Where there is a need for more customization and control over the checkout experience, a headless version of Primer’s Universal Checkout is available.
You can use Headless Universal Checkout with your UI, giving you more flexibility and allowing you to move faster when making design changes, while still having Universal Checkout capture sensitive PCI card data or other form data.
If you're looking for a simpler way of integrating Universal Checkout, consider integrating our Drop-In checkout.
Not all payment methods are currently compatible with Headless Checkout.
Please refer to this table to learn more about the payment methods available for Headless Checkout.
Before you start
Before you start, make sure:
- you are ready to process a payment
- Universal Checkout is properly configured in the dashboard
Create a client session
A client session is the starting point for integrating payments at Primer. You can attach any data associated with the order
to your client session.
Creating a client session provides you with a client token, a temporary key used to initialize the Universal Checkout.
The information you include in the client session is used in the Dashboard:
- to conditionally route payments with Workflows
- to activate payment methods and other features in Universal Checkout
So pass as much information as you can!
Generate an API key
Requests to our API are authenticated using an API key in the X-Api-Key
header. Create an API key by visiting the developer page of the Primer Dashboard.
Make sure to set the following scopes for your API Key:
client_tokens:write
transactions:authorize
Make a client session request
On your server, create a client session with POST/client-session
.
Make sure to pass at least the following data:
Field | Description |
---|---|
Your reference for the payment. Make sure to keep track of orderId - you will later receive updates to the payment via Webhooks. The payment will contain the orderId specified in the client session. | |
The three-letter currency code in ISO 4217 format. e.g. use USD for US dollars. | |
The details of the line items of the order. |
The body of a successful response contains a clientToken that you will use to initialize the Universal Checkout.
Here is how the client session request to the Primer API should look like:
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curl --location --request \ POST 'https://api.sandbox.primer.io/client-session' \ --header 'X-Api-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>' \ --header 'X-Api-Version: 2.2' \ --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data '{ "orderId": "<YOUR_ORDER_ID>", "currencyCode": "GBP", "amount": 5000, "order": { "lineItems": [{ "itemId": "shoes-123", "amount": 2500, "quantity": 2 }], "countryCode": "GB" } }' # Here is a (heavily truncated) example response { "clientToken": "THE_CHECKOUT_SESSION_TOKEN", "clientExpirationDate": "2022-03-08T14:00:00Z", "orderId": "<YOUR_ORDER_ID>", "currencyCode": "GBP", "amount": 5000, "order": { "lineItems": [{ "itemId": "shoes-123", "amount": 2500, "quantity": 2 }], "countryCode": "GB", }}
Get Started
Primer Headless Universal Checkout works in a simple way:
- 1Get a
clientToken
from your server. - 2Start Primer Headless Universal Checkout with the client token.
- 3Primer Headless Universal Checkout will then return the
available payment methods
for the session initiated. Those payment methods that have been configured in the Dashboard and whose conditions match the current client session will be returned. - 4You show the user the list of available payment methods.
- 5When the user selects a payment method, show its UI to enable the user to enter their credentials. Depending on the payment method, you will have to either ask the SDK to render it, or build the UI yourself.
- 6Primer's Headless Universal Checkout will then create a payment for you and manage its lifecycle. You will receive a confirmation of payment with a callback to indicate the checkout flow has completed.
Install the SDK
With CocoaPods
Add the following in your Podfile
:
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use_frameworks! target 'MyApp' do # 👇 Add this line pod 'PrimerSDK' # ... end
Then run pod install
to install PrimerSDK
on your workspace.
In case you encounter an error that the bundle needs signing on Xcode 14, add the following post-install script in your podfile.
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post_install do |installer| installer.pods_project.targets.each do |target| if target.respond_to?(:product_type) and target.product_type == "com.apple.product-type.bundle" target.build_configurations.each do |config| config.build_settings['CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED'] = 'NO' end end endend
With Swift Package Manager
The Swift Package Manager is a tool for automating the distribution of Swift code and is integrated into Xcode. In order to add PrimerSDK with Swift Package Manager:
- 1Select your project, and then navigate to
Package Dependencies
- 2Click on the + button at the bottom-left of the
Packages
section - 3Paste https://github.com/primer-io/primer-sdk-ios.git into the Search Bar, or search for
primer-sdk-ios
in the Search Bar. - 4Press Add Package
- 5Let Xcode download the package and set everything up
For more details about SDK versions, please see our changelog.
Step 1: Prepare Headless Universal Checkout
First, import the PrimerSDK
. Then call PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.current.start
to start the checkout session with your client token and a delegate to receive important events.
The completion handler will return the available payment methods for the current session. We will use them later to present a list of payment methods.
