Boost recurring donations this giving season with the upsell prompt!Saving a card has three prerequisites. If any is missing, the option is unavailable rather than failing when it is used — so the symptom is usually a button that is absent or disabled, not an error.
1. Is the bidder linked to a Soapbox user account?
This is the most common cause, and it catches exactly the bidders you are most likely to be charging.
A payment method belongs to a user account. A bidder with no account cannot have one saved, and the bidder's detail panel says so instead of offering the button:
A bidder must be connected to a user before a payment method can be added.
Bidders who arrive without an account:
- Anyone added at a registration desk as a New / standalone person
- Attendees enrolled automatically from an event
Bidders who already have one: anyone who registered themselves online, and anyone added from an existing Soapbox user.
To fix it, open the bidder from the auction's Bidders tab and either Create user from bidder or Link a user. See Linking and unlinking user accounts.
Important: If you plan to charge cards at settlement, check this before the event. Discovering it while a queue forms at the checkout desk is the expensive way to find out.
2. Does the bidder have a phone number?
A phone number is required before saved payment methods are enabled. Where it is missing, the prompt reads:
Add a phone number first to enable saved payment methods
Add one from the bidder's detail panel, or ask the bidder to add it on their My Preferences page.
3. Does your site take payments through Stripe?
Saved payment methods in the Auctions app are available only on sites using Stripe. On any other payment processor the feature is unavailable, and no amount of account linking will enable it.
If your auction relies on charging saved cards at settlement, confirm your processor well before the event.
The card is rejected rather than unavailable
If the form appears and the card is declined, that is the card or its issuer, not the setup. Ask the bidder to try another card. Note that the billing address country list covers the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia — a cardholder outside those will not be able to complete the address.
A saved card that will not charge
If a card saved successfully but a charge fails at settlement, the fulfillment stays at Awaiting payment and shows the reason from the payment processor. See Charging winning bidders.
Related articles: