Start accepting payments
Home / Docs / WooCommerce

StacoGate Payments Plugin Setup & Help Guide

Setup and troubleshooting guide for the StacoGate Payments plugin for WooCommerce.

StacoGate Payments — Setup & Help Guide

A guide for store owners using the StacoGate Payments plugin for WooCommerce.

Version covered: 0.1.0

What is StacoGate Payments?

StacoGate Payments lets your WooCommerce store accept stablecoin payments (like USDT/USDC) through the StacoGate hosted checkout. When a customer chooses this payment method, they are sent to a secure StacoGate page to complete payment, then returned to your store.

Important: StacoGate Payments does not process crypto directly. It connects your store to your StacoGate merchant account, which is the source of truth for all payments. You need an active StacoGate merchant account with API credentials before you can use this plugin.

Before you start: what you need

  • A WordPress site running WooCommerce 8.3 or newer
  • PHP 8.1 or newer on your hosting
  • An active StacoGate merchant account
  • Your Secret key and Webhook signing secret from the StacoGate dashboard

If any of these are missing, the plugin will show an error and stay inactive until they're resolved.

Step 1: Install and activate

  1. Upload the StacoGate Payments plugin to your site (Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin), or install it from the WordPress plugin directory.
  2. Click Activate.
  3. If WooCommerce isn't active, or your PHP version is too old, you'll see a notice explaining what's missing. Fix that first — the plugin won't run without it.

Download the current StacoGate Payments plugin

Step 2: Open the payment settings

Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments, then click StacoGate (or use the Settings link directly under the plugin name on the Plugins page).

You'll land on the StacoGate settings screen, which is split into a few sections:

  • General settings — enable the method, set the title and description customers see at checkout
  • Connection settings — where you paste your API credentials
  • Connection and diagnostics — test the connection and see technical details

Step 3: Connect your StacoGate account

  1. In the Connection settings card, click Open StacoGate dashboard to grab your credentials (or follow the View connection setup guide link for the full walkthrough).
  2. Copy your Secret key (starts with sk_live_ or sk_test_) and paste it into the Secret key field.
  3. Copy your Webhook signing secret and paste it into the Webhook signing secret field.
  4. Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.

Note on secret fields: once saved, these fields always show as blank with a placeholder (************) — they never redisplay the actual value. Leaving a secret field empty and saving keeps the previously saved value; you only need to fill it in when you're changing it.

Step 4: Test the connection

After saving, scroll to Connection and diagnostics and click Test saved connection.

  • Success — you'll see a green StacoGate connected successfully notice, and the diagnostics panel will show your connected Merchant, Shop, and Environment.
  • Failure — you'll see a red error notice with the reason. Double-check the Secret key was pasted correctly (no extra spaces), and that it matches the environment (live vs. test) you intend to use.

You must save your credentials before testing — the test button checks whatever was last saved, not what's currently typed in the field.

Step 5: Enable it and go live

  1. Tick Enable StacoGate in General settings.
  2. Set the Payment title and Customer description — this is what shoppers see at checkout (defaults: Stablecoin payment / Pay securely with supported stablecoins through StacoGate).
  3. Save changes.

Once enabled and connected, Stablecoin payment (or your custom title) will appear as a payment option at checkout.

About Mode: currently only Live mode is available. A simulated test environment is planned but not yet released in this version.

How checkout works for your customers

  1. Customer selects StacoGate at checkout and places the order.
  2. They're redirected to the StacoGate hosted checkout to complete payment.
  3. StacoGate sends a signed callback back to your store confirming payment status.
  4. The customer is returned to your order-confirmation page.

Your store never handles wallet addresses or private keys — all of that lives on StacoGate's side.

Processing and forwarding fees

StacoGate charges a 1.25% processing fee on successful payments.

The blockchain forwarding fee depends on the settlement mode configured for the StacoGate shop connected to your WooCommerce store:

  • StacoGate balance — StacoGate covers the blockchain forwarding fee when the payment is $10 equivalent or more. For smaller payments, the forwarding fee is deducted from the merchant settlement.
  • Direct to wallet — the blockchain forwarding fee is deducted from the merchant settlement at all payment amounts.

The merchant dashboard shows the processing fee, estimated blockchain forwarding fee, who paid the forwarding fee, and the final merchant amount for each completed payment.

Understanding the Diagnostics section

Field What it's for
Callback URL A read-only URL StacoGate uses to send signed payment updates to your store. You generally don't need to touch this — it's shown for support/technical reference.
Debug logging Turn this on if you're troubleshooting a payment issue. It records sanitized diagnostic events to the WooCommerce logs (WooCommerce → Status → Logs). It never logs your API secrets or authorization headers.
Connection status Shows your current Merchant, Shop, Environment, and the time of your last successful connection test.

Troubleshooting

“Connection setup required” badge won't go away

You haven't saved a Secret key yet, or the last test failed. Re-check Step 3 and Step 4.

Connection test fails

  • Confirm the Secret key was copied in full, with no leading/trailing spaces.
  • Confirm you're using the correct key for your intended environment.
  • Check that your StacoGate merchant account is active (not suspended or pending review) on the StacoGate dashboard.

A customer says checkout failed / payment method disappeared

  • If your Secret key is missing or invalid, StacoGate automatically becomes unavailable at checkout rather than showing a broken payment button.
  • Turn on Debug logging, reproduce the issue, then check WooCommerce → Status → Logs for entries tagged stacogate-payments.

Changed your API key and now the connection shows as untested

This is expected — StacoGate resets the connection status automatically whenever you change the Mode or Secret key, so you don't accidentally go live on stale credentials. Just re-run the connection test.

FAQ

Does this plugin process blockchain payments directly?

No. StacoGate is the payment source of truth. The plugin only talks to the StacoGate API.

Do I need a StacoGate account?

Yes — a merchant account with valid API credentials is required before the plugin can do anything.

Is my webhook secret checked by the connection test?

No. The connection test only validates your Secret key. The webhook secret is used separately, to verify that incoming payment callbacks genuinely came from StacoGate.

Where do I get support?

Use the View connection setup guide link in the Connection settings card, or reach out to StacoGate support through your merchant dashboard.

This guide covers StacoGate Payments v0.1.0. Since this is an early release, some features (like test mode) are still in development — check the plugin changelog for updates.