Payment Cards
Payment cards let you collect payments from your customers’ credit and debit cards. The platform currently supports Stripe as the card payment provider. Once set up, you can collect payments automatically when invoices are due, or collect individual payments manually.
The platform does not collect or store card numbers. Customers supply their card details to Stripe, and the platform holds only a reference to the Stripe payment method. All sensitive card data remains with Stripe.
Adding a Payment Card
Section titled “Adding a Payment Card”Customer Self-Service (Recommended)
Section titled “Customer Self-Service (Recommended)”The easiest way to add a payment card is to send the customer a payment link. They enter their card details directly through Stripe’s secure form, and the card appears on their record automatically. See Sending Payment Links below.
Defaults for new cards
Section titled “Defaults for new cards”Cards created through Stripe setup links use the platform’s shared New payment-card defaults. These set Card Collection Order, Use For Collection and Use For Payment Types.
Leave Use For Payment Types empty to allow any payment type. Changing the defaults does not change existing cards. Review each card’s settings if its collection use needs to change.
See Managing Default Values for saving shared defaults.
Taking a Payment Over the Phone
Section titled “Taking a Payment Over the Phone”You can key a customer’s card details while they are on the phone and take the payment there and then. Take Card Payment appears on the Action menu of a customer, an invoice and an uncollected payment, and in the CRM on the customer’s Payments and Payment methods tabs and the No auto-collection worklist.
The amount is filled in for you - the account balance, the invoice balance, or the payment being settled. The card details go straight into Stripe from your browser and are never stored on the platform, and the payment is recorded exactly as an online card payment would be. Enter a receipt address and Stripe emails its own card receipt, separately from anything the platform sends.
Read the card details back to the customer before confirming.
Tick Keep card only where the customer has agreed to future automatic collections. Otherwise the card is stored as Single Use and is never charged again.
Before it appears: it is switched off until somebody turns on Telephone (MOTO) payments for the dealer, under the Payment Cards module settings, and Stripe has to enable telephone payments on the account. Where a payment is refused for that reason the page says so, and Integrations, Stripe shows whether the last request was accepted. You also need the Payments and Payment Card Payments add permissions.
Manual Addition
Section titled “Manual Addition”To add a card manually:
- View the customer’s record
- Go to Add menu > Payment Card
- Enter the card details:
- Cardholder Name: The name on the card
- Card Type: Visa, Mastercard, or other supported type
- Last Four Digits: The last four digits of the card number
- Expiry Date: The card’s expiry date
- Card Storage Method: Set to Stripe for provider-managed collection
- Card Collection Order: The priority for this card when the customer has multiple cards. 1 is collected first.
- Use For Collection: Which collection types this card can be used for (manual, automatic, or both)
- Use For Payment Types: Restrict to specific payment types, or leave blank for all types
- Click Save
Stripe Provider Fields
Section titled “Stripe Provider Fields”When using Stripe, you also need to supply:
- Provider Customer Reference (required): The Stripe customer ID (beginning
cus_) - Provider Reference (recommended): The Stripe payment method ID (beginning
pm_). If you leave this blank, the platform will automatically use the customer’s most recent card in Stripe for any collection.
The other provider fields (Provider Key, Provider Token) are updated automatically when the platform syncs with Stripe, for example when a webhook is received or a scheduled update runs. You do not need to fill these in yourself.
Important: If you are adding cards through your own Stripe integration rather than the platform’s payment links, make sure the Stripe request is configured to allow future payments on the card. Without this, the platform will not be able to collect against it.
Sending Payment Links
Section titled “Sending Payment Links”You can send customers a link to add their card or make a payment without needing a portal login.
Via the Actions Menu
Section titled “Via the Actions Menu”- View the customer’s record
- Go to Actions menu > Generate Payment Links
- The system generates a no-login URL for card payment
- Copy the link and send it to the customer
The customer follows the link and enters their card details through Stripe’s secure payment form.
Via Correspondence
Section titled “Via Correspondence”You can include payment links in billing emails and other correspondence. The platform provides template variables that insert the correct URLs automatically. See Correspondence Workflows for details on setting up templates with payment links.
Finding Customers Who Need a Card
Section titled “Finding Customers Who Need a Card”To chase up customers for card details, you need a list of those who should be paying by card but cannot be collected from. The platform builds this list for you.
Go to the main menu > Payment Cards > View / Edit Payment Cards. The list opens on the Missing Cards tab.
Why the Missing Cards Tab Is the Chase-Up List
Section titled “Why the Missing Cards Tab Is the Chase-Up List”Missing Cards shows active customers whose payment method is set to card collection, but who have no usable card. This means the customer either has no payment card at all, or every card they have is Expired or Invalid.
These are exactly the customers to chase. You can then send each one a payment link to add a fresh card.
This is different from filtering customers by payment method. That filter finds customers whose payment method has been changed to something else. The Missing Cards tab finds customers who are still on card collection but have nothing valid to collect against.
The Other Tabs
Section titled “The Other Tabs”The same view has five tabs:
| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| Missing Cards | Active card customers with no usable card. This is the chase-up list. |
| Recently Added | Cards added in the last 30 days |
| All Cards | Every payment card across all customers |
| Active Cards | Cards ready for collection (Active or Confirmed) |
| Inactive Cards | Cards that can no longer be used (Expired or Invalid) |
See Card Status for what each status means.
