Stripe lets you accept payments for your products and handle subscriptions. In heyhey you connect your own Stripe account using a restricted key. You don’t need to write code or install a plugin. Payments are settled in your Stripe account, under Stripe’s terms.
Once you’ve followed this guide, the Stripe card in heyhey should show Connected, and buying a product should end with a paid order and access for the buyer.
1. Prepare your account and open the right settings
- Log in to your account at stripe.com. If you’re only now creating it, complete the activation steps Stripe shows you. Stripe will ask for your business details, your website address and a bank account for payouts, and may ask you to verify your identity. Requirements depend on your country.
- Make sure you have permission to manage API keys. If you can’t see that section, ask the account owner to give you the right access.
- In a second browser tab, open the payment settings in your heyhey dashboard. You’ll find them under Sales → Payments.
- Find the Stripe card. Keep both tabs open, as you’ll be moving one key between them.
API means a connection between systems. An API key is a confidential identifier that lets heyhey carry out agreed actions in your Stripe account. It isn’t a login password.
2. Create a restricted key
In the Stripe Dashboard, go to Developers → API keys. In the newer layout, the developer tools may be reached through Workbench. You can also open API keys directly.
- Check that you’re working in the right account and the right mode: live for real sales, or test for trial runs.
- Choose Create restricted key.
- Give it a name you’ll recognise, for example heyhey.
- If Stripe offers ready-made permission sets, choose your own configuration with Choose your own.
- Set the permissions from the table below, create the key and copy its full value. Store it in a password manager, as you may not be able to view it again.
How to create keys and how the modes differ is explained in Stripe’s API keys documentation. The permissions below are what the heyhey integration needs.
3. Set exactly these permissions
The names in the table match the labels in the Stripe Dashboard, so they’re easy to find.
| Stripe resource | Access | What heyhey uses it for |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout Sessions | Write | Creating the payment for the buyer |
| Customers | Write | Handling the customer linked to the purchase |
| Products | Write | Passing on the product being sold |
| Prices | Write | Creating the price used at payment |
| Subscriptions | Write | Creating and managing subscriptions |
| Charges and Refunds | Write | Handling payments and refunds |
| Customer Portal | Write | Letting customers manage their own billing |
| Webhook Endpoints, Event Destinations | Write | Registering notifications about payment changes |
| Invoices | Read | Reading billing information |
| Accounts | Read | Checking the account being connected |
You’ll find Prices, Subscriptions, Customer Portal and Invoices in the Billing area, and Accounts in the Connect area. Leave every other resource set to None (no access). "Write" covers actions that need to save data, so "Read" alone isn’t enough for those rows.
4. Paste the key into heyhey
- Go back to the Stripe card in heyhey.
- Paste the key into the API key field. A live key starts with
rk_live_, a test key withrk_test_. - For a test key, turn on Sandbox / test mode. For a live key, leave this switch off.
- Click Connect Stripe and wait for the check to finish.
Don’t paste a pk_ publishable key, a full sk_ secret key or a whsec_ webhook secret. Those are different kinds of credentials, and the heyhey form needs an rk_ key.
heyhey checks the key and registers a webhook, which is an automatic notification from Stripe. Webhooks tell heyhey whether a purchase was paid, a subscription renewed or a refund was made. You don’t need to enter the webhook address yourself.
5. Check the status and payment methods
Connected means your setup was accepted. If you see a message that your account isn’t active, finish activation in Stripe, then use the re-check button in heyhey.
Once your account is active, your customers can pay by card (Visa, Mastercard). Apple Pay and Google Pay are managed in Stripe’s payment method settings, so check there that they’re turned on. A wallet only appears at checkout when the buyer’s device and browser support it.
Not every method that works for a one-off payment can be used for recurring charges. For a subscription, check which methods actually appear in its checkout.
6. Go through a purchase as a buyer
- Open a published product with sales turned on and check the price and currency.
- Copy the checkout link and open it in a separate browser window.
- In test mode, use Stripe’s test card details. Don’t use a real card for sandbox tests.
- Complete the payment, go back to heyhey and check Sales → Orders.
- Check the purchase confirmation and access to the product from the buyer’s point of view.
- Before you share the checkout with customers, connect your live key and make sure the Sandbox label has gone.
The thank-you page on its own doesn’t replace checking the order. If Stripe accepted the payment but heyhey still doesn’t show it, the transaction notifications need checking.
Common problems
| What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
| The key was rejected | That it starts with rk_, has no spaces and comes from the right account |
| Required permissions are missing | Every row of the table, especially Prices and Webhook Endpoints |
| The account is waiting for activation | The messages and required actions in Stripe, then re-check in heyhey |
| Apple Pay or Google Pay doesn’t appear | That the wallet is turned on in Stripe’s payment method settings and that the buyer’s device and browser support it |
| The payment shows only in Stripe | The webhook status, the transaction ID and the order in heyhey |
| The connection stopped working after you changed the key | That the new key has the same permissions and that test and live mode haven’t been mixed up |
Changing account or key, and getting help
Disconnecting the provider can stop new payments and later billing from being processed. Don’t use it as a way to cancel your customers’ subscriptions. If you’re moving your sales to a different Stripe account, don’t assume existing subscriptions will move with the key. Get in touch with us before you make the change.
If you need help, send us the error message, whether you were in test or live mode, and the order number. Never send your API key or card details. Contact heyhey support.
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