If a customer wants to bill via email using Stripe, which component should you recommend?

The correct choice is the Hosted Invoice Page. This component is specifically designed for billing customers via email, making it a seamless solution for businesses that want to send invoices directly to their clients. When using the Hosted Invoice Page, businesses can create invoices that customers can view and pay online, which is especially useful for one-off payments or recurring billing.

When a customer receives an email with a link to the Hosted Invoice Page, they can easily access their invoice, see the payment details, and complete the transaction without needing to create an account or sign in. This streamlined process not only enhances the customer experience but also simplifies the payment collection process for businesses.

In contrast, other options like the Payment Request API, Payment Links, and Custom Payment Form serve different purposes within Stripe's ecosystem. The Payment Request API is aimed at integrating payment requests into web applications or native mobile applications and is not primarily focused on email billing. Payment Links allow businesses to create a link to a product or service for payment but do not provide the structured invoicing capability suited for email communications. Finally, a Custom Payment Form offers more flexibility in terms of design and integration but requires more development effort to create and manage compared to the straightforward functionality of the Hosted Invoice Page.