How Sapiom Pay works

Six parties take part in a transaction. The real card number only ever passes between Sapiom and the merchant’s payment processor.

Who does what

Party	Role
Your backend	Creates a buyer and buyer key for each user, stores the keys, and refreshes checkouts when asked.
Your agent	Shops for one buyer at a time, using that buyer’s key.
Buyer	Your user. Saves a card once, then approves each transaction.
Browser session	Your code that runs the merchant’s checkout in a browser, with Browser Pay attached.
Sapiom	Stores each buyer’s cards, checks each transaction, and sends the real card to checkout.
Merchant	Sets prices and totals, and owns the order.

Each buyer’s cards and transactions are visible only with that buyer’s key.

Request. Your agent sends the merchant’s checkout and the buyer’s card ID. Sapiom opens the checkout with the merchant.
Check. Sapiom checks the transaction against your spending limits and any approval rules.
Approve. The buyer approves on a hosted page that shows the merchant, items and total.
Pay. A browser session fills checkout with a placeholder, which is relayed and replaced securely through Sapiom.
Confirm the order. Sapiom reports the order as confirmed once the merchant says checkout is complete.

Sapiom releases a card only for a specific checkout. Before paying, it knows the merchant, items, total and currency. That lets Sapiom:

Today, checkout details come from UCP checkouts. More checkout types are coming.