How Stripe RTAU Works with Zuora
Stripe RTAU integrates with Zuora by using webhook events to update payment methods in real-time, enhancing the existing PMU batch process.
- Stripe delivers account‑update information through webhook events, not in the payment response.
- Zuora’s Collect‑RTR service listens for these Stripe webhook events and converts them into normalized Payment Method Update (PMU) messages that billing applies to the corresponding credit card payment methods.
Supported Stripe event types:
payment_method.automatically_updated(modern Stripe PaymentMethod API)customer.source.updated(legacy Card/Source API)
- When a valid RTAU event is received, Zuora updates the existing credit card payment method record with the new card metadata (such as expiration date, last 4 digits, card brand, and fingerprint).
- Stripe Customer ID and PaymentMethod/Source ID are stored on the existing payment method in Zuora to allow Zuora to reliably match future webhook updates to the correct record.
- Stripe RTAU works with or without ‘Tokenize PM; with Stripe gateway turned on.
RTAU complements existing PMU batch jobs by providing real‑time updates, while batch PMU can continue to cover cards and scenarios that are not eligible for RTAU.
Limitations
- Credit card only - Stripe RTAU in Zuora currently applies only to credit card payment methods configured with supported Stripe gateways. Other payment method types and reference‑transaction–only payment methods are not in scope.
- Card network and regional coverage - As with other RTAU implementations, coverage is defined by Stripe and the underlying card networks. RTAU is typically available for Visa and Mastercard in supported regions; it is intended to complement, not fully replace, PMU batch jobs.
- No mandate updates - Stripe RTAU updates card attributes but does not update mandate IDs; mandate changes, if applicable, must follow Stripe’s mandate flows.
- PMU coexistence - Batch PMU and Stripe RTAU are designed to work together. RTAU handles real‑time webhook‑driven updates, while PMU can continue to update cards via batch where RTAU is not available or not triggered.
By enabling Stripe RTAU in Zuora, you can significantly reduce failed payments due to stale card details, improve authorization success rates, and simplify ongoing payment operations with minimal configuration effort.