Reduce number of payment_methods API calls #4560

daledupreez · 2025-08-06T09:42:17Z

Fixes STRIPE-<linear_issue_id>
Fixes #<github_issue_id>

Changes proposed in this Pull Request:

This PR tackles multiple pieces of code to try and reduce the number of API calls we make to the Stripe payment_methods API, which we may want to split up into smaller PRs:

Explicitly check for responses where the customer doesn't exist, and cache an empty result for that case
Refactor the code so we are fetching all payment methods for a customer, caching that result, while allowing for filtering on specific payment method types after we fetch the result.
- The vast majority (if not all) customers should have fewer than 100 saved payment methods, so this should result in 1 API call any time we have a cache miss, and at most 1 API call per request where we look for payment methods.
Refactor some loops that were fetching payment methods for each payment method until we found ones that we care about.

Next steps and concerns

SEPA calls - our logic for SEPA uses an undocumented expand URL parameter (Stripe API docs for the API) -- I am not sure how this would (or would not) work across other payment methods
What can/should we include in 9.8.0? - I think we should add the "no customer" check for 9.8.0, as that should be an improvement that prevents nasty problems. I think we should seriously consider shipping only the get_payment_methods() API and the changes to callers that I have implemented in this change, but leave get_payment_method() untouched for now.
- I am really open to feedback on what should (and should not) be included in 9.8.0!
We may want to consider shifting to the database cache rather than transients for this data, but I haven't even looked at that yet.

Testing instructions

Covered with tests (or have a good reason not to test in description ☝️)
Tested on mobile (or does not apply)

Changelog entry

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Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR optimizes Stripe payment methods API calls by implementing intelligent caching and batching strategies to reduce the number of requests made to Stripe's payment_methods endpoint.

Key changes include:

Implementing a unified get_all_payment_methods() method that fetches all payment methods at once and caches the complete result
Adding error handling for non-existent customers with appropriate caching of empty results
Refactoring callers to use the new batched approach instead of making separate API calls per payment method type

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

File	Description
includes/class-wc-stripe-customer.php	Adds new `get_all_payment_methods()` method with pagination, error handling, and unified caching strategy
includes/payment-tokens/class-wc-stripe-payment-tokens.php	Refactors to use single batched API call instead of multiple type-specific calls
includes/compat/trait-wc-stripe-subscriptions.php	Updates subscription payment method rendering to use batched approach with corrected break statements
tests/phpunit/WC_Stripe_Payment_Gateway_Test.php	Updates test to reflect new cache key format for all payment methods

Copilot · 2025-08-06T10:42:49Z

includes/class-wc-stripe-customer.php

@@ -704,32 +704,90 @@ public function get_payment_methods( $payment_method_type ) {
 			return [];
 		}

-		$payment_methods = get_transient( self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $payment_method_type . $this->get_id() );
+		return $this->get_all_payment_methods( [ $payment_method_type ] );


This implementation may cause performance issues when only one payment method type is needed. The original method cached results per payment method type, but now every call to get_payment_methods() will fetch and cache ALL payment methods, even when only one type is requested. Consider maintaining type-specific caching for backward compatibility and performance.

Suggested change

return $this->get_all_payment_methods( [ $payment_method_type ] );

$transient_key = self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $this->get_id() . '_' . $payment_method_type;

$methods = get_transient( $transient_key );

if ( false === $methods ) {

$response = WC_Stripe_API::request(

[

'customer' => $this->get_id(),

'type' => $payment_method_type,

'limit' => 100,

],

'payment_methods',

'GET'

);

if ( ! empty( $response->error ) || ! is_array( $response->data ) ) {

return [];

}

$methods = $response->data;

set_transient( $transient_key, $methods, DAY_IN_SECONDS );

}

return empty( $methods ) ? [] : $methods;

Copilot · 2025-08-06T10:42:49Z

includes/class-wc-stripe-customer.php

-				'payment_methods' . $params,
-				'GET'
-			);
+					'limit'    => 100,


The magic number 100 should be extracted to a class constant for better maintainability. This appears to be the Stripe API maximum limit and should be documented as such.

Suggested change

'limit' => 100,

'limit' => self::STRIPE_API_MAX_LIMIT,

Copilot · 2025-08-06T10:42:50Z

includes/compat/trait-wc-stripe-subscriptions.php

 						/* translators: 1) card brand 2) last 4 digits */
-						$payment_method_to_display = sprintf( __( 'Via %1$s card ending in %2$s', 'woocommerce-gateway-stripe' ), ( isset( $source->brand ) ? wc_get_credit_card_type_label( $source->brand ) : __( 'N/A', 'woocommerce-gateway-stripe' ) ), $source->last4 );
+						$payment_method_to_display = sprintf( __( 'Via %1$s card ending in %2$s', 'woocommerce-gateway-stripe' ), ( isset( $source->card->brand ) ? wc_get_credit_card_type_label( $source->card->brand ) : __( 'N/A', 'woocommerce-gateway-stripe' ) ), $source->card->last4 );
+						break 2;


[nitpick] The numbered break statements (break 2) are harder to maintain and understand than using labeled breaks or restructuring the code. Consider refactoring to use a flag variable or extracting the logic into a separate method to improve readability.

