> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shoppex.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How payments work

> From checkout to settlement — what happens to the buyer's money.

Shoppex is not a merchant of record. The buyer pays one of your connected gateways, and the
funds settle to your account on that gateway — not into a Shoppex balance.

## The flow

A buyer adds products to their cart and lands on the Shoppex hosted checkout. They pick from
the payment methods you've enabled. Shoppex hands the buyer off to that provider (Stripe-hosted
card form, PayPal redirect, crypto invoice page) and waits for the provider to confirm.

When confirmation arrives, the order moves to **Paid** and Shoppex runs fulfillment: emails a
download link, hands over a serial or license key, grants a Discord role, or notifies you for
manual fulfillment.

## One invoice, many attempts

A single invoice can collect multiple payment attempts. A buyer can open checkout, try PayPal,
abandon it, come back two hours later and finish with Stripe. The invoice tracks the whole
sequence and only settles when one attempt succeeds. If you build webhooks, listen to the
invoice's final status — not to a provider-side session ID.

## Three ways to take payments

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Storefront" icon="store" iconType="duotone">
    Your shop at `yourshop.shoppex.io`. Browse, cart, checkout — zero setup beyond adding products.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payment Links" icon="link" iconType="duotone">
    Per-product links you can drop anywhere. Direct to checkout, no shop browsing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API & Embed" icon="code" iconType="duotone">
    For developers building a custom checkout. See the [Developer API](/developers/learn/overview).
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Where the money goes

There is no shared Shoppex balance. Each gateway holds its own funds:

* **Stripe** funds settle to the bank account on your connected Stripe profile, on Stripe's
  payout schedule.
* **PayPal** funds go to your PayPal Business balance, withdraw from PayPal as you normally do.
* **Crypto** payments using a direct wallet address arrive at that wallet immediately on the
  chain. Aggregators (Cryptomus, Oxapay) settle to balances within those providers — withdraw
  from their dashboards.

See [Payouts](/merchants/payments/payouts) for the schedule per gateway.

## What customers see

The checkout page shows your shop name and (optional) logo. The transaction descriptor on the
buyer's bank statement comes from the gateway, not Shoppex — so make sure your **Shop settings**
(`/settings/shop`) have a clear shop name. Confused buyers are the #1 source of disputes.

<Card title="Next: Payment gateways" href="/merchants/payments/gateways">
  How to connect Stripe, PayPal, and crypto, with the per-provider specifics.
</Card>