Payment Tools - Arlo Health

Overview

Arlo is pay-per-use. Each provider visit is approved by the patient on a Stripe Checkout page, and nothing is charged until a doctor joins. There are no subscriptions and no card-setup step: the Stripe link is the whole payment flow, every visit.

Arlo never auto-charges. The patient opens the link from start_visit_payment and approves a temporary hold for the visit price. The hold is captured when a doctor joins the conversation and released otherwise.

get_payment_status

Get the per-visit price and the account’s payment state.

Use this to

Show the per-visit price (paymentOptions[].price)
Answer questions about how billing works

paymentStatus does not need to be ACTIVE before a visit. PENDING is the normal state for an account that pays per visit, and it does not block start_visit_payment.

Parameters

None required.

Returns

{
  "billingMode": "PAY_AS_YOU_GO",
  "paymentStatus": "PENDING",
  "paymentOptionId": "opt_paygo",
  "paymentOptions": [
    {
      "id": "opt_paygo",
      "title": "Pay Per Use",
      "price": "$25/visit",
      "priceAmountCents": 2500,
      "isDefault": true,
      "billingMode": "PAY_AS_YOU_GO"
    }
  ]
}

Payment statuses

All informational for US accounts:

Status	Description
`PENDING`	No saved payment method. Normal for pay-per-use
`ACTIVE`	A payment method is on file
`FAILED`	A past payment failed
`CANCELLED`	Payment method removed

Billing modes

Mode	Description
`NONE`	No payment method configured
`PAY_AS_YOU_GO`	Pay per visit (the standard mode)

start_visit_payment

Get the Stripe Checkout link that approves payment for one visit.

Preconditions

The conversation is in PAYMENT_REQUIRED (triage complete). Otherwise the tool returns no_payment_gate.
You have relayed paymentGate.consultationSummary (from get_conversation, wait_for_reply, or the send_message that completed triage), and the user wants to proceed.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`conversationId`	string	Yes	The conversation ID
`idempotencyKey`	string	No	Agent runtimes only. A replay of the same key returns the original link instead of opening a second Checkout session. See safe retries

How it works

Call start_visit_payment

Returns a paymentUrl (short link to a Stripe-hosted page) valid for about 30 minutes

Hand the user the link

On Stripe’s page they approve a temporary hold for the visit price. Stripe offers to remember the card there; Arlo never collects card details in chat

Wait

Call wait_for_reply. Once the hold is placed, the conversation moves to MATCHING on its own, and the wait returns when a provider joins

A doctor joins

The hold is captured. If no doctor joins, the hold is released

Returns

{
  "paymentUrl": "https://mcp.arlohealth.ai/c/abc123",
  "sessionId": "cs_test_abc123",
  "priceCents": 2500,
  "price": 25,
  "currency": "usd",
  "instructions": "Give the user the paymentUrl to open in their browser. The Stripe page places a temporary hold for the visit price. Nothing is charged until a doctor joins, and the hold is released if no doctor does. When they finish, the conversation moves to MATCHING on its own.",
  "agentInstructions": [
    "Relay the consultation summary if you have not already.",
    "Call wait_for_reply to await provider matching once they approve.",
    "If the user says the page expired or they cancelled, call start_visit_payment again for a fresh link."
  ],
  "nextStep": "wait_for_reply",
  "nextStepArgs": { "conversationId": "conv_abc123" }
}

Field	Description
`paymentUrl`	Stripe-hosted approval page. Short-lived (about 30 minutes)
`priceCents` / `price` / `currency`	The hold amount
`summaryLoading`	`true` when the consultation summary was still generating. The link is valid regardless; the summary arrives in the conversation shortly
`nextStep` / `nextStepArgs`	Always `wait_for_reply` on this conversation

On widget hosts the consultation widget shows the same link inline.

After the hold is placed

Cancelling: cancel_request while MATCHING pulls the request back and releases the hold. The user is not charged.
Hold expiry: if no provider accepts within 5 days, Arlo voids the hold and drops the conversation back to PAYMENT_REQUIRED with a triage message explaining why. Ask the user whether they still want a visit before calling start_visit_payment again.

Errors

Code	Meaning	What to do
`no_payment_gate`	Conversation is not in `PAYMENT_REQUIRED`	Check `get_conversation` for the current status
`summary_loading`	The payment gate is still being set up	Wait a moment and call again

If the user declines

Call cancel_request to dismiss the payment gate. The conversation returns to AI-only chat and can be re-engaged anytime.

Security

Card details never pass through Arlo or your agent
All payment data is handled by Stripe (PCI compliance maintained by Stripe)
The paymentUrl short link is single-use for its session; if it expires, start_visit_payment mints a new one

​Overview

​get_payment_status

​Use this to

​Parameters

​Returns

​Payment statuses

​Billing modes

​start_visit_payment

​Preconditions

​Parameters

​How it works

​Returns

​After the hold is placed

​Errors

​If the user declines

​Security

Overview

get_payment_status

Use this to

Parameters

Returns

Payment statuses

Billing modes

start_visit_payment

Preconditions

Parameters

How it works

Returns

After the hold is placed

Errors

If the user declines

Security