Add, remove, or update a payment method  |  Cloud Billing  |  Google Cloud (2024)

This article describes how to manage payment methods, such as credit cards andbank accounts, on your self-serve (online) Cloud Billing account.

Each Cloud Billing account must have at least one valid form ofpayment attached to the billing account in order for the billing account toremain in good standing - even if your balance due every billing cycle is $0.00.Without a valid form of payment, a billing account will be suspended, disablingbilling on thelinked projects.When billing is disabled on a project, you cannot use the APIs, services, andother resources in the project until the linked Cloud Billingaccount isreactivated and billing re-enabled.

The payment methods described in this article apply only toself-serve, online Cloud Billing accounts, and not to accounts paid by invoice. If yourCloud Billing account is set up as an invoiced account and you wouldlike to learn how to pay for your Google Cloud costs, visitMake a payment to an invoiced Cloud Billing account.

About Cloud Billing accounts and Google payments profiles

In Google Cloud, you can set up a self-serve, online Cloud Billingaccount and use it to define who pays for a given set of Google Cloudresources. You use Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles tocontrol access to a Cloud Billing account.

A Cloud Billing account is connected to aGoogle payments profile.The Google payments center is a Google-level resource that includes thepayment instruments to which costs are charged. These payment instruments payfor the charges you incur when you use Google Cloud resources. Since theGoogle payments center is a Google-level resource accessed and managedoutside of Google Cloud, you manage theaccess permissions for your Google payments profile separately from theaccess permissions for a Cloud Billing account.

If you have the necessary permissions, you can interact with yourGoogle payments profile from within the Google Cloud console (as describedbelow) or atpayments.google.com

Payment methods you can add to your Google payments profile

Thepayment methods available for your self-serve (online) Cloud Billing account depend on yourcurrency and country.In many countries, you can set up a credit card, debit card, or bank accountas a primary payment method.

You can also set up a backup credit or debit card to act as a safety net; ifyour primary payment method fails, we'll charge your costs to your backuppayment method. This ensures that your Google APIs and cloud services keeprunning. Note that you cannot set up a bank account as a backup payment method.For more information about adding a backup payment method, seeAdd a payment method on this page.

Bank account payments (also known as direct debit or ACH) allow you to specify abank account to use as the primary funding source for your account. Your accountisn't active until you verify your bank account. Verification of your bankaccount may take up to 10 days. For information about instant bank verification,see Verify your bank account.

Be aware of the following important points:

• By default, payments are processed automatically so you don't have toworry that your service will stop running if you forget to make a payment. Ifyou prefer to make a payment in advance, you can do so at any time.
  • For more information on making advance payments, seeMake a manual payment or pay early.
  • For information about when you'll be billed, seeFind out your Cloud Billing account type and charging cycle.
• If you entered your Cloud Billing account information recently,it may take a few hours for your account to become active. If you have aproblem finding the verification email or verifying your account, seeVerify your email address.
• If your Google Cloud services are currently restricted, you canenable them bymaking a manual payment or paying early.

Supported payment methods

Credit and debit cards

• American Express
• MasterCard
• Visa
• Discover (U.S. only)
• JCB (Japan and U.S. only)
• Visa Electron (Outside the U.S. only)
• Elo credit cards (Brazil only; We don't allow you to add Elo debit cards)
• Debit cards with the Visa or MasterCard logo
• Boleto bancário (in Brazil) is available as a backup payment method for Google Cloud accounts. You cancreate up to three payments per day using boleto as the form of payment.

The types of cards Google services lets you add to paymentsprofiles vary by location and by product.

Bank account

If supported in your country,you can add a bank account to payments.google.com to pay yourCloud Billing account.

Depending on your country, you might have to accept a direct debit mandate,which gives Google permission to charge your bank account.

Unsupported payment methods

• Debit cards thatrequire two-factor authentication are not accepted for payment.
• Prepaid cards and Virtual Credit Cards (VCCs) are not accepted forpayment.
• Bank accounts that only support disbursem*nts are not accepted forpayment.
• Payment via wire transfer is not supported formonthly charge or threshold billing accounts.You may pay with a bank account by adding it as a payment method,if supported in your country.
• Starting July 1, 2022, PayPal is not supported for payments.

For more payment options, consider working with a local reseller,who might be able to accept more forms of payment, or help you switch toinvoiced billing. Find a list ofresellers on the Google partners page.

Permissions required to manage payment methods

To manage the payment methods in the Google payments profile that is linkedto your Cloud Billing account, you need permissions on both theCloud Billing account and the Google payments profile.

• On the Cloud Billing account, you must be aBilling Account Administrator.
• On the Google payments profile, you must be anadmin or full-access payments profile user.

Add a payment method

You can add additional payment methods to your Cloud Billing account atany time.

To add a payment method, complete the following steps:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Payment methods page.

   Go to the Payment methods page

2. At the prompt, choose the Cloud Billing accountyou want to update.

3. In the Payment method page, click Add payment method. The types ofpayment methods available to you are based on your business address andthe currency of your Cloud Billing account.

4. Enter your payment information and click Save.

5. Optional: If you added an additional credit or debit card to use as abackup payment method, after you save the payment method, set that card asa backup (note that a bank account cannot be used as a backup paymentmethod):

   1. In the payment method card, you will see a drop-down in the bottom-leftof the card (it might display None by default).
   2. Expand the drop-down, and select Backup.

If your new payment method is a U.S. bank account, you can instantlyverify your bank account rather than use the challenge deposit which takes 2-5days. For information about challenge deposits and instant bank verification,seeVerify your bank account.

