Unified Checkout

Unified Checkout provides a single interface for accepting card, digital wallet, Click to Pay, and alternative payment methods. It embeds into your existing webpage as a button widget, and calls other follow-on services such as Payments, Decision Manager, Payer Authentication (3-D Secure), and Token Management Service (TMS), so you can orchestrate your entire payment flow from one integration.

Two-Component Model

Unified Checkout consists of a server-side component and a client-side JavaScript library.

The server-side component authenticates your merchant identity and generates a session. The response is a signed JSON Web Token (JWT) known as the capture context. The capture context contains a limited-use public key for end-to-end encryption and the merchant-specific configuration that drives the client-side experience, including allowed payment methods and interface styling.

The client-side JavaScript library reads the capture context and dynamically places payment options onto your e-commerce page. When a customer selects a payment method, Unified Checkout handles the interaction with that payment method directly. Sensitive payment data never touches your systems.

Unified Checkout Flow

This section gives a high-level overview of how to integrate and launch Unified Checkout on your webpage and process a transaction. For detailed API specifications, see JavaScript Reference.

This figure shows the Unified Checkout payment flow using the Sessions API to generate the capture context:

This flow describes how a Unified Checkout transaction moves between your merchant server, the customer's browser, and the APIs:

1. Your merchant server calls the Sessions API. The Sessions API creates the capture context, a session JWT, and returns it to your merchant server.
2. Your merchant server passes the capture context to the customer's browser. The browser loads the Unified Checkout JavaScript library.
3. The JavaScript library uses the capture context to display the payment UI to the customer.
4. The customer enters payment information. Unified Checkout captures the payment data and processes the transaction.

The Payment Details API is a separate call that retrieves the billing and shipping information collected by Unified Checkout, such as the cardholder name and address, without retrieving payment credentials.

PCI Scope Reduction

Because the client-side JavaScript library isolates all payment data collection within Unified Checkout, payment data never touches your systems. This design supports Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard Self-Assessment Questionnaire A (SAQ-A) compliance.

Transient Tokens

The result of a successful customer interaction with Unified Checkout is a transient token. The transient token is a short-lived JWT that represents the payment credential without exposing sensitive payment information to your systems. It expires 15 minutes after issuance. For JSON Web Token structure, see JSON Web Token Structure. For dual-brand and combo card handling, see Dual-Brand and Combo Cards.

Key Features

• Low-code integration: as few as three lines of JavaScript to accept payments. Add or remove payment methods through portal configuration without changing your integration code.
• PCI SAQ-A compliant: payment data never touches your systems.
• Fully customizable: match the payment experience to your brand with theming, fonts, and layout options. Embed inline or display as a sidebar overlay.
• Event-driven: subscribe to lifecycle and payment events for full control over the integration.
• Service orchestration: combine Payments, Decision Manager, Payer Authentication, and Token Management Service (TMS) within the same session.

Next Steps

• Get Started: step-by-step integration walkthrough for the server-side and client-side components.
• Integration Patterns: compare the Checkout, Button, Trigger, and Components integration patterns.
• Test Your Setup: validate your integration with test cards and error scenarios.