A card on file is a customer's payment card vaulted at Stripe (not in Run a Call) for later use. Today the platform uses cards on file for system-driven charges — not as a one-click "charge this saved card" button.
How a card gets saved
Cards are saved when the customer pays through Stripe's hosted checkout page. When they tick the "Save my card" option on the payment link, Stripe vaults the card and ties it to the customer's record on your Stripe Connect account.
Run a Call never sees the full card number — only the last 4 digits, brand, and expiry once Stripe lets us know the save succeeded.
What the card-on-file is used for today
System-driven charges, not office-driven:
| Use case | How the card is used |
|---|---|
| Membership autopay | If/when membership autopay is enabled for your account, the saved card is what the platform charges on each renewal cycle. |
| Phone & AI Receptionist usage | Overage billing (extra phone numbers, AI minutes beyond the included bucket) charges the saved card automatically. |
In both cases, the charge fires from a background process.
There's no UI button to "charge the saved card now" for an arbitrary invoice. For an arbitrary one-off charge, send the customer a payment link (Sending payment links).
When the card stops working
If the saved card expires or fails:
- Stripe attempts automatic card-updater (works for most major banks) — usually transparent.
- If auto-update fails, the next system-driven charge fails too. The platform logs the failure on the affected invoice.
- The customer can save a new card by paying any future invoice with the "Save my card" option.
Compliance
PCI compliance is fully handled by Stripe. Run a Call never sees, stores, or transmits raw card numbers — every card-on-file reference is a Stripe token.
What's NOT supported today
- In-app UI to view all saved cards on a customer.
- In-app UI to charge a saved card for an arbitrary invoice.
- In-app UI to remove a saved card from a customer.
For any of these, the workaround is to use the Stripe Dashboard directly.