If your new payment method is a non-US bank account, you might need to accepta direct debit mandate, which authorizes Google to charge your bank account.You can download a copy of your mandate by returning to the Payment methodpage and clicking Download mandate next to your bank account.

If you receive an error message when you attemptto set up or change a payment method, seeA billing account change wasn't allowed for more information.

Update or remove payment methods

You might want to update your payment information or to set a credit or debitcard as a backup payment method.

A backup payment method is a credit card or debit card that you designate to beused if your primary payment method fails. With a backup payment method, if yourprimary payment method is ever declined when processing a payment, we'llautomatically try to charge the payment to your backup method instead. Thishelps ensure that your service runs uninterrupted. A backup credit card will becharged only if your primary form of payment doesn't work.

When updating your payment method, keep in mind:

• You can edit all the details for your payment method, except for the creditcard or bank account number.
• Your Cloud Billing account always needs at least one payment methodon file. If you want to remove a payment method, you should add a newpayment method first.
• If your credit card has expired and you receive a new credit card with thesame account number and an updated expiration date and CVV number, justupdate your card details. You don't need to add it as a new payment method.
• If the number of your credit card or bank account has changed, we considerit a new credit card or bank account. You'll need to add it as a new paymentmethod. After you add the new payment method, you can remove the outdatedpayment method.

Update your payment method:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Payment method page.

   Go to the Payment method page

2. At the prompt, choose the Cloud Billing accountyou want to manage.

3. On the Payment method page do any of the following:

   See Also

   Unable to Add Credit Card to Google Pay

   • To update your credit/debit card information such as theexpiration date or the billing address, do the following:

     1. Locate the payment method you want to update, click Edit orFix, and make the updates.
     2. When you are finished, click Update.

   • To change which payment method is the primary payment method:

     1. First, you need more than one payment method on your accountbefore you can change which one is the primary payment method. Ifneeded, add a second payment method.
     2. In the payment method info card for the non-primary paymentmethod, you will see a drop-down in the bottom-left of thecard (it might display None or Backup).
     3. Expand the drop-down, and select Primary. The payment methodpreviously marked as Primary will be marked as None, and the paymentmethod info cards will shuffle on the page, so that the Primarypayment method is displayed first.
     4. Optionally, you might want to set the method previously marked asPrimary to be a Backup payment method.

Remove a payment method

Before you attempt to remove a payment method, keep in mind the followingrequirements:

• Your Cloud Billing account always needs at least onepayment method on file. If you have only one payment method on theGoogle payments profile that is linked to your Cloud Billingaccount, you won't be able to remove it. If you want to remove a paymentmethod, you need to add another payment method first.
• You cannot remove a payment method marked as the Primary methodof payment. If the payment method you want to remove is the Primarymethod of payment, firstselect a different payment method to be the Primary method,and then you can remove the non-primary payment method.
• Your Cloud Billing account must have a valid payment method at alltimes. If you have an invalid payment method and you are unable to replacea failing payment method with a different, valid payment method, you candisable Cloud Billing on your project.However, you should be aware that even when Cloud Billing isdisabled, your credit card information is retained on your account andGoogle Cloud is unable to remove it. Credit card information isretained for reporting and auditing purposes only.

To remove a payment method, do the following:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Payment method page.

   Go to the Payment method page

2. At the prompt, choose the Cloud Billing accountyou want to manage.

3. On the Payment method page, to remove a payment method, locate thepayment method info card displaying the payment method you want to remove,then click Remove.

Add a new payment method after your account has been suspended

If your account was suspended because of an invalid payment method, you need toadd a valid payment method before your account can be reactivated.

To add a payment method:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Manage billing accounts page.

   Manage billing accounts page.

   By default, when you first access the list of Cloud Billingaccounts, the account list is filtered to display Active accounts.

2. In the filter_listFilter row, clear the Status: Active filter.

   All Cloud Billing accounts are displayed.

3. Click the name of the suspended billing account to access all of theaccount information for the Cloud Billing account.

4. In the Billing menu, in the Payments section click Payment method.

5. In the Payment method page, click Add payment method. The types ofpayment methods available to you are based on your business address andyour account's currency.

6. Enter your payment information and click Save.

7. After you save the new payment method, set that payment method as Primary:

   1. In the payment method card, you will see a drop-down in the bottom-leftof the card (it might display None by default).
   2. Expand the drop-down, and select Primary.

8. To remove the invalid payment method, locate the info card displaying thepayment method you want to remove, then click Remove.

If your new payment method is a U.S. bank account, you can instantlyverify your bank account rather than use the challenge deposit which takes 2-5days. For information about challenge deposits and instant bank verification,see Verify your bank account.

Resolve errors when attempting to add or update a payment method

When you are adding a form of payment, you might receive an error such as:

• Your card does not support automatic recurring payments.
  or
• General decline of the card. No other information was provided by theissuing bank.

You might encounter these errors if you are using a debit card that requirestwo-factor authentication to complete an online transaction (for example, entryof a one-time password sent by your bank directly to you using SMS).

Two-factor authentication requires you to be in-session at the time of thetransaction. Cards that require you to be in-session are not usable forsubscriptions or similar recurring automatic transactions.

When you enter a debit card as your form of payment, Google checkswhether your issuing bank approves subscriptions or recurring payments usingthat card. If your bank does not approve, this card will not work for automaticrecurring payments.

If you receive an error such as Your card does not support automaticrecurring payments or General decline of the card, please select a differentform of payment, consider working with a local reseller, who might be able toaccept more forms of payment, or help you switch to invoiced billing.Find a list of resellers on the Google partners page.

You can also contactCloud Billing Support for help.