Each available payment method contains the following:
paymentMethodType
a unique string identifier for the payment method (e.g.ADYEN_IDEAL
)paymentMethodName
an user friendly English localized string identifier for the payment method (e.g.Apple Pay
)supportedPrimerSessionIntents
an array ofPrimerSessionIntent
which defines what intents can be used with this payment method (i.e..checkout
or.vault
).paymentMethodManagerCategories
an array which defines the payment method managers that can be used with this payment method (i.e..nativeUI
or.rawData
).- [Optional]
requiredInputDataClass
the class type that should be used with the raw data manager.
Implement the primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidCompleteCheckoutWithData(_:)
which will notify you when the checkout is complete with a payment.
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import UIKit// 👇 Import the SDKimport PrimerSDK class ViewController: UIViewController { // ... var availablePaymentMethods: [PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.PaymentMethod]? override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() // ... // 👇 Start Headless Universal Checkout with your session's client token PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.current.start(withClientToken: clientToken, delegate: self) { availablePaymentMethods, err in if let err = err { // Handle error } else if let availablePaymentMethods = availablePaymentMethods { // Payment methods that are available for this session self.availablePaymentMethods = availablePaymentMethods } } }} extension ViewController: PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDelegate { // 👇 [Required] This function will return the checkout data once the payment is finished func primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidCompleteCheckoutWithData(_ data: PrimerCheckoutData) { // ... }}
Step 2: Render available payment methods UI
You should now have the available payment methods for the client session.
You can render your own UI for each payment method, or take advantage of the PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.AssetsManager
helper to get access to payment methods' assets.
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do { let paymentMethodAsset = try PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.AssetsManager.getPaymentMethodAsset(for: paymentMethod.paymentMethodType)} catch { // Handle error}
The payment method asset contains the following:
paymentMethodType
a unique string identifier for the payment methodpaymentMethodName
an user friendly English localized string identifier for the payment method (e.g.Apple Pay
)paymentMethodLogo
an instance of thePrimerPaymentMethodLogo
paymentMethodBackgroundColor
an instance of thePrimerPaymentMethodBackgroundColor
The PrimerPaymentMethodLogo
holds UIImage
objects for different scenarios
- [Optional]
colored
aUIImage
to be used anywhere - [Optional]
dark
aUIImage
to be used in dark mode - [Optional]
light
aUIImage
to be used in light mode
The PrimerPaymentMethodBackgroundColor
holds UIColor
objects for different scenarios
- [Optional]
colored
aUIColor
to be used anywhere - [Optional]
dark
aUIColor
to be used in dark mode - [Optional]
light
aUIColor
to be used in light mode
colored
, dark
and light
variables are all optional, but it is guaranteed that the objects will contain at least one of them.
With the above images and colors you can build your own payment methods UI 💪
Step 3: Implement a payment method manager
Now that your UI presents the available payment methods, let's use the payment method managers to allow users to go through the payment method flow.
A payment method manager is a class abstracting the state and UI of a given payment method. Currently, 3 payment methods managers are supported, each of them responsible for a different payment method category.
PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.NativeUIManager
The native UI manager is responsible for payment methods that need to present their own UI (e.g. Apple Pay).PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager
The raw data manager is responsible for payment methods that need to receive data from the user (e.g. card form).
Bear in mind that a payment method could be implemented by more than one payment method manager. Check which managers are supported for each payment method in the paymentMethodManagerCategories
of the payment method objects received in Step 1.
A manager can only be used after Headless Checkout has been initialized. We consider Headless Checkout to be initialized after the primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidLoadAvailablePaymentMethods
is triggered and payment methods for the provided clientToken
are returned.
If that’s not the case Headless Checkout throws a uninitialized-sdk-session
error.
If a payment method manager gets initialized with an unsupported payment method type (i.e. the payment method's object doesn't include the manager's category), Headless Checkot throws an unsupported-payment-method-type
error.
Native UI manager
This manager can be used for the payment methods that contain .nativeUI
in the paymentMethodManagerCategories
array.
The native UI manager is typically used for the payment methods that need to present their own UI, such as Apple Pay.
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import UIKitimport PrimerSDK class ViewController: UIViewController { // ... @IBAction func paymentMethodButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) { do { // 👇 Create the payment method manager let nativeUIPaymentMethodManager = try PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.NativeUIManager(paymentMethodType: paymentMethod.paymentMethodType) // 👇 Show the payment method try nativeUIPaymentMethodManager.showPaymentMethod(intent: .checkout) } catch { // Handle error } }}
Make sure that the intent passed in the showPaymentMethod
function (.checkout
for making a payment, .vault
for vaulting the payment method) is supported by the payment method. Check the supportedPrimerSessionIntents
array of the payment method.
