# Making payments

How automatic monthly billing works, paying an open invoice in one tap, and keeping your card up to date.

Subscription payments mostly take care of themselves — your card on file is
charged automatically each billing cycle. Here's how that works, and what to
do when a payment needs a hand.

{% video title="Paying an invoice and updating your card" todo="record" /%}

## Billing is automatic

When you checked out, you saved a card with our payment processor (Stripe).
That card is charged automatically:

- **First payment once your service is live**, not the day you sign up.
- **Every billing date after that**, for as long as you stay subscribed.

There's no autopay switch to flip — automatic billing is simply how
subscribing works, and every successful charge emails you a receipt. Before
a renewal we send a heads-up reminder, so a charge is never a surprise.

## Paying an open invoice

If an invoice is open or past due — say a charge failed and you've since
fixed your card — you can settle it yourself in one tap:

1. Open [your account](/account). If something's owed, the top of the page
   says so and offers a **Pay** button right there.
2. Or open **Invoices & payments** (or a specific subscription's
   **Invoices** section) and find the invoice — open and past-due invoices
   show a **Pay** button with the amount.
3. Tap **Pay**. Your saved card is charged for the remaining amount, and
   you'll see a confirmation when it goes through.

{% screenshot alt="An open invoice with its Pay button" caption="One tap settles an open invoice on your saved card" todo="capture" /%}

## Your cards on file

Card expired, replaced, or switching banks? Update it before the next
billing date and your subscription never skips a beat:

1. Open [your account](/account) and scroll to **Profile & payment**. The
   **Cards on file** section shows each saved card with its brand, last four
   digits, and expiration; the one marked **Default** is the one we bill.
2. Tap **Add card** and enter the new card in the secure form. A new card
   becomes the default for **all** your subscriptions.
3. To switch between saved cards, tap **Make default** on the one you want.

{% screenshot alt="The Cards on file section with Add card and Make default buttons" caption="Your saved cards, with the default marked" todo="capture" /%}

{% callout type="info" title="Removing a card" %}
**Remove** takes a card out of your account so it isn't used for your
regular payments. While you're subscribed, previously saved cards stay
securely on file with our payment processor as a backup, and you can't
remove your default card while it's the only one. Text or call us if you
need a card permanently deleted.
{% /callout %}

## Payment history

**Invoices & payments** lists every payment across every subscription —
amount, date, and status (Succeeded, Refunded, Failed). Receipts also
arrive by email after every successful charge. See
[Invoices and receipts](/docs/your-account/invoices-and-receipts).

## If a payment fails

Cards decline for ordinary reasons all the time. We'll let you know right
away by text or email; update your card, tap **Pay** on the open invoice,
and you're square — usually in under a minute. The full story is in
[Payments and billing](/docs/getting-started/payments-and-billing).

[Open your account](/account){button}