How do I fix payment webhooks not firing for successful charges?

If payment webhooks aren’t firing for successful charges, the fix is usually in one of these areas:

1. Verify the webhook is actually configured

• Confirm the webhook endpoint exists in your payment provider dashboard.
• Make sure it’s subscribed to the right event types, such as:
  • payment_intent.succeeded
  • charge.succeeded
  • checkout.session.completed
  • invoice.paid
• Check whether you configured it in the test or live environment.

2. Confirm you’re listening for the right event

A “successful charge” may trigger a different event depending on the payment flow:

• Stripe Checkout: often checkout.session.completed
• PaymentIntents: payment_intent.succeeded
• Direct charges: charge.succeeded
• Subscriptions: invoice.paid or invoice.payment_succeeded

It’s common to expect charge.succeeded when your integration only emits payment_intent.succeeded.

3. Check endpoint response requirements

Most providers expect:

• A 2xx HTTP response
• Fast acknowledgment, usually within a few seconds

If your server:

• returns 4xx/5xx
• times out
• crashes
• blocks while doing long work

the provider may retry or mark delivery as failed.

4. Inspect delivery logs

In your payment provider dashboard:

• open webhook delivery history
• check whether events were sent
• inspect response codes and error messages
• look for retries or signature verification failures

This often reveals the exact problem quickly.

5. Make sure signature verification is correct

If your code rejects events due to bad signatures:

• ensure you’re using the correct signing secret
• verify raw request body handling is set up correctly
• do not parse/modify the body before signature verification

For example, with Stripe, signature verification fails if the raw body isn’t preserved.

6. Check networking / deployment issues

Common production issues:

• webhook URL not publicly reachable
• firewall or WAF blocking requests
• HTTPS certificate problems
• wrong DNS / load balancer routing
• endpoint only works locally

Test the endpoint from the internet, not just from your dev machine.

7. Ensure idempotency and event handling logic are correct

Sometimes the webhook is firing, but your app ignores it:

• event type mismatch
• duplicate detection too aggressive
• database transaction failure
• logic only handles one charge path

Log the full incoming event payload to confirm it arrives.

8. Review provider-specific limitations

Some providers:

• don’t send webhooks for certain failed/async payment methods immediately
• send events asynchronously after settlement
• require explicit enabling of event categories

Quick checklist

• Webhook URL correct
• Correct event types subscribed
• Live/test mode matches
• Endpoint returns 2xx quickly
• Signature verification passes
• Endpoint publicly accessible
• Delivery logs show successful attempt
• Your code handles the exact event you expect

If you want, I can help you debug this for a specific provider like Stripe, PayPal, Square, or Adyen.