Spotting It on the Customer Record
Section titled “Spotting It on the Customer Record”You do not have to rely on the list to catch these customers. When you view an active customer who is set to card collection but has no usable card, the platform shows a warning in the page title: Customer has no valid payment card details.
Downloading the List
Section titled “Downloading the List”Each tab can be exported. Open the tab you want, then go to View/Download menu > Download CSV. This gives you a spreadsheet to work through, share with a colleague, or hand to another team for the chase.
The download includes the customer account numbers. You can copy that column and paste it straight into the Bulk Mailing tool, so you chase every affected customer in one go rather than opening each record. See Bulk Correspondence.
Payment Collection
Section titled “Payment Collection”Manual Collection
Section titled “Manual Collection”To collect a specific payment by card:
- View the payment record
- Go to Actions menu > Collect from Card
- Select which payment card to use
- The system submits the charge to Stripe
Automatic Collection
Section titled “Automatic Collection”The platform can create and submit card payments for you, either on a schedule worked out from the invoice due date or when a bill is delivered. Unlike direct debit, a delivery-triggered card collection waits until the delivered invoice is genuinely due.
See How Automatic Collection Works for what triggers a collection, which invoices go into it, and how to stop one.
Card Status
Section titled “Card Status”Payment cards have five statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | Card is ready for collection |
| Confirmed | Card verified by Stripe; key fields are now read-only |
| Expired | Card has passed its expiry date |
| Invalid | Card has been declined or is otherwise unusable |
| Single Use | Card was keyed for a one-off telephone payment and is never collected from automatically |
Status Actions
Section titled “Status Actions”- Mark Expired: Change an active card to expired status
- Mark Invalid: Flag a card as declined or problematic
- Mark Current: Return an expired or invalid card to active status
Field Locking
Section titled “Field Locking”Once a card reaches confirmed status, the following fields become read-only to protect the verified details:
- Cardholder Name
- Card Type
- Last Four Digits
- Expiry Date
- Card Storage Method
- Provider Token, Provider Customer Reference, Provider Reference, Provider Key
To update these details, the customer should add a new card via a payment link.
Payment Status
Section titled “Payment Status”Card payments move through these stages:
- Pending: Payment created, waiting to be submitted to Stripe
- Processing: Submitted to Stripe, awaiting confirmation
- Collected: Payment received successfully
- Failed: Charge was declined or unsuccessful
Failed payments include the provider’s decline code for troubleshooting. Common reasons include insufficient funds, expired cards, and bank-declined transactions.
If automatic collection fails or no eligible card exists, the system creates a TODO alerting you to the issue.
Card Fields
Section titled “Card Fields”The fields below make up a payment card record. Sensitive card data is held securely by the payment provider, not the platform.
Payment Card References
Section titled “Payment Card References”This section contains reference numbers used to identify the payment card across systems, including internal references, customer references, and card priority settings for collection order.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Our Reference | Internal reference number for the payment card |
| Customer's Reference | Customer-provided reference for the payment card |
| Card Collection Order | Priority order for payment collection when customer has multiple payment cards |
Card Details
Section titled “Card Details”Card Details contain the payment card information including cardholder name, card type, last digits, expiry date, storage method configuration, collection settings, and provider-specific references for payment processing integrations.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Email Address | Email address associated with this payment card |
| Cardholder Name | Name of the cardholder for the payment card |
| Card Type | Type of payment card (e.g., Visa, Mastercard) |
| Last Four Digits | Last four digits of the payment card number for identification |
| From Date | Start date for the payment card validity period |
| Expiry Date | Expiry date of the payment card |
| Card Storage Method | Method used to store and process the payment card information |
| Use For Payment Types | Payment types this payment card can be used for |
| Use For Collection | Types of payments this payment card can be used to collect |
| Provider Token | Token assigned by the payment card provider |
| Provider Customer Reference | Customer reference used by the payment card provider |
| Provider Reference | Reference number assigned by the payment card provider |
| Provider Key | Provider key for payment card processing |
| Provider Account | Stripe account (acct_...) holding this card, recorded when the card was stored |
Status
Section titled “Status”The Status section displays current card status information including setup dates, payment collection history, and card lifecycle timestamps.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Card Status | Current status of the payment card |
| Set-Up Date | Date when the payment card was set up with the provider |
| Last Taken Date | Date when a payment was last successfully taken from this card |
System Information
Section titled “System Information”System-generated information including modification timestamps and activity tracking for administrative purposes.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Last Modified | Timestamp of the most recent modification to this payment card |
| Created | Timestamp when this payment card was created |
Managing Cards
Section titled “Managing Cards”Multiple Cards
Section titled “Multiple Cards”A customer can have more than one payment card. The Card Collection Order field controls which card the system uses first for automatic collection. Set 1 for the primary card, 2 for the backup, and so on.
Replacing a Card
Section titled “Replacing a Card”When a customer’s card expires or is replaced:
- Send them a new payment link to add the replacement card
- Once the new card is confirmed, mark the old card as expired
- Update the Card Collection Order if needed
The old card remains on the customer’s record for audit purposes.
Want automated card payment collection built into your billing workflow? see how SAFE Billing Platform automates payment collection via Stripe
Stripe setup and optional payment methods
Section titled “Stripe setup and optional payment methods”An administrator with Elevated access should use Stripe Account Linking and arrange Support activation before collecting payments.
Telephone (MOTO) and card-reader payments have independent settings. Both are off by default. Enabling one does not enable the other.
Check the dealer’s settings, provider status and relevant record permissions before using either method.