Recurring payments
Subscriptions, instalments and periodic fees that collect themselves, without chasing the customer every month.
On the first payment the card is tokenised. Later charges run on a schedule you set, with nothing required from the customer.
The biggest loss in subscriptions is not the decline but the expired card. That is why the system retries automatically and notifies the customer before the subscription lapses.
What you get
Flexible schedule
Weekly, monthly, yearly or your own interval.
Instalments
Split an amount into equal parts on a clear schedule.
Tokenised cards
Details are held in a certified environment, not by you.
Smart retries
Automatic on decline, on a schedule that reduces churn.
Notifications
The customer is emailed before a charge and on failure.
Revenue forecast
See what is due to be collected next month.
How it works
First payment
The customer pays once and consents to recurring billing.
Token
The card is stored as a token only you can use.
Automatic billing
The system collects on schedule and sends you a webhook.
Management
Stop, pause or change the amount from the panel at any time.
Subscriptions fail at renewal, not at the sale
The first payment usually goes through without trouble: the customer is at the screen, the card is in hand, motivation is high. The trouble starts in month three, when nobody is watching. The card has been reissued because the old one expired. The bank changed the number after a compromise. The customer switched banks. Each of those stops the payment without the customer ever deciding to leave.
The difference between a good and a bad processor for subscriptions shows exactly here. Tokenisation stores a card, not a number. The account updater services from Visa and Mastercard supply the new number of a reissued card automatically, so the payment goes through without you emailing the customer. Smart retries pick the moment from the decline code rather than blindly every 24 hours.
In practice this means a share of the churn that looks like lost customers was never the customer's decision. Recovering it is not a marketing problem but a technical one.
How to run instalments without ending up in a grey area
Splitting a large amount into instalments is attractive to the customer and risky for the merchant if done carelessly. The first instalment must carry customer authentication through 3-D Secure. The rest go as merchant-initiated transactions, for which scheme rules require prior consent and a clear description of what will be taken, when and how much.
We store that consent alongside the token and attach it to every later instalment. In a dispute it is the evidence that the customer knew what they signed up for. Without it every chargeback is lost before it starts.
The other obligation is notice. When the amount or the period changes, the customer has to be told in advance. The rules vary by scheme and subscription type, and the panel raises the event early enough for you to send it in time.
Models we support
A classic subscription with a fixed amount on a fixed period, most often monthly or annual. A usage-based subscription where the amount is calculated at the end of the period. Instalments on a schedule known in advance, for example four equal payments a fortnight apart. Pay-on-delivery of a service, where the card is stored at sign-up and charged on each use. A mixed model with a base fee plus usage.
Mid-period plan changes are handled too: we work out the pro-rata share, credit what was not used and start the new period from the correct date.
How to prevent declines before they happen
The cheapest recovered subscriber is the one who never stopped. Three things cut declines noticeably, and all three happen before the charge date, not after it.
First, pre-notification. An email three days before the charge with the exact amount and the last four digits of the card. Some customers with an expiring card update it themselves, and some disputes never arise at all, because the customer recognises the transaction on their statement.
Second, expiry tracking. The panel knows when each stored card expires and raises the event in advance. Account updater covers a good share of reissued cards automatically, but not every bank participates, so the reminder still earns its place.
Third, the choice of day. Charging around local payday dates performs better than charging at the end of the month. If all your subscriptions renew on the first, spreading them across the month smooths both your declines and your cash flow.
When to retry, by decline reason
The difference between a sensible retry and a pointless one.
| Decline reason | Type | When to try again |
|---|---|---|
| Insufficient funds | Soft | After 3 to 5 days, ideally around payday |
| Bank wants an extra check | Soft | After 24 hours |
| Period limit exceeded | Soft | At the start of the next month |
| Expired card | Hard | Only after the card details are refreshed |
| Closed or blocked account | Hard | Do not retry, ask for a new card |
| Customer revoked consent | Hard | Do not retry, stop the subscription |
Retrying a hard decline costs a failed-attempt fee and damages your standing with the schemes.
Questions about this
Where are my subscribers' card details kept?
In a certified PCI DSS Level 1 environment on our provider's side. You receive a token, a long string with no value outside our system, and the last four digits for recognition. The full number is stored neither in your database nor in your logs.
Can I migrate existing subscribers from another provider?
Yes, and it is one of the common reasons people come to us. Tokenised cards move between processors under a scheme procedure, so your subscribers do not have to enter their cards again. A migration usually takes between 3 and 10 days.
What if a customer disputes a subscription payment?
We submit the consent, the history of previous successful payments and the record of when and how consent was given. With consent collected properly, these disputes are won in a large share of cases.
Is there a limit on the number of subscribers or the amount?
There is no technical limit. A sharp rise in volume triggers a profile review, as the monitoring rules require, but that does not stop processing.
How does a customer cancel?
Through your site or app, with a single API call. Cancelling must be at least as easy as signing up was. A cancelled token stops working immediately.
Can I change the charge day for existing subscribers?
Yes, with a pro-rata recalculation of the current period. It is worth announcing the change in advance, because an unexpected charge on a new date is a common cause of disputes.
Ready to start accepting payments?
Send us an enquiry and you will get a concrete quote with calculated fees for your business, usually within one business day.