> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Stripe to Vortex IQ

> Connect Stripe to Vortex IQ so Vortex Mind can analyse payment performance, decline patterns, and revenue leakage using real transaction-level data.

Connecting Stripe gives Vortex IQ access to your payment transaction data. Vortex Mind uses this to power Payment Performance Intelligence and Decline Recovery Intelligence reports-diagnosing auth rate drops, BIN-level decline patterns, gateway error codes, and recoverable revenue from failed transactions. Nerve Centre surfaces the resulting KPI cards, and Ask Viq can answer payment-specific questions in plain English.

## What Vortex IQ reads from Stripe

Stripe feeds the following Vortex Mind report types directly:

| Report                           | What Stripe data it uses                                                 |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Payment Performance Intelligence | Auth rates, decline reason codes, payment method mix, BIN-level patterns |
| Decline Recovery Intelligence    | Failed charge amounts, retry eligibility, recoverable revenue estimate   |
| Checkout Conversion Failure      | Checkout abandonment correlated with payment errors                      |
| Daily Revenue Leakage            | Gross vs net revenue, refunds, disputes, fee deductions                  |

KPI cards populated in Nerve Centre include payment success rate, decline rate by payment method, dispute rate, refund rate, and revenue after fees.

## How to connect

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Connected Sources">
    Navigate to **Settings → Connected Sources** and click **Add Source**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Stripe">
    Search for "Stripe" and select it from the catalogue.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your Stripe Restricted Key">
    Vortex IQ uses a Stripe **Restricted API Key** (not your secret key). In your Stripe Dashboard, go to **Developers → API Keys → Create Restricted Key** with read permissions on: Charges, Customers, PaymentIntents, Refunds, Disputes, and Balance Transactions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Paste the key into Vortex IQ">
    Enter the restricted key in the connection form and click **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    Vortex IQ runs a connection test. A green status indicator confirms the key is valid and data pull has started.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Never paste your Stripe **Secret Key** into Vortex IQ. Use a Restricted Key scoped to read-only access on the resources listed above.
</Warning>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Connection test fails">
    Verify the restricted key has read access on Charges and PaymentIntents. Missing permissions on either resource cause the connection test to fail.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No data appearing in reports">
    Stripe data is pulled on a daily refresh by default. If you just connected, wait until the following day's refresh cycle or click **Refresh Now** in **Settings → Data Refresh**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Decline reason codes not showing">
    Decline reason codes require the **Charges** read permission. Confirm the restricted key includes this scope.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>