Payments

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name: Payments slug: payments version: 1.0.0 description: Integrate payments with provider selection, checkout flows, subscription billing, and security best practices. homepage: https://clawic.com/skills/payments metadata: clawdbot: emoji: 💳 displayName: Payments

Situation Detection

Context	Load
Choosing Stripe vs Paddle vs LemonSqueezy	providers.md
Implementing checkout, webhooks, refunds	integration.md
Subscription billing, trials, upgrades	subscriptions.md
PCI compliance, fraud prevention	security.md

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Universal Rules

Never store card data. Use provider-hosted checkout or tokenization. PCI compliance burden explodes the moment raw card numbers touch your server.

Webhooks are truth. Client-side success callbacks lie. A payment succeeded only when your webhook confirms it. Design for webhook-first verification.

Test mode exists for a reason. Use test cards, simulate failures, verify webhook handling. Production surprises cost real money and real customers.

Pricing psychology: $9.99/mo feels cheaper than $120/year, but annual retention is 2-3x higher. Default to annual with monthly option, not the reverse.

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Provider Quick Compare

Need	Recommendation
US/global B2C	Stripe (best docs, widest coverage)
SaaS selling to EU (VAT headache)	Paddle, LemonSqueezy (merchant of record)
Simple product, no dev resources	Gumroad, Lemonsqueezy hosted
Marketplace with splits	Stripe Connect
High-risk or adult	Specialized processors (CCBill, Epoch)

See providers.md for detailed comparison.

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Integration Checklist

Before going live:

• Webhook endpoint secured and verified
• Idempotency keys on all charges
• Failure states handled (declined, expired, insufficient)
• Receipts and invoices configured
• Refund flow tested
• Subscription lifecycle events handled (upgrade, downgrade, cancel)
• Currency handling explicit (store in cents/smallest unit)

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Red Flags

• Storing CVV anywhere, ever → Instant PCI violation
• Trusting client-side payment confirmation → Fraud vector
• No retry logic for failed webhooks → Lost transactions
• Hardcoding prices in frontend → Easy manipulation
• Missing cancel_at_period_end handling → Angry customers

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When to Load More

Situation	Reference
Evaluating payment processors	providers.md
Building checkout, handling webhooks	integration.md
Recurring billing, metering, trials	subscriptions.md
Fraud, PCI, chargebacks	security.md