Guest checkout

Guest checkout lets new customers buy crypto with Apple Pay or Google Pay before they have a MoonPay account. Customers buy first: MoonPay creates a guest account at transaction time and requests verification only when a purchase requires it, through a step-up challenge. This is the deferred-verification onboarding path, the alternative to verifying customers before their first purchase. You supply the customer’s email and phone number when you create the session. MoonPay creates the guest account from the wallet sheet: Apple Pay billing contact, or Google Pay billing. Returning customers are recognized automatically and connect instead. Guest checkout is available for customers in the United States, excluding New York and Washington. See Going live for the requirements you must meet before taking this integration to production.

Prerequisites

Guest checkout enabled on your partner account. Contact your MoonPay account team.
A server that can create session tokens with your secret key.
A UI surface where you can render the Apple Pay frame, the Google Pay frame, and the challenge frame. Offer the wallet that matches the customer’s environment; you do not need both buttons on every surface.
The customer’s email and phone number, collected on your server. MoonPay accepts these as partner-verified, so you are responsible for their accuracy.
The timestamp at which the customer accepted MoonPay’s terms (see Record terms acceptance).

You can test the full flow in test mode. Test mode uses simulated payments so no real assets are transferred. Apple Pay and Google Pay each have a dedicated mock button: Apple Pay and Google Pay.

How it works

Your server creates a session that includes the customer’s email, phone number, and terms acceptance.
You check the connection, which returns the customer’s capabilities. When capabilities.guestCheckout is present, offer Apple Pay or Google Pay on the guest path; otherwise connect the customer with the standard flow.
You get a quote for apple_pay or google_pay and render the matching frame (Apple Pay at /platform/v1/apple-pay, or Google Pay at /platform/v1/google-pay).
On the customer’s first purchase, MoonPay creates the guest account from the wallet billing details and processes the payment. If extra verification is needed, the frame emits a challenge that resolves the purchase.

Device and browser support

Offer the wallet the customer’s environment supports. When a wallet isn’t available, the frame emits unsupported — hide that button and offer the other wallet or a connected-customer flow.

Apple Pay
Google Pay

Apple Pay is available in Safari on macOS and in every iOS browser. The customer also needs a card set up in Apple Pay.In other browsers, the frame reports Apple Pay as unavailable and renders nothing. It does not offer Apple’s cross-device QR flow. The widget does support that flow.In a native iOS app, embed the Apple Pay frame in a WKWebView and handle JavaScript dialogs through WKUIDelegate. See the frame requirements and the iOS manual integration guide.

For connected-customer Apple Pay and Google Pay (after login), see Pay with Apple Pay and Pay with Google Pay.

Record terms acceptance

Present MoonPay’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy in your UI using one of the presentation methods, and capture the timestamp when the customer accepts. Pass it as termsAcceptedAt when you create the session: MoonPay records the live terms version at that moment and binds the acceptance to the guest account. For the rendering rules and the records you keep once customers accept, see Terms acceptance. termsAcceptedAt must be no more than 60 seconds ahead of server time. Capture it the moment the customer taps your accept control, then create the session immediately.

Create a session

Create the session on your server with your secret key. For guest checkout, include the customer’s email, phoneNumber, and termsAcceptedAt alongside the standard fields.

const url = "https://api.moonpay.com/platform/v1/sessions";

const res = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-Api-Key": "sk_test_123",
  },
  method: "POST",
  body: JSON.stringify({
    externalCustomerId: "your_user_id",
    deviceIp: "...ip address from client",
    email: "customer@example.com",
    phoneNumber: "+14155551234", // E.164 format
    termsAcceptedAt: "2026-01-12T14:44:30Z", // ISO 8601, within 60s ahead of server time
  }),
});

console.log(await res.json());

{
  "sessionToken": "c3N0XzAwMQ=="
}

See the sessions API reference for all fields and error responses.

If guest checkout is not enabled for your account, or the customer’s region is not supported, the session still succeeds. The guestCheckout capability is simply absent in the next step, and you connect the customer with the standard flow instead.

