The Credit Key Checkout Flow integrates Credit Key directly into your checkout as a payment method, allowing customers to finance purchases without leaving their buying journey.

Customers select Credit Key during checkout, complete financing through Credit Key's hosted checkout experience, and are returned to your website to complete their purchase.

This guide explains the available Checkout Flow integration options, how the checkout process works, and where to begin your implementation.

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Choose Your Checkout Integration

Credit Key supports multiple integration approaches depending on your platform and implementation requirements.

Supported Platform Integrations

Use a pre-built integration if you're using one of Credit Key's supported ecommerce platforms.

Platform integrations provide the fastest path to accepting Credit Key during checkout with minimal custom development.

See the Supported Platform Integrations.

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Direct API Integration

Build a custom checkout integration using the Credit Key API.

This option provides the greatest flexibility and is recommended for merchants with custom ecommerce platforms or checkout experiences.

Continue with:

1. Authentication
2. Hosted Checkout Guide
3. Post-Checkout Operations

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Payment Partner Integration

White-label Credit Key within your payment platform using the Payment Partner API.

This integration option is available exclusively to approved payment partners that want to embed a white-labeled Credit Key financing experience within their payment platform.

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How the Checkout Flow Works

Every Checkout Flow begins by authenticating with the Credit Key API.

After authenticating, your application creates a Hosted Checkout session and redirects the customer to Credit Key. Once the customer completes financing, Credit Key returns the customer to your application with a CKKEY, which uniquely identifies the Credit Key order.

The CKKEY is required for all subsequent order operations, including authorization, updates, captures, refunds, and partial captures.

The overall Checkout Flow follows this sequence:

1. Authenticate with the Credit Key API.
2. Create a Hosted Checkout session.
3. Redirect the customer to Credit Key.
4. Customer completes financing or signs in to an existing Credit Key account.
5. Credit Key returns the customer to your application with a CKKEY.
6. Authorize the order.
7. Capture payment when the order ships.
8. Optionally update, refund, partially capture, or settle the order.

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Order Lifecycle

After Hosted Checkout is complete, merchants manage the remainder of the order lifecycle through the Orders API.

Typical post-checkout operations include:

• Authorize the order
• Update order details
• Capture payment
• Partially capture shipments
• Refund captured payments
• Receive settlement information
• Receive webhook notifications

For implementation details, see the Post-Checkout Operations guide.

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Recommended Implementation Order

We recommend implementing your integration incrementally.

1. Authenticate with the API.
2. Create a Hosted Checkout session.
3. Verify the Hosted Checkout experience.
4. Handle the customer return and store the CKKEY.
5. Authorize the order.
6. Capture payment.
7. Implement webhook handling.
8. Add refunds.
9. Add partial capture (if needed).
10. Configure settlements (if applicable).

Implementing and validating each milestone independently makes troubleshooting significantly easier.

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What's Next

If you're building a custom integration using the Credit Key API, continue to the API Integration Overview to learn about the core architecture, implementation sequence, and API components.

Continue to API Integration Overview.