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Payment Flow

Understand the complete payment lifecycle from order creation to settlement.

This guide explains the complete payment flow from order creation to completion.

Flow Overview​

Detailed Steps​

1. Order Creation​

The merchant creates a payment order with transaction details.

Order State: pending

Required Data:

  • Amount and currency
  • Success/failure/callback URLs
  • Merchant reference

Generate a payment URL for the customer.

Link State: active

Optional Configuration:

  • Link lifetime (default: 1 hour)
  • Language preference
  • Payment flow (direct/interactive)
  • Pre-selected payment method

3. Customer Redirect​

Redirect the customer to the payment page.

// Redirect customer
header('Location: ' . $paymentUrl);
exit;

Or use JavaScript:

window.location.href = paymentUrl;

4. Payment Method Selection​

Customer sees the payment page:

Available Methods depend on:

  • Currency
  • Amount (min/max limits)
  • Country
  • Merchant configuration

5. Payment Processing​

Customer completes the payment with their chosen method.

Processing States:

  • Submitting to payment provider
  • Waiting for bank response
  • Verifying transaction

6. Payment Result​

The payment completes with a success or failure.

Success Path:

Payment Processing → Completed → Webhook → Redirect to success_url

Failure Path:

Payment Processing → Failed → Webhook → Redirect to failure_url

7. Webhook Notification​

Paysera sends a callback to your server.

Webhook Contains:

  • An event object (type + name) identifying what changed
  • The order state (or, for thin payment events, the affected payment) — branch on order.status / payment.status, not on the event name
  • Timestamps

See the Webhook Events Reference for the exact events and payloads.

8. Customer Redirect​

Customer is redirected back to your site.

Success URL receives:

  • Query parameters you included in success_url
  • Customer lands on thank you page

Failure URL receives:

  • Query parameters you included in failure_url
  • Customer can retry or contact support

Complete Sequence Diagram​

Alternative Flows​

Bank Transfer (Pending)​

Bank transfers may remain pending until the customer completes the transfer:

Pending State:

  • Customer receives bank details
  • Order stays in pending status
  • Webhook sent when bank confirms transfer

Multiple Payment Attempts​

A customer may fail and retry:

Timing Considerations​

StageTypical Duration
Order + Link creation< 1 second
Customer decisionVaries
Payment processing5-30 seconds
Webhook delivery< 5 seconds
Redirect< 1 second

Error Handling​

Network Errors​

If your server doesn't receive the webhook:

  • Paysera retries (5s, 60s, 3600s)
  • Query order status as backup

Payment Provider Errors​

If the bank/gateway fails:

  • Customer sees error message
  • Can retry with same or different method
  • Order remains in pending status

Timeout Handling​

  • Payment links expire after configured lifetime
  • Create a new link if needed
  • Order can be reused for new links