Check for guest checkout

Pass the sessionToken to the client and check the connection. The check runs in an invisible frame and returns the customer’s capabilities. When capabilities.guestCheckout is present, offer Apple Pay or Google Pay on the guest path. You can also check the session manually.

import { createClient } from "@moonpay/platform-sdk-web";

const client = createClient({
  sessionToken: "c3N0XzAwMQ==", // The session token from your server
});

const connectionResult = await client.getConnection();

if (!connectionResult.ok) {
  // Handle error
}

const connection = connectionResult.value;

if (connection.capabilities?.guestCheckout) {
  // Offer Apple Pay and/or Google Pay on the guest path (continue below)
} else {
  // Connect the customer with the standard flow.
  // See /platform/guides/connect-a-customer
}

{
  status: "connectionRequired",
  // Encrypted credentials — the SDK decrypts and stores them internally
  credentials: "ZW5jXzAwMQ==",
  capabilities: {
    guestCheckout: {
      requirements: {}
    }
  }
}

A returning customer whose email and phone match an existing MoonPay account is recognized at this step. Connect them with the standard flow: low-friction authentication prompts for a one-time passcode instead of a full login.

If mismatch is true on a connectionRequired result, the session’s email and phone number resolve to different MoonPay customers. Route the customer through the connect flow before rendering Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Get a quote

Request an executable quote for the wallet you will render. Only quotes with executable: true can be used to execute a transaction.

Apple Pay
Google Pay

const quoteResult = await client.getQuote({
  source: { asset: { code: "USD" }, amount: "100.00" }, // The fiat currency and amount to pay
  destination: { asset: { code: "ETH" } }, // The crypto the customer will receive
  wallet: { address: "0x1234..." }, // The destination wallet address
  paymentMethod: { type: "apple_pay" },
});

if (!quoteResult.ok) {
  // Handle error
}

console.log(quoteResult.value.signature);

{
  // ...quote details
  expiresAt: "2026-01-12T14:45:00Z",
  executable: true,
  signature: "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIs..."
}

const quoteResult = await client.getQuote({
  source: { asset: { code: "USD" }, amount: "100.00" }, // The fiat currency and amount to pay
  destination: { asset: { code: "ETH" } }, // The crypto the customer will receive
  wallet: { address: "0x1234..." }, // The destination wallet address
  paymentMethod: { type: "google_pay" },
});

if (!quoteResult.ok) {
  // Handle error
}

console.log(quoteResult.value.signature);

{
  // ...quote details
  expiresAt: "2026-01-12T14:45:00Z",
  executable: true,
  signature: "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIs..."
}

Render the payment frame

Render the Apple Pay or Google Pay frame with the quote signature. When the customer taps the button and authorizes, MoonPay creates the guest account from the wallet name and billing address, then processes the payment.

Wallet	SDK method	Frame URL	Reference
Apple Pay	`setupApplePay`	`/platform/v1/apple-pay`	Apple Pay frame
Google Pay	`setupGooglePay`	`/platform/v1/google-pay`	Google Pay frame

/platform/v1/google-pay is the primary Google Pay URL for this flow. Do not use the buy button for guest checkout: that path expects a connected customer.

Apple Pay
Google Pay

Apple Pay

import type { ApplePayEvent } from "@moonpay/platform-sdk-web";

const applePayResult = await client.setupApplePay({
  quote: quoteResult.value.signature, // The quote signature from getQuote
  container: document.querySelector("#applePayContainer"), // DOM element to render the button

  onEvent: (event: ApplePayEvent) => {
    switch (event.kind) {
      case "ready":
        // The frame is ready. Reveal the button if needed.
        break;

      case "complete": {
        const txn = event.payload.transaction;

        if (txn.status === "failed") {
          if (txn.failureCode === "transactionNotAllowed") {
            // Amount is above the customer's limit. Prompt them to try a smaller amount.
            break;
          }
          // Show txn.failureReason.
          break;
        }

