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What is a payment webhook? How apps hear about payments instantly

By SendPay Business · · 2 min read

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A webhook is a message one system sends to another the moment something happens. In payments, it is how a provider tells your website or app that a payment has succeeded, failed, been refunded or disputed, without your app having to keep asking.

Webhooks versus asking

With an API call, your app asks the provider for the latest status. With a webhook, the provider tells your app as soon as the status changes. Most payment systems use both: API calls to start actions, and webhooks to hear the result.

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How a payment webhook works

  • Your app gives the payment provider a web address to send updates to.
  • A customer pays, and the payment goes through or fails.
  • The provider sends a short message to your address describing the event.
  • Your app checks the message is genuine, updates the order and replies to confirm receipt.

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Handling them safely

Check the signature on every webhook so fake messages are ignored, handle the same event arriving twice without charging or shipping twice, and reply quickly then do slower work in the background. Most providers retry if they do not get a reply.

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Where SendPay fits

SendPay gives you a ready-built branded platform with accounts, cards, transfers and payment links, powered by licensed partners, so the payment plumbing is set up for you rather than built from scratch.

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How it works

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  1. Name it and pick your colours
  2. Choose what it does
  3. Launch when you are ready

Why sign up

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It's all about creating your own financial platform with ease. Start with a free account today.

  • A free business accountOpen it in about a minute with your business name, email, password and mobile. No card and no documents to start.
  • Get paid from day oneTake card payments, and share your own payment link and invoices so customers pay in a click.
  • A free business websiteFree to build, free to publish and free to keep, with unlimited visits.
  • Your own financial platformDesign and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
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SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Accounts, cards and payments are powered by licensed partners.

Questions people ask

Is it cheaper to build payments myself?

Work out the first-year cost of an in-house build, and see how a white-label launch differs.

Banking app build cost calculator →
What is a payment API?

How apps start payments and read their status.

Payment APIs →
What is payment reconciliation?

Matching payments to orders and records.

Reconciliation →
Can I launch without building payments myself?

Yes, with a ready-built platform.

See platforms →

Read next

Spotted a mistake or something out of date? and we'll fix it. How our guides are made

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. Other companies named in this guide are reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.