Copilot · 2025-08-06T10:42:50Z

includes/class-wc-stripe-customer.php

 		foreach ( self::STRIPE_PAYMENT_METHODS as $payment_method_type ) {
 			delete_transient( self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $payment_method_type . $this->get_id() );
 		}


The cache clearing logic is incomplete. While the new '_all' cache key is being cleared, the old individual payment method type cache keys are still being cleared in the loop above, but these are no longer being set by the new implementation. This could lead to memory leaks if old cache keys remain.

Suggested change

foreach ( self::STRIPE_PAYMENT_METHODS as $payment_method_type ) {

delete_transient( self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $payment_method_type . $this->get_id() );

}

wjrosa · 2025-08-06T12:51:55Z

includes/compat/trait-wc-stripe-subscriptions.php


-					// Legacy handling for Stripe Card objects. ref: https://docs.stripe.com/api/cards/object
-					if ( isset( $source->object ) && WC_Stripe_Payment_Methods::CARD === $source->object ) {
+				switch ( $source->type ) {


I think we have the opportunity to move this to a new method. maybe_render_subscription_payment_method is exceptionally long.

wjrosa · 2025-08-06T12:59:00Z

I think it is worth creating specific issues for your "Next steps and concerns", so we can tackle those separately.

daledupreez · 2025-08-06T20:42:01Z

I think it is worth creating specific issues for your "Next steps and concerns", so we can tackle those separately.

@wjrosa, part of what I am looking for in terms of feedback is finding the right scope across the issues so we tackle the work appropriately. I've already split out the basic check for a missing customer in #4561, and I'll look into adding a new get_all_payment_methods() API without refactoring the existing get_payment_methods() API, as I think we need to fix the two loops in the code that currently make multiple API calls.

malithsen · 2025-08-07T20:38:26Z

includes/class-wc-stripe-customer.php

+						&& 'resource_missing' === $response->error->code
+					) {
+						// If the customer doesn't exist, cache an empty array.
+						set_transient( $cache_key, [], DAY_IN_SECONDS );


Should we use a smaller TTL for this negative cache?

daledupreez · 2025-08-18T10:27:55Z

I am going to close this PR, as I have since split out the various implementation aspects into the following smaller PRs:

Fix handling for "no such customer" response for customer payment_methods query #4561
Add method to fetch and cache all saved payment methods for a customer #4567
Refactor WC_Stripe_Subscriptions_Trait->maybe_render_subscription_payment_method() #4568

daledupreez added 2 commits August 6, 2025 11:19

Reduce number of payment_methods API calls

b4ad9be

Actually implement pagination; change to do/while loop

24facbf

daledupreez self-assigned this Aug 6, 2025

daledupreez requested review from Copilot, a team, malithsen and wjrosa and removed request for a team August 6, 2025 09:42

Update test

6e23b5e

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daledupreez requested a review from Copilot August 6, 2025 10:40

Copilot AI reviewed Aug 6, 2025

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wjrosa reviewed Aug 6, 2025

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daledupreez mentioned this pull request Aug 6, 2025

Fix handling for "no such customer" response for customer payment_methods query #4561

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malithsen reviewed Aug 7, 2025

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daledupreez mentioned this pull request Aug 8, 2025

Add method to fetch and cache all saved payment methods for a customer #4567

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daledupreez closed this Aug 18, 2025

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Reduce number of payment_methods API calls #4560

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-		return $this->get_all_payment_methods( [ $payment_method_type ] );
+		$transient_key = self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $this->get_id() . '_' . $payment_method_type;
+		$methods = get_transient( $transient_key );
+		if ( false === $methods ) {
+			$response = WC_Stripe_API::request(
+				[
+					'customer' => $this->get_id(),
+					'type'     => $payment_method_type,
+					'limit'    => 100,
+				],
+				'payment_methods',
+				'GET'
+			);
+			if ( ! empty( $response->error ) || ! is_array( $response->data ) ) {
+				return [];
+			}
+			$methods = $response->data;
+			set_transient( $transient_key, $methods, DAY_IN_SECONDS );
+		}
+		return empty( $methods ) ? [] : $methods;

	foreach ( self::STRIPE_PAYMENT_METHODS as $payment_method_type ) {
	delete_transient( self::PAYMENT_METHODS_TRANSIENT_KEY . $payment_method_type . $this->get_id() );
	}

Reduce number of payment_methods API calls #4560

Reduce number of payment_methods API calls #4560

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Changes proposed in this Pull Request:

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