        // The transaction is executing. Track the final status via polling or webhooks.
        console.log(txn); // { id: "txn_01", status: "pending" }
        break;
      }

      case "challenge":
        // Verification required — render the challenge frame at the provided URL.
        // See "Handle verification" below.
        console.log(event.payload.url);
        break;

      case "quoteExpired":
        // Fetch a new quote, then pass its signature into the frame:
        // event.payload.setQuote(newQuote.value.signature);
        break;

      case "error":
        console.error(event.payload.message);
        break;

      case "unsupported":
        // Apple Pay isn't supported in the current environment.
        break;
    }
  },
});

if (!applePayResult.ok) {
  // Handle error setting up Apple Pay
}

Google Pay

import type { GooglePayEvent } from "@moonpay/platform-sdk-web";

const googlePayResult = await client.setupGooglePay({
  quote: quoteResult.value.signature, // The quote signature from getQuote
  container: document.querySelector("#googlePayContainer"), // DOM element to render the button

  onEvent: (event: GooglePayEvent) => {
    switch (event.kind) {
      case "ready":
        // The frame is ready. Reveal the button if needed.
        break;

      case "complete": {
        const txn = event.payload.transaction;

        if (txn.status === "failed") {
          if (txn.failureCode === "transactionNotAllowed") {
            // Amount is above the customer's limit. Prompt them to try a smaller amount.
            break;
          }
          // Show txn.failureReason.
          break;
        }

        // The transaction is executing. Track the final status via polling or webhooks.
        console.log(txn); // { id: "txn_01", status: "pending" }
        break;
      }

      case "challenge":
        // Verification required — render the challenge frame at the provided URL.
        // See "Handle verification" below.
        console.log(event.payload.url);
        break;

      case "quoteExpired":
        // Fetch a new quote, then pass its signature into the frame:
        // event.payload.setQuote(newQuote.value.signature);
        break;

      case "error":
        console.error(event.payload.message);
        break;

      case "unsupported":
        // Google Pay isn't supported in the current environment.
        break;
    }
  },
});

if (!googlePayResult.ok) {
  // Handle error setting up Google Pay
}

Handle verification

Some guest purchases need the customer to complete an extra step before the payment goes through. Second-factor authentication (for example, confirming identity when email and phone match an existing account, or authenticating when the purchase is larger than the guest limit allows) and KYC step-up (providing more identity details) both surface as the same challenge event. You render the challenge frame the same way in every case. See Handle challenges for the full flow. The payment frame emits challenge with a URL. Render the challenge frame at that URL. The challenge frame guides the customer through the required steps and completes the purchase itself, then emits complete. You do not re-render the Apple Pay or Google Pay button. An amount above the customer’s maximum limit that verification cannot raise is terminal. The frame emits complete with status: "failed" and failureCode: "transactionNotAllowed". Prompt the customer to try a smaller amount.

Upgrade a guest account

A guest account is a real MoonPay account with lower limits. To raise them, connect the customer and have them complete full identity verification. The limits lift on the same account, with no migration. Use the connect flow, then guide the customer through verification. You can prompt this after a completed guest purchase, or when a purchase exceeds the guest limit.

Transaction statuses

Transactions have the following statuses:

Pending: The transaction has been initiated and the payment accepted. The assets are being transferred.
Complete: The transaction is finalized. The payment is complete and the assets have been delivered to their destination.
Failed: The transaction has failed. The payment was not executed and funds were not transferred.

Next steps

Pay with Apple Pay

Connected-customer Apple Pay after login.

Pay with Google Pay

Connected-customer Google Pay after login.

Apple Pay frame

Frame URL, size, permissions, and events.

Google Pay frame

Frame URL, size, permissions, and events.

Handle challenges

Render the challenge frame when a purchase needs extra verification.

Terms acceptance

Present terms and record termsAcceptedAt.

Overview

Customers

Payments

Integration essentials

SDK Reference

Frames

Prerequisites

How it works

Device and browser support

Record terms acceptance

Create a session

Check for guest checkout

Get a quote

Render the payment frame

Handle verification

Upgrade a guest account

Transaction statuses

Next steps

Pay with Apple Pay

Pay with Google Pay

Apple Pay frame

Google Pay frame

Handle challenges

Terms acceptance

​Prerequisites

​How it works

​Device and browser support

​Record terms acceptance

​Create a session

​Check for guest checkout

​Get a quote

​Render the payment frame

​Handle verification

​Upgrade a guest account

​Transaction statuses

​Next steps

Pay with Apple Pay

Pay with Google Pay

Apple Pay frame

Google Pay frame

Handle challenges

Terms acceptance

Prerequisites

How it works

Device and browser support

Record terms acceptance

Create a session

Check for guest checkout

Get a quote

Render the payment frame

Handle verification

Upgrade a guest account

Transaction statuses

Next steps