods. It also offers a plethora of tools that facilitate payments management, fraud detection, invoicing, subscription management, and many more.

In addition to its core payment processing services, Stripe has also expanded its abilities into other areas, such as business finance and e-commerce tools. ECommerce businesses can utilize Stripe’s API to make seamless payments. Stripe is known for its easy-to-use platform, competitive pricing, and robust developer tools, which have made it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. 

What Are the Different Ways of Stripe Payment Gateway Integration in React Native?

There are different ways to integrate Stripe payment gateway into React Native apps. You need to choose the right Stripe integration methodology depending on your requirements and the tools you prefer to use. Given below are the popular methodologies.

Stripe SDKs 

Stripe provides SDKs for iOS and Android platforms that you can use for integrating the Stripe payment gateway into your React Native app. These SDKs will help you to create custom payment forms, handle card input and validation, and securely process payment transactions. You can install the SDK using npm or yarn and follow the instructions provided on the Stripe website for setting it up.

Wrapper Libraries

There are multiple wrapper libraries available for React Native that provide a simple API to interact with Stripe's API. These libraries minimize the complexity of integrating a React Native app with the Stripe API and provide an easy-going interface for developers to work with. Some examples of such libraries are "react-native-stripe-checkout," "react-native-stripe," and "react-native-payments."

Stripe Elements

Stripe Elements is a pre-built set of UI components that you can use for developing payment forms in React Native apps. These elements provide a simple and customizable way for accepting payments without having to worry about PCI compliance or security.

Stripe Checkout

Stripe Checkout is a pre-built checkout page that can be embedded into React Native apps using a WebView. It provides a simple and secure way to accept payments without needing to build a custom payment form.

Firebase Functions

Firebase Functions helps you to securely process payments using the Stripe API. You can create a serverless function that accepts payment details from your React Native app, validates them, and then processes the payment using the Stripe API. 

Integrating Stripe Payment Gateway Into a React Native App: Key Steps

Stripe Payment Gateway Integration Into a React Native App Using Stripe SDKs

Step#1

Create Stripe account: To use Stripe, you'll need to sign up for a Stripe account and get your API keys. These details will be present on your Stripe dashboard.

Step#2

Install Stripe dependencies: You'll need to install the Stripe SDK for React Native. You can do this using npm by running the following command in your project directory:

npm install --save react-native-stripe-api 

Step#3

Set up the Stripe SDK: In your app, import the Stripe SDK and initialize it with your Stripe API key. You can do this in your app's entry file or in a separate file specifically for Stripe configuration.

Step#4

Collect payment information: Use a form or a UI component to collect the necessary payment details from the user like the amount to be paid, credit card details, and billing address.

Step#5

Create a payment token: Use the Stripe SDK to create a token that represents the payment information. This token represents the user's payment details and can be used to process the payment securely.

Step#6

Charge the customer’s card: Use the Stripe SDK to charge the customer's card using the token you just created. This involves sending the payment token to your server and using the Stripe API to charge the user's card. If the charge is successful, you'll receive a response from Stripe that includes a transaction ID. So, finally, you can update your React Native app to display the payment status to the user. You can do this by querying your server to get the payment status and displaying it on the app. 

Given below is an example of the code snippet that shows how to use the Stripe SDK for creating a token: 

import Stripe from 'react-native-stripe-api'; 

const stripe = new Stripe('YOUR_STRIPE_API_KEY'); 

stripe.createToken({

  number: '4242424242424242',

  exp_month: '01',

  exp_year: '23',

  cvc: '123',

  name: 'John Doe',

  address_line1: '123 Main St',

  address_line2: 'Apt 4',

  address_city: 'San Francisco',

  address_state: 'CA',

  address_zip: '94111',

  address_country: 'US'

})

.then(response => {

  const { id } = response;

  // Use the token to charge the customer's card

})

.catch(error => {

  console.log(error);

});

This is just a basic example and you’ll need to customize the code to fit your specific requirements. Also, make sure that you follow the best practices for handling sensitive payment information like data encryption, secure storage of the tokens, etc. 

Integrating Stripe Payment Gateway Into React Native Apps Using Firebase

Create a Firebase Project

To get started, create a Firebase project and then, set up Firebase authentication. This will be used for authenticating users before allowing them to make payments.

