How Does Inflow Work

Overview

Inflow provides businesses with infrastructure to collect payments globally and receive settlements in a simple, reliable, and compliant way. It supports hosted checkout, payment links, subscriptions, transaction tracking, and flexible payout capabilities — including payouts to third parties.

Key Actors

Actor	Role
Customer	Initiates the payment (via checkout link, subscription link, or embedded SDK)
Merchant (You)	Provides goods or services; manages payments and subscriptions; receives funds
Inflow	Manages the payment interface, settlement, and payout orchestration

End-to-End Flow

1. Create a Checkout

Choose how your customers will pay:

Method	Description	Best for
Payment Link	Shareable link from the Dashboard or API	No-code, quick setup
Subscription Link	Recurring payment link from a subscription offer	Recurring billing
API Payment	Create a payment via API, redirect to `purchaseUrl`	Custom checkout flows
Server-to-Server	Collect card details directly via API	Full control (PCI required)
SDK	Embed a card form (iframe) on your site	Custom UI, no PCI burden

2. Customer Pays

The customer lands on the Inflow hosted checkout page (or your embedded SDK form):

They select a payment method: Open Banking (EU) or Card Payment (global)
For card payments, 3D Secure authentication is handled automatically when required
After payment, the customer is redirected to your successUrl

3. Payment Progresses

The payment moves through these statuses:

INITIATION → CHECKOUT_PENDING → CHECKOUT_SUCCESS → PAYMENT_RECEIVED → PAYMENT_SUCCESS

Transition	Timing
Customer pays → `CHECKOUT_SUCCESS`	Immediate
`CHECKOUT_SUCCESS` → `PAYMENT_RECEIVED`	3–5 business days
`PAYMENT_RECEIVED` → `PAYMENT_SUCCESS`	~1 hour

You receive a webhook (payment_status_updated) at each status change if configured.

4. Your Balance Updates

Settled funds appear in your Inflow balance in USDC
View your balance, deposits, and pending settlements in the Balance section
Optional: activate Yield to earn interest on your idle balance

5. You Get Paid

Request a payout from the Dashboard:

Destination	Timing
SEPA / Local bank (EUR, GBP)	Real-time to 1 business day
SWIFT (USD, others)	1–4 business days
Crypto wallet (USDC)	Instant

Inflow also supports payouts to third-party recipients — vendors, contractors, or service providers. Add their bank account or wallet in Settings and withdraw to that destination.

Customization

Checkout appearance: background color, font color, logo, and merchant name via the sessionCustomization object
Payment methods: Open Banking and Card Payments based on customer region
More methods (Apple Pay, Google Pay) coming soon

Integration Paths

Path	Effort	What you build
Payment Links (no code)	~2 min	Nothing — share a link
API + Hosted Checkout	~5 min	Backend creates payment, redirect customer
SDK (iframe card form)	~15 min	Backend + frontend card form
Server-to-Server	~20 min	Full custom flow (PCI required)