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Choose your integration

Two ways to show the checkout: redirect to Aera's hosted checkout, or embed Aera's checkout form in your page.

🚧

Early release

Online payments is in early development (MVP). This section may change.

Aera Online Payments has two integration models for your checkout:

  • Hosted checkout: redirect the shopper to Aera's checkout page.
  • Embedded checkout: show Aera's checkout form inside your own checkout page.

Both use the same Online payments API and support the same payment methods. The choice depends on the shopper experience you want, your compliance model and how much frontend control you need.

Choose the right model

Hosted checkout (redirect)Embedded checkout
Time to integrateFastModerate
Control of the lookStandardisedHigh
PCI scope reductionYesYes
Frontend workLowMedium

Hosted checkout

The shopper goes to Aera's hosted checkout page to pay, then comes back to your site.

  1. You create a payment session with Create payment session.
  2. Aera returns a paymentSessionUrl.
  3. You redirect the shopper to it.
  4. After the payment, Aera sends the shopper back to your success, cancel or error URL.

Benefits

  • Fastest integration, with little frontend work
  • Smallest PCI scope
  • Authentication flows, such as 3-D Secure and wallet approvals, are built in
  • One consistent experience across payment methods. Aera has tuned the page for conversion
  • You set the look and feel, branding and the order of payment methods in the Aera portal

Best for: a quick go-live, checkouts without complex customisation, and the lowest operational and compliance effort.

  1. 1ShopperClicks Go to payment
  2. 2Your server → AeraCreate payment session
  3. 3Your server → ShopperRedirect to paymentSessionUrl
  4. 4ShopperSees your shop on the page
  5. 5ShopperChooses a payment method
  6. 6ShopperTypes the card details
  7. 7ShopperTicks Save card
  8. 8ShopperPays and confirms with the bank
  9. 9Aera → ShopperRedirect to your success URL
  10. 10Aera → Your serverNotification, then Get payment status
1/10 · Shopper: Clicks Go to payment
In your checkout
Your checkout keeps the basket, delivery and everything else. Aera only takes the payment.
Illustration: real pages can look different
1 / 10

Build a hosted checkout →

Embedded checkout

Aera's checkout form is shown inside your own checkout page. The shopper stays on your site, and the payment fields are served securely by Aera.

  1. You create a payment session with merchantData.ui.mode set to EMBED.
  2. You show Aera's checkout form inside your checkout page.
  3. The shopper pays inside your page.
  4. If a step can't run inside your page, such as 3-D Secure or an app switch, your page sends the shopper to it.

Benefits

  • A seamless checkout experience
  • Full control over the page around the form
  • PCI scope stays small, because the sensitive fields are hosted by Aera
  • Room for advanced UI customisation

Best for: optimized conversion funnels, branded checkouts and advanced ecommerce setups.

  1. 1Your server → AeraCreate payment session with ui
  2. 2Your pageShows Aera's payment form
  3. 3ShopperTypes the card details
  4. 4ShopperPays
  5. 5Aera → Your pagepostMessage event
  6. 6Aera → ShopperRedirect to your success URL
  7. 7Aera → Your serverNotification, then Get payment status
1/7 · Your server → Aera: Create payment session with ui
merchantData.ui: mode EMBED, origin https://shop.example.com
The same call as for the hosted payment page, plus merchantData.ui. The origin is your checkout page's scheme and host.
Illustration: real pages can look different
1 / 7

Build an embedded checkout →


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Important: Additional Authentication and Redirect Scenarios (Embedded Checkout)

When using the Embedded Hosted Checkout Form, certain payment flows may require additional customer actions.

These can include:

  • Strong Customer Authentication (for example, 3D Secure)
  • Confirmation in external applications (such as wallet or alternative payment method apps)
  • Bank or scheme-mandated authentication steps

Some authentication flows or alternative payment methods do not allow the user to remain within an embedded form (iframe) due to security restrictions or scheme requirements.

In such cases:

  • The customer will need to be redirected to an external page to complete the action.
  • Aera will send a postMessage event to the merchant frontend.
  • The merchant application must listen for this event and perform the required redirection.

A separate integration guide to support the embed mode will be provided.



Also good to know

Both models can do more than a single payment:

  • Save cards and recurring payments: the shopper saves a card in the hosted or embedded checkout, and you charge it later. See Save cards and Recurring payments.
  • Direct payments: for a saved card (one-click), or a Vipps MobilePay or Apple Pay button in your own checkout, you can start the payment directly. Aera's checkout page is shown only if the shopper must authenticate. See Direct payments.

Updated 4 days ago

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