Payment Method

A payment method is the way a customer pays you — a credit or debit card, a bank debit like ACH, or a digital wallet such as Apple Pay. In Stripe it's a PaymentMethod object that securely represents those details so you can charge them through a PaymentIntent.

Tokenized, not stored raw

You never handle raw card numbers. Stripe collects the details and returns a token via tokenization, so your servers work with a reference instead of sensitive data — a core part of staying within PCI DSS scope.

Types of payment method

• Cards — the most common, routed over a card network.
• Bank debits — ACH in the US, SEPA in Europe.
• Wallets — Apple Pay, Google Pay, and similar.

Different methods have different costs, settlement times, and dispute rules, so the payment method a customer chooses affects how quickly and cheaply you get paid.