What is Payment Method?
Definition
The financial instrument used to pay for a subscription, such as a credit card, debit card, PayPal, or bank account.
Understanding Payment Method
Subscription services accept various payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, and digital wallets like Apple Pay. Your choice of payment method affects fraud protection, ease of cancellation, and financial tracking. Credit cards offer the best dispute protection, while bank transfers may provide lower fees.
Tracking which payment methods are linked to which subscriptions is crucial for managing your finances — especially when a card expires or you need to cancel multiple services.
Related Terms
Recurring Billing
An automatic payment system that charges a customer at predetermined intervals for ongoing access to a product or service.
Auto-Renewal
A feature that automatically renews a subscription at the end of each billing cycle without requiring manual action from the user.
Subscription
A recurring payment arrangement where a customer pays at regular intervals to access a product or service.
Payment Date
The specific day within each billing cycle when a subscription payment is processed and charged to the subscriber's payment method.