# How payments work
Who does what in a payment, from checkout to the webhook, for each kind of channel. The numbers in each diagram are the order things happen in.
## Who’s involved
| Who | What they do |
| --- | --- |
| **Payer** | Your customer. Pays with a QR Ph app, an e-wallet, a card or cash at a counter. |
| **Your server** | Creates the payment with your API key, shows the payer what to do next, and fulfills the order when the webhook arrives. Your app or website talks to your server, never to Weav with your key. |
| **Weav** | Sets the payment up with the provider, tracks its status, credits your balance and sends you signed webhooks. |
| **Provider** | Where the money moves: the payer’s bank or e-wallet through QR Ph, GCash, Maya, the card network, or a Pay & Go, Palawan or Bayad counter. |
## Payment link (the default)
Send the payer to Weav’s payment page. Nothing is set up with the provider until they open it; then the page shows the QR code, the counter code or the way to the provider’s page, with how-to-pay steps and a live status.
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor Payer
participant Server as Your server
participant Weav
participant Provider
Payer->>Server: Checks out
Server->>Weav: POST /v1/payments
Weav-->>Server: 201 PENDING
next_action.checkout_url
Server-->>Payer: Sends them to checkout_url
Payer->>Weav: Opens Weav's payment page
Weav->>Provider: Sets up the payment
Weav-->>Payer: QR code, counter code or the
provider's page, with steps
Payer->>Provider: Pays
Provider->>Weav: Confirms the payment
Note over Weav: COMPLETED
your balance is credited
Weav-->>Payer: The page shows it as paid
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_COMPLETED
webhook, signed
Server-->>Weav: 2xx within 10 seconds
Note over Server: Verify X-Signature,
then fulfill the order once
```
The link lasts 24 hours unopened. Once the payer opens it, `expires_at` becomes the provider’s window, for example 15 minutes for a QR Ph code.
## QR Ph, shown by you
With `"next_action_format": "DIRECT"` you get the raw QR string and show it yourself. Any QR Ph bank or e-wallet app can pay it.
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor Payer
participant Server as Your server
participant Weav
participant Provider as Payer's bank
or e-wallet
Payer->>Server: Checks out
Server->>Weav: POST /v1/payments
QR_PH, DIRECT
Weav->>Provider: Sets up the QR Ph code
Weav-->>Server: 201 PENDING, DISPLAY_QR
qr_string, instructions
Server-->>Payer: Shows the QR code and the steps
alt Paid before expires_at
Payer->>Provider: Scans the code
in their app and pays
Provider->>Weav: Confirms the payment
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_COMPLETED
webhook
else Not paid in time
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_FAILED webhook
failure.code EXPIRED
end
```
A payment that failed or was canceled can still complete if the provider confirms the money arrived late. Act on the latest status. See [Statuses](https://docs.weavpayments.com/statuses).
## Redirect: GCash, Maya and cards
The payer pays on the provider’s own page. With `"next_action_format": "DIRECT"`, `checkout_url` is that page, as below; with a payment link, Weav’s page sends them there. Where their browser lands afterward only decides what they see; it never confirms the payment.
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor Payer
participant Server as Your server
participant Weav
participant Provider as GCash, Maya
or card checkout
Payer->>Server: Checks out
Server->>Weav: POST /v1/payments
GCASH, MAYA or CARD, DIRECT,
success_url, cancel_url
Weav->>Provider: Creates the checkout
Weav-->>Server: 201 PENDING
REDIRECT: checkout_url
Server-->>Payer: Redirects to checkout_url
Payer->>Provider: Pays, or cancels
Provider-->>Payer: Sends them back through Weav
Payer->>Weav: Returns
Weav->>Provider: Checks the result
Weav-->>Payer: Redirects to
success_url or cancel_url
Note over Payer,Server: Landing on success_url
is not proof of payment
Provider->>Weav: Confirms the payment
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_COMPLETED
webhook
```
If the provider is still confirming, the payer sees a Weav page that updates by itself before the redirect. The provider’s confirmation can come before or after the payer returns.
## Over the counter: Pay & Go, PalawanPay and Bayad
The payer gets a payment code and pays cash to **Eplayment** at a kiosk or counter. With `"next_action_format": "DIRECT"` you get the code and give it to them, as below; with a payment link, Weav’s page shows it.
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
actor Payer
participant Server as Your server
participant Weav
participant Provider as Kiosk or counter
Payer->>Server: Checks out
Server->>Weav: POST /v1/payments
PAY_AND_GO, PALAWANPAY or BAYAD,
DIRECT
Weav-->>Server: 201 PENDING
PAY_AT_COUNTER: payment_code
Server-->>Payer: Gives them the payment code
alt Paid within 48 hours
Payer->>Provider: Pays cash to Eplayment
with the code
Provider->>Weav: Confirms the payment
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_COMPLETED
webhook
else Not paid in time
Weav->>Server: PAYMENT_FAILED webhook
failure.code EXPIRED
end
```
## Webhook delivery
Every status change reaches your server as a signed webhook. Answer within 10 seconds, do the work in a queue, and handle each event once: the same event can arrive twice, and events can arrive out of order.
```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
participant Weav
participant Server as Your server
Weav->>Server: POST to your webhook URL (X-Signature)
alt 2xx within 10 seconds
Note over Weav: Delivered
else Anything else: 4xx, 5xx, timeout,
TLS error or redirect
loop Up to 18 attempts over about 7 days
Weav->>Server: Retries, freshly signed each time
end
Note over Weav: Still failing: waits in the
dashboard for you to repost
end
Server->>Weav: GET /v1/payments/{reference_id}
at any time
Weav-->>Server: The payment's latest status
```
See [Event types](https://docs.weavpayments.com/webhooks/event-types) for the retry schedule and [Verifying signatures](https://docs.weavpayments.com/webhooks/verifying-signatures) for the check.