Braintree Technology Intelligence

What is Braintree?

Braintree is a payment platform owned by PayPal providing payment processing for web and mobile applications. The platform offers credit card processing, PayPal, Venmo, and digital wallet integration in one SDK.

Popular with marketplaces and mobile apps, Braintree provides advanced features like recurring billing, split payments, and fraud protection.

Key Features

Payments

• Cards: All major cards
• PayPal: Native integration
• Venmo: US mobile payments
• Wallets: Apple/Google Pay

Commerce

• Recurring: Subscription billing
• Marketplace: Split payments
• Vault: Card storage

Security

• Fraud: Risk detection
• 3DS: Strong authentication
• PCI: Compliant

Use Cases

Mobile Apps

iOS and Android apps accept payments. Drop-in UI provides native payment experience.

Marketplaces

Multi-vendor platforms split payments to sellers. Marketplace escrow and disbursement management.

Subscription Services

Companies manage recurring billing. PayPal billing agreements for subscription payments.

Omnichannel Retail

Retailers accept payments across channels. Unified payment processing online and mobile.

Code Examples

Drop-in UI

braintree.dropin.create({
    authorization: 'CLIENT_TOKEN',
    container: '#dropin-container'
}, function (err, instance) {
    document.getElementById('submit').addEventListener('click', function () {
        instance.requestPaymentMethod(function (err, payload) {
            sendNonceToServer(payload.nonce);
        });
    });
});

Server-Side Transaction

const gateway = new braintree.BraintreeGateway({
    environment: braintree.Environment.Sandbox,
    merchantId: 'MERCHANT_ID',
    publicKey: 'PUBLIC_KEY',
    privateKey: 'PRIVATE_KEY'
});

const result = await gateway.transaction.sale({
    amount: '100.00',
    paymentMethodNonce: 'nonce-from-client',
    options: { submitForSettlement: true }
});

Comparison

vs Stripe

• PayPal: Braintree native
• DX: Stripe better docs
• Features: Stripe broader

vs PayPal Direct

• Cards: Braintree better
• Modern: Braintree cleaner API
• Integration: Both PayPal owned

Strengths

• PayPal/Venmo native integration
• Strong marketplace support
• Excellent mobile SDKs
• PayPal's fraud protection