Stripe India E-Mandate Example

Always use Stripe in test mode for this example!

This project demonstrates how to create and manage India E-Mandates using Stripe's SetupIntent API. E-Mandates enable recurring or sporadic payments in India, allowing you to charge customers without requiring them to be present for each transaction.

What This Does

1. Creates a Stripe SetupIntent with India-specific mandate options
2. Collects payment method details securely using Stripe Elements
3. Confirms the setup and creates a mandate with the customer's authorization
4. Sets the payment method as the customer's default for future off-session charges

This is useful for subscription services, usage-based billing platforms (like Orb), or any business that needs to charge Indian customers on a recurring basis.

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Prerequisites

• Node.js installed on your machine
• A Stripe account in test mode
• A test customer created in your Stripe dashboard

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Setup Instructions

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

Or if starting from scratch:

npm init -y
npm install express stripe

2. Create a Test Customer

Go to your Stripe Customers page and create a test customer. Copy the customer ID (it looks like cus_xxxxxxxxxxxxx).

3. Configure Customer ID

Open server.js and replace the placeholder customer ID on line 18:

const CUSTOMER_ID = "cus_xxxxxxxxxxxxx"; // Replace with your actual test customer ID

4. Set Your API Keys

Backend (Secret Key)

Go to your API keys page and copy your Secret key (starts with sk_test_).

Set it as an environment variable:

export STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Frontend (Publishable Key)

Copy your Publishable key (starts with pk_test_) and update public/index.html on line 18:

const stripe = Stripe("pk_test_xxxxxxxxxxxxx");

5. Run the Server

node server.js

You should see:

Server running at http://localhost:4242
Customer dashboard link:
https://dashboard.stripe.com/test/customers/cus_xxxxxxxxxxxxx

6. Open in Browser

Navigate to http://localhost:4242

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Testing the Mandate

Enter Payment Details

Use these test card details:

• Card number: 4000003560000123 (India test card)
• Expiry date: Any future date (e.g., 12/31)
• CVC: Any 3 digits (e.g., 123)
• Postal code: Any 5 digits (e.g., 12345)

Submit the Form

You will be prompted with a test mandate confirmation. This should just read

Click Setup Mandate. If everything is configured correctly, you should see:

• "Success! Mandate created and set as default payment method."

Testing multiple times

Unfortunatly this very small example requires you to exit and restart the server after every mandate setup. Simply ctrl+c, and rerun node server.js

Verify in Stripe Dashboard

1. Go to your customer's page in Stripe
2. Click on the customer you used
3. You should see:
   • The payment method listed under "Payment methods"
   • In the developers tab, one minute after creating the card, a webhook event fire for mandate.updated
   • The payment method set as the default

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Next Steps

For more information, see Stripe's India Mandates documentation.

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Troubleshooting

"Customer not found" error: Make sure you've replaced CUSTOMER_ID in server.js with a valid test customer ID from your Stripe dashboard.

"Invalid API key" error: Ensure your STRIPE_SECRET_KEY environment variable is set and you're using a test mode key (starts with sk_test_).

Payment element not showing: Verify your publishable key in public/index.html is correct and in test mode (starts with pk_test_). Check the logs in the terminal.