Stripe Payment

Would you like to accept credit card payments when users register on your site or purchase memberships? User Registration & Membership allows you to integrate Stripe as a payment gateway, enabling secure payment processing for both registration forms and membership plans.

This tutorial will show you how to configure Stripe for two different use cases: collecting payments through registration forms and processing membership subscription payments.

Before getting started, make sure you've installed and activated the User Registration & Membership Pro plugin. Then, make sure you've installed and activated the Stripe addon from User Registration & Membership → Addons.

Understanding Stripe in User Registration & Membership

Stripe can be used for both Registration Forms and Membership Plans, but the setup requirements are different.

Stripe for Registration Forms

If you want to collect payments during user registration:

The Stripe Add-on must be installed and activated.

The Stripe Add-on is a Premium feature and is available from Plus plan.

Configure your Stripe API credentials in the Stripe Settings.

Enable Stripe on your registration form.

Stripe for Membership Plans

If you want to accept payments for Membership Plans:

You do not need to install or activate the Stripe Add-on.

PayPal support is built directly into the Membership feature.

Simply configure your Stripe API credentials in the Payment Settings, and they will be used for your membership plans.

If you add a Membership field to your registration form, you cannot use Payment Fields. Membership plans have their own payment configuration.

Configuring Global Stripe Settings

Both registration forms and membership plans share the same global Stripe configuration. You only need to set this up once.

Getting Your Stripe API Keys

To connect Stripe with User Registration & Membership, you'll need API keys from your Stripe account.

Log in to your Stripe Dashboard at stripe.com

Click Developers in the left sidebar

Click API keys

You'll see two sets of keys: Test keys (for testing) and Live keys (for real payments)

Copy your Publishable key and Secret key for the mode you want to use

Entering Stripe Keys in User Registration & Membership

Once you have your API keys, enter them in the plugin settings.

Go to User Registration & Membership → Settings → Payments

Click the Stripe dropdown menu

Enter your Test Publishable Key and Test Secret Key in the test mode fields

Enter your Live Publishable Key and Live Secret Key in the live mode fields

Toggle Enable Test Mode to on if you want to test payments before going live

Click Save to save your settings

When test mode is enabled, only test payments are processed — no real charges occur. Disable test mode when you're ready to accept real payments from customers.

Using Stripe with Registration Forms

To accept payments through registration forms, you need to install the Stripe Payment addon and add payment fields to your forms.

Installing the PayPal Payment Addon

Go to User Registration & Membership → Addons

Find the Stripe Payment addon in the E-Commerce category

Toggle the switch to activate the addon

Adding Stripe Payment Fields to Your Form

To accept Stripe payments on a registration form, you'll add payment fields and enable Stripe for that specific form.

Go to User Registration & Membership → All Forms

Click Edit on the form where you want to add payments, or create a new form

In the form builder, scroll to Payment Fields in the left sidebar

Drag the Stripe Gateway field into your form

Add other payment fields as needed:

Click on each payment field to configure the amount and options

Navigate to Form Settings → Stripe Payment

Toggle Enable Stripe Payment to on

Click Update Form to save your changes

Configuring Payment Field Options

Each payment field type has specific configuration options:

Single Item Field:

Set the item name and price

Choose Item Type: Pre Defined (admin sets price), User Defined (user enters amount for donations), or Hidden (revealed at checkout)

Enable Selling Price to show both regular and discounted prices

Multiple Choice Field:

Add multiple pricing options with different amounts

Enable Selling Price for each option to show discounts

Quantity Field:

Map the quantity field to a Single Item or Multiple Choice field

The total will calculate automatically based on quantity selected

Subscription Plan Field:

Set plan names and recurring pricing

Define billing cycles (day, week, month, year)

Optionally enable trial periods and selling prices

The Total field automatically sums all payment fields in your form. You don't need to configure an amount for it.

Accepting iDEAL Payments (Euro Currency Only)

Stripe supports iDEAL payment method for customers in the Netherlands. To enable iDEAL:

Add the Stripe Gateway field to your form

Click on the field to open its settings

Scroll to Payment Method settings

Select iDeal Payment or Both Credit Card and iDeal

Make sure your currency is set to Euro (EUR)

When users register, they can choose their bank during the payment process if iDEAL is enabled.