Set Up Firebase Functions

Firebase Functions will help in securely handling payments. You will need to install Firebase CLI to get started. Then, you can create a new Firebase function and configure it for payment handling. This function will use Stripe API to process the payment.

Integrate Stripe API 

To process payments, you will need to integrate the Stripe API into your Firebase Functions. You can do this by installing the Stripe Node.js library and configuring your Firebase Functions to use it.

Set Up React Native Client

In your React Native app, create a payment form that collects payment details from the user. This will include details like the amount to be paid, the card details, and the billing address. When the user submits this form, you will need to send this data to your Firebase function for payment processing.

Process Payments

Once you have collected the payment transaction details from the user and sent them to your Firebase function, the function will use the Stripe API to process the payment. After the payment gets completed, update your Firebase database with the payment details.

Handle Payment Status

Finally, you can update the React Native app for displaying the payment status to the user. You can carry out this step by querying the Firebase database for getting the payment status and then, displaying it on the app.

Overall, integrating Stripe payment gateway into React Native apps using Firebase requires setting up Firebase authentication and functions, integrating Stripe API, creating a payment form in React Native, processing payments securely, and handling payment status. 

Integrating Stripe Payment Gateway Into React Native Apps Using React Native Stripe Payment

Step#1

Install the react-native-stripe-payments package by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install react-native-stripe-payments 

Step#2

After installing the package, link the native modules. For this, run the following command:

react-native link react-native-stripe-payments

Step#3

Once you have completed the linking process, import the stripe module from react-native-stripe-payments in your React Native component where you want to implement the payment gateway.

import stripe from react-native-stripe-payments;

Step#4

Thereafter, set up your Stripe account and obtain the necessary credentials — publishable key, secret key, and merchant ID.

stripe.setOptions({

  publishingKey: 'your_publishable_key_here',

});

Step#5

Once you have the credentials, you can initialize the Stripe module with your publishable key: 

Step#6

Now you can use the methodcreateTokenWithCard for creating a token for the card details of the user. This is an example!

stripe.createTokenWithCard({

  number: '4242424242424242',

  expMonth: 12,

  expYear: 25,

  cvc: '123',

}).then((result) => {

  console.log(result);

}

In the aforementioned example, we have created a token for a Visa card. The card’s number is 4242424242424242, its expiry date is December 2025 and the CVV is 123. The createTokenWithCard method returns a promise. This promise resolves to a token object that contains the ID of the token that has been created. 

Step#7

Then, you can use the token ID for making a charge by calling the createCharge method.

stripe.createCharge({

  amount: 100,

  currency: 'usd',

  source: tokenId,

}).then((result) => {

  console.log(result);

}); 

In this example, we have created a charge of $1.00 (100 cents) in USD currency by using the token ID returned from the previous step. The createCharge method returns a promise which resolves to a charge object containing details about the charge.

All done! Now, you’ve successfully integrated the Stripe payment gateway into your React Native app using React Native Stripe Payment. 

Stripe Payment Integration: In a Nutshell

When a user wants to make a payment on a React Native mobile app, the front-end (client-side) code will use Stripe's API to generate a secure token that represents the user's payment information, such as their credit card number, expiration date, and CVC code. This tokenization process ensures that sensitive payment data is not stored on the merchant's servers, reducing their PCI compliance requirements. The token is then sent to the back-end (server-side) code, which uses the Stripe API to create a payment request. This payment request includes the amount to be charged, the currency, the payment method (represented by the token), and any additional information such as the shipping address or customer name.

Once the payment request is created, it is sent to Stripe's servers for processing. Stripe will verify the payment details and attempt to charge the user's payment method. If the payment is successful, Stripe will return a response to the merchant's server indicating that the payment was completed.

The merchant's server can then use this response to update their database or display a confirmation message to the user. If the payment is declined or there is an error, Stripe will return an appropriate error message to the merchant's server. Thereafter, this message can be displayed to the user or used to troubleshoot the issue. 

In Conclusion

While integrating Stripe payment gateway into your React Native application, one should follow the standard practices and established protocols. I hope the aforementioned methodologies for Stripe integration into a React Native app will help you to get a clear idea about the implementation process. Ultimately, the best method for integrating Stripe payments into your React Native app will depend on your specific needs and preferences. You also need to consider the complexity of your application and your software team's familiarity with different libraries. Pick the methodology that best suits you. I would advise you to go through the documentation of each option before making a decision.