What is a card account updater? Keeping saved cards up to date
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
- 1Your card appears in your app
- 2Tap it to pay in a shop
- 3See every payment as it happens
When a customer's card expires or is replaced, any business holding the old details on file will see its next charge fail. A card account updater is a service from the card networks that passes the new details to the business's payment provider, so the charge can go through.
How it works
- The card issuer reports new card numbers and expiry dates to the card network.
- The business's payment provider asks the network for updates on cards it stores.
- Updated details replace the old ones before the next charge.
The main services
Visa runs Visa Account Updater and Mastercard runs Automatic Billing Updater. Payment providers usually switch them on for you rather than you signing up directly, and not every issuer takes part.
Try it
Name your platform and watch it come to life
Type a name, tap a colour and pick what it does. The phone changes as you go.
Colour
What it does
Design and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
Why it matters
Failed card payments are a big cause of involuntary churn, where customers drop off a subscription without meaning to. Keeping cards current, along with good dunning emails, recovers many of those payments.
Where SendPay fits
SendPay doesn't offer card machines or acquiring. SendPay platforms let you get paid with payment links, invoices and subscriptions, alongside GBP, EUR and USD accounts and branded Visa cards, powered by licensed partners.
How it works
Your own money app- 1Name it and pick your colours
- 2Choose what it does
- 3Launch when you are ready
Why sign up
Create your free SendPay account
It's all about creating your own financial platform with ease. Start with a free account today.
- 🪪A free business accountOpen it in about a minute with your business name, email, password and mobile. No card and no documents to start.
- 💳Get paid from day oneTake card payments, and share your own payment link and invoices so customers pay in a click.
- 🌐A free business websiteFree to build, free to publish and free to keep, with unlimited visits.
- 🚀Your own financial platformDesign and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Accounts, cards and payments are powered by licensed partners.
Questions people ask
What do failed subscription payments cost me?
Work out what failed renewals cost a month and a year, and what winning more back is worth.
Failed subscription payment calculator →What do failed card payments cost me?
Work out your approval rate and the sales lost to declines.
Payment authorisation rate calculator →What is subscription churn?
The share of subscribers who cancel or lapse in a period.
Subscription churn →Read next
Spotted a mistake or something out of date? and we'll fix it. How our guides are made
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. Other companies named in this guide are reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.