If you use any other currency than Euro, it is not accepted in the iDEAL Payment.

Using Stripe with Membership Plans

Membership plans use Stripe to process recurring subscription payments automatically. This is different from registration form payments because billing happens on a schedule.

Creating a Membership Plan with Stripe

To create a membership plan that accepts Stripe payments:

Go to User Registration & Membership → Memberships

Click Create new Membership or edit an existing plan

Fill in the Membership Name and Description

Set Membership Status to Enable

Select Subscription Based as the Membership Type

Enter the Amount members will pay per billing cycle

Set the Duration for how often payments recur (e.g., 1 month, 1 year)

Scroll down to the payment gateway section

Enable the Stripe payment gateway by toggling it on

Click Create Membership or Update to save

Offering Trial Periods

Trial periods allow users to subscribe without payment for a specified duration. After the trial ends, Stripe automatically charges the subscription amount.

To enable a trial period:

Open your membership plan for editing

Navigate to the Advanced tab

Toggle Trial Period to on

Enter the Trial Duration (e.g., 7 days, 2 weeks, 1 month)

Save the membership plan

Members can register and access content immediately during the trial. Stripe will charge them automatically when the trial expires.

Setting Up Stripe Webhooks for Memberships

Stripe webhooks are required for automatic subscription renewals and order creation. Without webhooks, recurring payments won't update membership status correctly.

Configuring Webhooks in Stripe

To set up webhooks, you'll add an endpoint URL in your Stripe Dashboard.

Log in to your Stripe Dashboard

Search for Developers in the top search bar and click it

Click Webhooks in the left sidebar

Click Add Destination or Add Endpoint

Select the invoice events you want to track (invoice.payment_succeeded, invoice.payment_failed, etc.)

Enter your webhook URL: https://yoursite.com/wp-json/user-registration/stripe-webhook (Replace yoursite.com with your actual domain)

Click Add Endpoint to save

Stripe will now send payment notifications to your site automatically, keeping membership subscriptions in sync.

Managing Subscriptions and Payments

Once Stripe is configured, members can manage their subscriptions from their account dashboard.

Member Subscription Management

Members can view and manage their Stripe subscriptions from the My Account page.

Members log in to their account

Navigate to My Account → Subscriptions

Here, members can:

Admin Payment Management

Admins can view all payment transactions and subscription details from the WordPress dashboard.

Go to User Registration & Membership → Payments

View the list of all transactions with details like Transaction ID, member email, gateway, amount, status, and date

Click View on any payment to see comprehensive transaction details

Use filters to search by membership, payment gateway, or status

Payments auto-approve for Stripe. Manual approval is only needed for bank transfers and custom payment methods.

Testing Stripe Payments

Before accepting real payments, test your Stripe integration using test mode.

Using Test Mode

To test Stripe payments safely:

Go to User Registration & Membership → Settings → Payments → Stripe Settings

Toggle Enable Test Mode to on

Make sure you've entered your Test Publishable Key and Test Secret Key

Click Save

Register a test user and complete a test payment using Stripe test card numbers

Verify the payment appears in User Registration & Membership → Payments

Check your Stripe Dashboard to confirm the test payment was recorded

Stripe provides test card numbers for different scenarios. Use 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiration date and any CVC for successful test payments.

Test mode payments do not charge real money. Disable test mode when you're ready to accept live payments.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Payments Not Processing

If Stripe payments aren't working:

Verify your API keys are correct and match the mode (test or live)

Check that Stripe is enabled in both global settings and form/membership settings

Ensure webhooks are configured correctly for membership subscriptions

Confirm your Stripe account is fully activated and not restricted

Subscription Renewals Not Working

If recurring payments aren't renewing automatically:

Verify webhooks are set up in your Stripe Dashboard

Check that the webhook URL is correct: https://yoursite.com/wp-json/user-registration/stripe-webhook

Ensure invoice events are selected in the webhook configuration

Test the webhook endpoint to confirm it's receiving notifications