That's it! The SDK will present the native UI to the user, and then attempt to create a payment.
The payment's data will be returned on primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidCompleteCheckoutWithData
configured in Step 1.
Raw data manager
This manager can be used for any payment method that contains .rawData
in the paymentMethodManagerCategories
array.
The raw data manager can be used for payment methods that allow you to capture customer data yourself. This gives you full control over the UI while still taking advantage of all the features that make Primer great.
At any point, you can validate your data by calling setRawData()
and by listening to primerRawDataManager(_: dataIsValid: errors:)
- the SDK will return errors specific to each required input.
Once the data is valid, send it to Headless Checkout for further processing by calling submit()
.
Configure the PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager
and conform to its delegate
PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager
and conform to its delegateAssuming that the payment method contains .rawData
in the paymentMethodManagerCategories
, create your raw data manager, and set its delegate.
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import UIKitimport PrimerSDK class ViewController: UIViewController { // ... var rawDataManager: PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager! override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() // ... do { // 👇 Initialize the raw data manager self.rawDataManager = try PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager(paymentMethodType: paymentMethod.paymentMethodType, delegate: self) } catch { // Handle error } }}
Build a form
Build your own form to let the users enter their data. You can use the requiredInputElementTypes
of the PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager
object to get informed about what input fields you have to render.
The requiredInputElementTypes
is an array that can contain any of the following:
.cardNumber
.expiryDate
.cvv
.cardholderName
.phoneNumber
.retailer
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func renderForm() { let inputElementTypes = primerRawDataManager.requiredInputElementTypes for inputElementType in inputElementTypes { switch inputElementType { case .cardNumber: // Create a card number input element and add it to your view break case .expiryDate: // Create a expiry date input element and add it to your view break case .cvv: // Create a CVV input element and add it to your view break case .cardholderName: // Create a cardholder name input element and add it to your view break case .phoneNumber: // Create a phone number input element and add it to your view break case .retailer: // Create a retailer input element and add it to your view break } } }}
Build and validate your raw data
Use the class type that has been provided in the requiredInputDataClass
of the payment method to build the captured data, and pass it to the manager. Here is an example for card payments:
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import UIKitimport PrimerSDK class ViewController: UIViewController { // ... func dataDidChange() { // 👇 Create your raw data let rawCardData = PrimerCardData( cardNumber: cardnumberTextField.text, expiryDate: expiryDateTextField.text, // 👈 ex. 03/2030 cvv: cvvTextField.text, cardholderName: cardholderNameTextField.text, ) // 👇 Set your raw data on the manager self.rawDataManager.rawData = rawCardData }}
When you set set the data on the raw data manager, the manager validates it and notifies you via the delegate functions. You can then change the state of your submit button based on the validation changes.
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extension ViewController: PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutRawDataManagerDelegate { // 👇 Implement the validation function to receive updates on the raw data validation changes func primerRawDataManager(_ rawDataManager: PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckout.RawDataManager, dataIsValid isValid: Bool, errors: [Error]?) { // Enable your submit button when `isValid == true` }}
The delegate also provides a function that will notify you of metadata updates, e.g. that the card type was detected.
Submit the form's data
Once the data has been validated, call the manager's submit()
function.
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import UIKitimport PrimerSDK class ViewController: UIViewController { // ... @IBAction func payButtonTapped(_ sender: UIButton) { // 👇 Submit the data that have been set in prior steps self.rawDataManager.submit() }}
When the function submit()
is called, the SDK will attempt to create a payment. The payment's data will be returned on primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidCompleteCheckoutWithData
configured in Step 1.
Step 4: Handle errors
Some functions can throw and they will fail immediately. All other errors will end up in the SDK’s optional delegate function func primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidFail(withError:checkoutData:)
, where you can handle them accordingly.
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extension ViewController: PrimerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDelegate { func primerHeadlessUniversalCheckoutDidFail(withError err: Error, checkoutData: PrimerCheckoutData?) { // Handle the error }}
Advanced Configuration
For more customization on your needs, you can listen to all events posted by Headless Universal Checkout and react to them. Visit the API reference for a full list of the delegate functions.
Prepare 3DS
- In order to make the SDK lightweight, 3DS requires the addition of the Primer 3DS library. Check out our guide on how to add the Primer 3DS library to your iOS app.
- When the user pays by card, the Workflow will decide whether or not a 3DS challenge is required. If so, Headless Universal Checkout will automatically render the 3DS challenge.
- To improve 3DS success rates, it is recommended to pass the following elements in the Client Session:
Field | Description |
---|---|
The customer's email address | |
The customer's billing address |
Learn more about how to configure 3DS!
Did It Work?
If everything went well, you should be able to see the payment you just created on your Dashboard under the Payments menu.