---
title: Common Use Cases — Overview
slug: use-cases
sidebar_label: Overview
excerpt: >-
  Explore guided walkthroughs for the most common Pine Labs Online payment
  integration scenarios.
sidebar_order: 1
hidden: false
metadata:
  title: Payment Integration Use Cases — Guides & Examples | Pine Labs Online
  description: >-
    Step-by-step integration guides for common payment scenarios. Startup
    payments, payment links, subscriptions, AI agents, and migration guides with
    code examples.
  keywords: >-
    payment use cases, integration guides, payment scenarios, startup payments,
    recurring billing, subscription payments
  robots: index
---

Step-by-step guides for the most frequent Pine Labs Online integration scenarios — from accepting your first payment to migrating from another gateway.

---

## Pick your scenario

Choose the guide that matches your business need. Each use case walks you through the recommended products, APIs, and configuration steps.

<CardGrid>
  <Card title="Accept payments for a startup" description="Get from zero to live payments in minutes with minimal code. Uses Payment Links & Hosted Checkout." href="/use-cases/accept-payments-startup" icon="rocket" />
  <Card title="Accept payments via payment links" description="Share a link — collect a payment. No website needed. Uses Payment Links & Dashboard." href="/use-cases/accept-payments-payment-links" icon="link" />
  <Card title="Accept payments on a website or mobile app" description="Embed checkout into your web or mobile experience. Uses Checkout options, SDKs & APIs." href="/accept-payments" icon="shopping-cart" />
  <Card title="Set up subscriptions & recurring payments" description="Automate billing cycles for SaaS, memberships, and services. Uses Subscriptions & Webhooks." href="/use-cases/setup-subscriptions-recurring" icon="refresh-cw" />
  <Card title="Build with AI agents" description="Integrate payments into AI-powered workflows and agents. Uses MCP Server, Agent Toolkit & n8n." href="/use-cases/build-with-ai-agents" icon="bot" />
  <Card title="Migrate to Pine Labs payment gateway" description="Move from another payment gateway without losing customers. Uses APIs, Dashboard & Support." href="/use-cases/migrate-to-pinelabs" icon="zap" />
</CardGrid>

---

## How to use these guides

Each guide follows a consistent structure:

<Steps>

  <Step number={1} title="What you're building">Goal and outcome</Step>

  <Step number={2} title="Before you begin">Prerequisites and setup</Step>

  <Step number={3} title="Step-by-step walkthrough">Implementation with code</Step>

  <Step number={4} title="Test your integration">Verify everything works</Step>

  <Step number={5} title="Go live">Production checklist</Step>

</Steps>

---

## Not sure where to start?

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A[What do you need?] --> B{Do you have a website or app?}
    B -->|No| C[Accept payments via Payment Links]
    B -->|Yes| D{One-time or recurring?}
    D -->|One-time| E{How much UI control?}
    D -->|Recurring| F[Set up subscriptions]
    E -->|Minimal effort| G[Hosted Checkout]
    E -->|Full control| H[Custom Checkout]
    
    style C fill:#36CC8B,color:#fff,stroke:#36CC8B
    style F fill:#36CC8B,color:#fff,stroke:#36CC8B
    style G fill:#36CC8B,color:#fff,stroke:#36CC8B
    style H fill:#36CC8B,color:#fff,stroke:#36CC8B
```

---

## Quick reference — Products by use case

| I want to... | Recommended product | Code required |
|---|---|---|
| Collect a payment with a shareable link | [Payment Links](/payment-links) | No |
| Add a checkout button to my website | [Hosted Checkout](/hosted-checkout) | Low |
| Build a fully custom payment form | [Custom Checkout](/custom-checkout) | Yes |
| Charge customers monthly or yearly | [Subscriptions](/subscriptions) | Yes |
| Let customers pay in EMI instalments | [Affordability Suite](/affordability-suite) | Yes |
| Accept payments via bank transfer | [ECMS Bank Transfer](/e-challan | Yes |
| Split payments across multiple sellers | [Split Settlements](/split-settlements) | Yes |
| Accept international card payments | [International Payments](/international-payments) | Yes |
| Automate payments in AI workflows | [MCP Server](/mcp-server) | Yes |

---

## Environment setup

All guides use the same base configuration:

<EnvTable rows={[{ env: "UAT (Testing)", url: "https://pluraluat.v2.pinepg.in", badge: "sandbox" }, { env: "Production", url: "https://api.pluralonline.com" }]} />

<Callout type="info" title="You'll need">

- A Pine Labs Online merchant account — [Sign up](https://dashboardv2.pluralonline.com/signup)
- Your **Client ID** and **Client Secret** from the [Dashboard → Settings](doc:dashboard-settings)
- A backend server to securely call Pine Labs APIs

</Callout>

<Callout type="warning" title="Security">
Never expose your Client Secret in frontend code. All API calls must originate from your backend.
</Callout>

---

## Next steps

- [Accept payments for a startup](/use-cases/accept-payments-startup) — fastest path to your first payment
- [Quickstart Guide](quick-start-guide) — core API concepts
- [API Reference](/api/authentication) — full endpoint documentation