Working with Guest Customers

In Stripe, a "guest customer" is a temporary record created when someone makes a payment without being linked to a formal customer profile. These records are automatically generated when a payment is processed through Stripe's Checkout or Payment Links without specifying a customer ID. Guest customers are grouped in the Stripe Dashboard based on matching details like the credit card number, email address, or phone number used during the transaction. This allows businesses to track guest customer activity, such as purchases, refunds, or chargebacks, for fraud detection or customer service purposes.

However, guest customers have significant limitations:

• Not Full Customer Profiles: Guest customers are not proper customer objects in Stripe. They lack a unique customer ID and cannot be managed or retrieved via the Stripe API.

• No Syncing Capability: Because guest customers are not true customer records, they cannot be synced with external platforms like Mailchimp for marketing or customer relationship management.

• Limited Functionality: Guest customers cannot access the Stripe Customer Portal to manage subscriptions, view invoices, or update payment methods. They are primarily a view in the Stripe Dashboard for tracking purposes.

Creating Real Customers with Payment Links and Checkout API

To avoid the limitations of guest customers and create real customer profiles, you can configure your Stripe setup to generate proper customer objects.

Method 1: Using Payment Links with Customer Creation

Stripe Payment Links are a no-code solution that allows you to create shareable URLs for payments. By default, payments made through Payment Links may create guest customers unless you take steps to ensure real customer profiles are created.

To create "real" customers from payment links, we have to edit all of the payment links we use. In the Advanced section of each payment link, check the box Save payment details for future use. This will save each customer as a Stripe customer when they make purchases using your payment links,

With these real customers created, now your contacts will sync in real-time instead of only syncing manually.

Method 2: Using the Checkout API to Create Real Customers

For businesses with a website or app, the Stripe Checkout API allows you to create a seamless payment experience while generating real customer profiles. This method requires some technical setup, typically handled by a developer, but the concept is straightforward:

1. Set Up a Checkout Session:

   • Work with your developer to create a Checkout Session using the Stripe API. A Checkout Session is a secure payment page hosted by Stripe where customers can complete their purchases.

   • When creating the session, instruct your developer to include the customer parameter with an existing customer ID or set the customer_creation parameter to always. This ensures that a real customer profile is created during the checkout process.