Payment Gateways
A payment gateway is the company that actually takes your customer's money, for example Stripe or PayPal. Threadline connects to the gateway with your own account, so the money goes straight to you. Nothing passes through us.
Open it from Clients & Billing → Payment Gateways.
The problem it solves
Customers in different countries like to pay in different ways. A card processor that is perfect in Europe may not work in India or Nigeria. Threadline supports ten gateways plus a manual option, so you can offer the ones your customers trust, and switch on several at once.
The gateways
| Gateway | How it charges | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Automatically, every period | Fully supported: coupons, tax and refunds. |
| PayPal | Automatically, every period | Cannot change the price per customer, so promo codes and tax are not available. |
| Razorpay | One payment per period | Popular in India. |
| Paystack | One payment per period | Africa. Only certain currencies (NGN, GHS, ZAR, KES, USD, XOF, EGP, RWF). |
| Mollie | One payment per period | Europe. The site must be reachable on the internet so Mollie can call it back. |
| Mercado Pago | One payment per period | Latin America. Only ARS, BRL, CLP, COP, MXN, PEN, UYU. |
| Cashfree | One payment per period | India. |
| Paddle | One payment per period | Paddle is the seller of record, so it applies its own tax. |
| Tap | One payment per period | Middle East. |
| Xendit | One payment per period | South-East Asia. Only IDR, PHP, THB, VND, MYR. |
| Manual (offline) | You record it yourself | For gifts, bank transfers and cash. Never shown at checkout. Used when you assign a plan. |
"Automatic" versus "one payment per period"
Stripe and PayPal keep a subscription and charge the card again every month or year on their own.
The other gateways only take a single payment. So Threadline does the repeating itself:
- 3 days before the period ends, the customer gets an email with a link to pay again.
- If they do not pay by the end date, the subscription becomes past due. They can still sign in and see everything, but cannot create anything new.
- 3 days later, if there is still no payment, it becomes expired and they are asked to choose a plan.
A plan granted with the Manual gateway simply ends on its end date.
Before you sell. For each gateway you switch on, run one test payment in the provider's sandbox and confirm the subscription starts.
Switching a gateway on
- Open Payment Gateways. There is one card per gateway.
- Paste the Test credentials and the Live credentials from the provider's dashboard. Which fields appear depends on the gateway (for example Stripe asks for a Secret key and a Webhook signing secret).
- Copy the Webhook URL to register with the provider (there is a copy button) and paste it in the provider's dashboard, as the provider's page tells you.
- Turn on Offer at checkout.
- Press Test connection. It uses the keys of the mode you last saved and tells you whether they work.
Test mode and live mode
Each gateway keeps test and live keys separately. Turn on Test mode to use the test keys, so you can try a purchase with fake cards. Turn it off to take real money. Remember to switch it off before you launch.
Your keys are safe
Keys are saved encrypted and are never shown again. You only see the last 4 characters. To keep a saved key, leave its field empty when you save.
Why the webhook matters
A webhook is how a gateway tells Threadline "this payment worked". Without it, a customer can pay but their plan never starts. Every gateway card shows its own webhook address. Threadline checks the signature on every message, so a fake message from someone else is ignored.
Common questions
A customer paid but has no plan. The webhook is probably not registered or has the wrong secret. Check the gateway's dashboard for failed deliveries, then check the secret in Threadline.
Can I use two gateways? Yes. Switch on as many as you like. The customer chooses at checkout.
A gateway is missing at checkout. It is switched off, not configured, or does not support the plan's currency.
Can I turn a gateway off later? Yes. Existing subscribers on it keep their subscription. It just stops being offered to new buyers.