diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 21b68f6..ba94dd1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ Create a new payment intent.
 | `amount` | string | ✅ | Any positive number |
 | `asset` | string | ✅ | `XLM` or `USDC` |
 | `merchant_id` | string | ❌ | Any string |
-| `webhook_url` | string | ❌ | Valid HTTPS URL |
+| `webhook_url` | string | ❌ | Valid HTTPS URL (HTTP permitted only in testnet/development) |
 
 **Headers**
 
diff --git a/openapi.yaml b/openapi.yaml
index 389422d..4ceed76 100644
--- a/openapi.yaml
+++ b/openapi.yaml
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ components:
         webhook_url:
           type: string
           format: uri
+          description: Webhook endpoint URL. Must be HTTPS in production.
           example: https://yourapp.com/webhooks/stellar
 
     ListPaymentsResponse:
diff --git a/src/api/payments.rs b/src/api/payments.rs
index 6475d6b..77aa1b6 100644
--- a/src/api/payments.rs
+++ b/src/api/payments.rs
@@ -127,10 +127,21 @@ pub async fn create(
         ));
     }
     if let Some(url) = &body.webhook_url {
-        if !(url.starts_with("http://") || url.starts_with("https://")) {
+        let parsed_url = reqwest::Url::parse(url).map_err(|_| {
+            AppError::bad_request("invalid_webhook_url", "webhook_url is not a valid URL")
+        })?;
+
+        if state.config.network == "public" {
+            if parsed_url.scheme() != "https" {
+                return Err(AppError::bad_request(
+                    "invalid_webhook_url",
+                    "webhook_url must be an HTTPS URL on public network",
+                ));
+            }
+        } else if parsed_url.scheme() != "https" && parsed_url.scheme() != "http" {
             return Err(AppError::bad_request(
                 "invalid_webhook_url",
-                "webhook_url must be an http(s) URL",
+                "webhook_url must be an HTTP or HTTPS URL",
             ));
         }
     }
diff --git a/tests/api_tests.rs b/tests/api_tests.rs
index 07a44fa..97ac6e3 100644
--- a/tests/api_tests.rs
+++ b/tests/api_tests.rs
@@ -410,13 +410,89 @@ async fn test_asset_is_case_insensitive() {
 }
 
 #[tokio::test]
-async fn test_reject_bad_webhook_url() {
+async fn test_webhook_url_https_accepted_on_testnet() {
     let server = test_server().await;
     let key = provision_merchant(&server).await;
     let res = server
         .post("/payments")
         .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
-        .json(&json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "ftp://x" }))
+        .json(
+            &json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "https://example.com/webhook" }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    res.assert_status(StatusCode::CREATED);
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_webhook_url_http_accepted_on_testnet() {
+    let server = test_server().await;
+    let key = provision_merchant(&server).await;
+    let res = server
+        .post("/payments")
+        .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
+        .json(
+            &json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "http://example.com/webhook" }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    res.assert_status(StatusCode::CREATED);
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_webhook_url_http_rejected_on_public_network() {
+    let mut cfg = make_config();
+    cfg.network = "public".into();
+    let (server, _db) = server_with_config(cfg).await;
+    let key = provision_merchant(&server).await;
+    let res = server
+        .post("/payments")
+        .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
+        .json(
+            &json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "http://example.com/webhook" }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    res.assert_status(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
+    let body: Value = res.json();
+    assert_eq!(body["code"], "invalid_webhook_url");
+    assert!(body["error"]
+        .as_str()
+        .unwrap()
+        .contains("must be an HTTPS URL on public network"));
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_webhook_url_https_accepted_on_public_network() {
+    let mut cfg = make_config();
+    cfg.network = "public".into();
+    let (server, _db) = server_with_config(cfg).await;
+    let key = provision_merchant(&server).await;
+    let res = server
+        .post("/payments")
+        .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
+        .json(
+            &json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "https://example.com/webhook" }),
+        )
+        .await;
+    res.assert_status(StatusCode::CREATED);
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_webhook_url_invalid_rejected() {
+    let server = test_server().await;
+    let key = provision_merchant(&server).await;
+
+    // ftp scheme
+    let res = server
+        .post("/payments")
+        .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
+        .json(&json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "ftp://example.com" }))
+        .await;
+    res.assert_status(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
+
+    // malformed string
+    let res = server
+        .post("/payments")
+        .add_header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {key}"))
+        .json(&json!({ "amount": "1", "asset": "XLM", "webhook_url": "not-a-url" }))
         .await;
     res.assert_status(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
 }