---
title: "Set Up a Recurring Payment"
slug: "set-up-a-recurring-payment"
updated: 2026-03-04T23:22:06Z
published: 2026-03-04T23:22:06Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resource.payrix.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set Up a Recurring Payment

A recurring payment is a method used to charge a customer on a regular schedule for ongoing products or services. For example, merchants can use recurring payments to charge their customers a monthly fee or for billing on a subscription-based business model.

To set up a recurring payment for a customer, you must define the schedule and amount using a **plan**. Then, link the customer’s payment method to that plan using a **subscription**.

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay cannot be used to set up recurring payment plans.

Complete all steps in the following sections as a merchant to set up a recurring payment. For instructions on modifying a plan or subscription, see [Plans](/v1/docs/plans-merchants).

## Prerequisites

Before setting up a recurring payment, you must have one of the following in the merchant account that you’re logged in to:

- A customer’s card payment information
- The token number of a customer’s payment method that’s saved to the Payrix Pro platform

See [Tokenize a Payment Method](/v1/docs/tokenize-a-payment-method) for steps to create a customer and tokenize their payment information. You can also create tokens using Quick Charge, Invoices, PayFields, PayFrame, or the **Customer Profile** page. After tokenizing the payment method, retrieve the token hash value from the **Customer Profile** to link it to the subscription.

## Create a Plan

To set up a recurring payment, you must first define how much the customer is charged and how often payments occur.

To create a plan:

1. Log in as a merchant.
2. Under Payments in the main side bar, select **Recurring Payments** then **Plans**.
3. Click **Add Plan** in the upper-right corner of the page.
4. Enter the plan name and the amount to charge.
5. Enter a number in the **Plan Schedule: Every**field and select an interval to set the time interval for the payment schedule.
6. (Optional) Enter the maximum number of times the payment is attempted and fails before auto-canceling the plan.

> [!WARNING]
> **Important!**
> 
> If you don’t set a limit in the **Max. Consecutive Failures** field, the subscription keeps retrying the same payment method indefinitely at each scheduled plan interval after a payment fails. For details, see [Subscription Failures and Retries](/v1/docs/overview-of-tokenization-and-recurring-payments#subscription-failures-and-retries).
7. (Optional) Enter descriptions in the **Description**and **Transaction Description** fields.
8. Click **Add**.

After you create the plan, you are redirected to the Plans page to review existing recurring payment plans and add subscriptions linking customers and their payment methods to the designated plan.

## Create a Subscription

After creating your plan, you must assign the customer’s payment method and set additional parameters to automatically process payments based on the plan’s schedule. Assigning the customer’s payment method to a recurring payment supports a seamless, PCI-compliant subscription for ongoing goods and services.

To create a subscription:

1. Ensure that you are logged in as a merchant.
2. Select the plan from the **Plans** page.
3. Click **Add Subscription**.
4. Enter the start date and optional end date.
5. (Optional) Enter any tax amount, the maximum number of consecutive failures, and a description.
6. Enter the payment information. You can enter a new credit or debit card, or use a token for an existing payment saved in Payrix Pro.
  - To use a new payment method, enter the customer’s email address, click **Enter Card Details**, enter the credit or debit card information, and click **Save Payment**.
  - To use a token from an existing payment, click **Create with Token** and enter the customer payment token value in the **Token** field.
7. Click **Add** to save the subscription to the plan.

> [!WARNING]
> **Important!**
> 
> The first payment in a plan is not processed immediately. See [Processing Schedule](/v1/docs/overview-of-tokenization-and-recurring-payments#processing-schedule) for more details.
> 
> To charge a customer immediately, submit a separate *Sale* transaction.

A mobile payment and digital wallet service developed by Apple that allows users to make payments through Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

A digital wallet platform developed by Google that enables users to make in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices.

An entity that can process transactions and has been onboarded through a Payrix Pro partner.

A PayFac-as-a-service platform. Software companies can act as payment facilitators without taking on the associated risks, compliance burdens, and investment.

A Payrix Pro platform-hosted payment solution for merchants to securely accept payments on their website or checkout page without directly handling sensitive cardholder data. PayFields embeds iframes on the payment page to support a custom look and feel and to provide PCI compliance through a Payrix Pro PCI Level 1 Certification.

A Payrix Pro platform-hosted payment solution that includes basic customization options and requires minimal development effort to implement. PayFrame embeds a Payrix Pro platform-hosted payment form on a merchant’s checkout page.