When you pay an invoice by card, tick the option to store the payment method. Future invoices are then charged automatically to that card as they fall due. You can review and change stored methods at any time under Billing.
Why it is worth turning on
The single most common cause of an unexpected service interruption is not a technical fault. It is an invoice that went unpaid because nobody saw the notice. Automatic payment removes that entire category of problem.
It is not fully automatic unless the card stays valid
This is the part that catches people. Automatic payment with an expired card fails silently, and the service is suspended exactly as if nothing had been set up. Turning it on is not the end of the job.
Three habits that make it actually reliable:
- Put a calendar reminder a month before the card's expiry date.
- Store a second card as a fallback if your organisation allows it. Add the new one and confirm it is set as default before removing an old one.
- Have a billing contact on the account who is not the same person as the technical contact, so a payment failure notice reaches someone who can act on it.
Turning it off
Remove the stored payment method, or change the setting on the individual service. Invoices are then issued for manual payment as normal. Nothing is cancelled by doing this — but the responsibility for paying on time moves back to you.
If a charge has already failed
Do not wait for the automatic retry. Update the payment method, then pay the outstanding invoice manually from the Billing section. That settles it immediately.
What automatic payment does not do
It does not renew a domain that is set not to auto-renew, and it does not decide anything for you. It pays invoices that have been generated. Check the renewal settings on domains separately — a domain lapsing is far more damaging and far less reversible than a hosting invoice being late. The article on domain expiry explains why the timeline matters.
