So, you're diving into the world of Stripe Connect and trying to wrap your head around recurring payments? Awesome! You've come to the right place. Let's break down everything you need to know about setting up and managing recurring payments with Stripe Connect, making it super easy for your platform and its users. Stripe Connect is a powerful tool that allows platforms to facilitate payments between buyers and sellers. Recurring payments, also known as subscriptions, are a payment model where customers are charged at regular intervals (e.g., monthly, yearly) for ongoing access to a product or service. Combining Stripe Connect with recurring payments can create robust and scalable business models for various platforms, such as SaaS marketplaces, membership sites, and service aggregators. The flexibility and extensive feature set offered by Stripe make it a favorite among developers and business owners alike. Understanding how to properly implement and manage recurring payments within Stripe Connect is crucial for building a successful platform. This guide will walk you through the essential steps and considerations to get you up and running smoothly.

Understanding Stripe Connect

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of recurring payments, let's get a solid understanding of Stripe Connect. Think of Stripe Connect as the bridge that connects your platform to multiple Stripe accounts. It lets you facilitate payments between different parties while taking a cut for yourself, if you want. It's the backbone for platforms that need to manage payments for multiple vendors, service providers, or creators. Stripe Connect comes in different flavors, each suited for different business models:

• Standard Connect: This is the simplest option. Connected accounts handle their own onboarding and Stripe dashboards. You, as the platform, have less control over their accounts but also less responsibility.
• Express Connect: Offers a more streamlined onboarding experience. Stripe handles the KYC (Know Your Customer) process, and connected accounts get a simplified dashboard. You have more control than with Standard Connect.
• Custom Connect: Gives you complete control over the onboarding experience and the user interface. You handle the KYC process yourself, meaning greater responsibility but also greater flexibility. Choosing the right type of Connect account depends heavily on your business model and how much control you need over the user experience. For example, a platform that needs a highly customized onboarding flow might opt for Custom Connect, while a simpler marketplace could use Standard or Express Connect. Each option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages in terms of control, responsibility, and integration effort. Understanding these differences is key to selecting the right approach for your specific needs. Consider factors like the complexity of your platform, the level of customization required, and the resources available for managing the integration.

Setting Up Recurring Payments with Stripe Connect

Okay, let's dive into the main course: setting up recurring payments with Stripe Connect. This involves a few key steps. Here’s how you can get started.

1. Create a Stripe Account: If you haven’t already, sign up for a Stripe account. This will be the main account for your platform.
2. Enable Stripe Connect: In your Stripe dashboard, enable Stripe Connect. You'll need to provide some information about your platform and agree to Stripe's terms.
3. Choose a Connect Type: Decide whether you want Standard, Express, or Custom Connect. The choice depends on the level of control and customization you need.
4. Onboard Connected Accounts: Guide your users through the onboarding process. This typically involves collecting necessary information (like bank account details) and verifying their identities.
5. Create Products and Plans: Define your products and subscription plans in Stripe. A product represents the item or service being offered, while a plan defines the billing frequency and price.
6. Create Subscriptions: When a customer signs up, create a subscription in Stripe. This links the customer to a plan and initiates the recurring billing cycle.

Detailed Steps

Let's break down these steps further with some code examples.

1. Onboarding Connected Accounts

How you onboard connected accounts depends on the Connect type you've chosen. For Express Connect, you can use Stripe's pre-built UI to handle the process. Here’s a basic example:

import stripe

stripe.api_key = 'YOUR_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY'

account = stripe.Account.create(
 type='express',
 email='user@example.com',
)

account_link = stripe.AccountLink.create(
 account=account.id,
 refresh_url='https://your-platform.com/reauth',
 return_url='https://your-platform.com/return',
 type='account_onboarding',
)

print(account_link.url)

This code creates an Express Connect account and generates a link that you can redirect the user to. They'll go through Stripe's onboarding flow, and when they're done, they'll be redirected back to your platform.

2. Creating Products and Plans

Next up, you need to define what your users are paying for. This involves creating products and plans in Stripe. A product could be a