Skip to main content

Introduction to the Stripe API

The Stripe API allows merchants to build a platform, marketplace, or any other types of business with a solid foundation that allows for secure transactions and money movement.

The Stripe API lets a developer:

  • Check a Stripe account's balance.
  • Retrieve an account's balance history, which includes a list of transactions (charges, payouts, etc.) that contributed to its balance.
  • List, create, update, and search for charges.
  • Create, update, or list refunds.

Connection prerequisites​

To connect to the Stripe API, you need the base URL: https://api.stripe.com/.

Authentication​

Stripe API requires a secret API token for authentication. All requests must be authorized and made over HTTPS. Unauthorized requests or requests made over HTTP will fail.

You can find these tokens, also called secret keys, on your Stripe account dashboard. See Using Postman to Connect to the Stripe API for detailed instructions on generating the token and using it to authenticate your connection.

note

For security purposes, don't share the secret key with other users.