Integrating Stripe and Make for Automated Payment Recovery

Comparison matrix

ROI metrics

Integrating Stripe failed payment webhooks into Make automates 24 engineering and support hours monthly, recovering an estimated $1,500/month in churned SaaS MRR at an operational cost under $90/month.

Step-by-step setup guide

1. 1.Create a Custom Webhook Endpoint in Make

   In Make, create a new scenario and add a 'Custom Webhook' module. Click 'Create a webhook', label it 'Stripe Failed Payments', and copy the generated target URL (e.g., https://hook.eu1.make.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx). Leave the module listening to automatically determine data structures.

2. 2.Configure Stripe Webhook Delivery

   Navigate to the Stripe Dashboard under Developers > Webhooks, or use the Stripe CLI / API to register the Make webhook URL. Subscribe explicitly to the 'invoice.payment_failed' and 'customer.subscription.updated' events to capture card declines and billing errors.

   curl -X POST https://api.stripe.com/v1/webhook_endpoints \
     -u sk_live_your_actual_key: \
     -d "url"="https://hook.eu1.make.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
     -d "enabled_events[]"="invoice.payment_failed" \
     -d "enabled_events[]"="charge.failed"

3. 3.Validate Payload Signature and Structure

   Trigger a test transaction using a declining test card (e.g., 4000 0000 0000 0341) to populate the data structure in Make. Ensure the webhook captures the customer ID, invoice URL, decline code, and email address.

4. 4.Configure Decision Routing in Make

   Add a Router module in Make following the webhook. Define Route A for hard declines (decline_code = 'stolen_card' or 'lost_card') to immediately freeze the account, and Route B for soft declines ('insufficient_funds' or 'generic_decline') to initiate an automated email sequence.

5. 5.Trigger Customer Outreach and Fetch Hosted Invoice Link

   On Route B, add the Stripe module 'Retrieve an Invoice' to fetch the 'hosted_invoice_url', followed by an email/Slack module. Dispatch an automated payment update request to the customer containing the hosted invoice link.

   curl -X GET https://api.stripe.com/v1/invoices/in_1N2eZ4LkdIwHu7ixO8e9Z1a2 \
     -u sk_live_your_actual_key:

Webhook payload example

{
  "id": "evt_1N2eZ5LkdIwHu7ixAbCdEf12",
  "object": "event",
  "api_version": "2023-10-16",
  "created": 1698758400,
  "type": "checkout.session.completed",
  "data": {
    "object": {
      "id": "cs_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8",
      "object": "checkout.session",
      "amount_total": 9900,
      "currency": "usd",
      "customer": "cus_O6xYzAbCdEf123",
      "customer_details": {
        "email": "billing@clientcompany.com",
        "name": "Jane Doe"
      },
      "mode": "subscription",
      "payment_status": "paid",
      "status": "complete",
      "subscription": "sub_1N2eZ4LkdIwHu7ix12345678"
    }
  }
}

FAQ