--- updatedAt: 2026-06-17T20:59:51.000Z agentTools: projectIndex: https://docs.clover.com/dev/llms.txt --- # Recurring payments with plans and subscriptions [block:html] { "html": "
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North America—United States and Canada
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Recurring payments API—Configure Plans

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Facilitates the creation and management of recurring payment plans for merchants, enabling them to offer subscription-based services to their customers.

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Recurring payments API—Configure Subscription

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Allows merchants to create and manage subscriptions through their Clover Merchant Dashboard. You can use the Subscriptions API to create, retrieve, edit, and cancel and delete subscriptions.\n

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\n\n" } [/block] *** # How it works ## Key features * **Set the payment date**—Specify the date when a payment is sent. * **Change the payment interval**—Adjust intervals after creating a plan. For example, a monthly payment starting on February 1 will continue on the 1st of each subsequent month. * **Deactivate plans and subscriptions**—Cancel a plan or subscription without deleting it. ## Save card-on-file for customers You can securely save a customer’s card details on file—with their consent—for scheduled or recurring payments. This process requires an OAuth token, `merchantId`,` customerId`, and a card token to be used as the `source`. * **Generate card token to save COF**: You can generate card tokens in two ways: * **Clover Ecommerce APIs**—Generate an [OAuth token](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/generate-oauth-expiring-access-and-refresh-token) for authorization and a [PAKMS key](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/generate-ecommerce-api-key-or-pakms-key) to create a card token. This token is then used as the `source` when [saving a card-on-file (COF) record for a customer](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/save-a-card-for-future-transactions). This method offers flexibility but requires strict PCI DSS compliance. * **Clover iframe**—Embed a customizable [iframe](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/clover-iframe-integrations) into your app or ecommerce site to securely transmit card data directly to Clover servers. This approach significantly reduces the PCI compliance burden for merchants. * **Automated notifications**—When a card-on-file is saved, the Clover automated notification system sends email and SMS alerts to the cardholder for upcoming charges, failed payments, and subscription renewals. * **Card-on-file removal on request**—Cardholders can request deletion of their saved card data from Clover systems. * **External token management**—If not using automated flows from Clover, you can manage multi-pay tokens and customer data externally, including customer profiles, stored credentials, and payment details. For more information. For more information, see [Use external multi-pay tokens with Clover Ecommerce APIs](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/use-transarmor-token). ## Quick steps to create recurring plans and subscriptions for the plans | Step | Action | Endpoint/Dashboard | REST API used | Description | | :--- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :-------------------------------------------- | :------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1. | [Generate a merchant-specific API token](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/create-ecommerce-api-tokens) or [OAuth expiring `access_token`](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/generate-oauth-expiring-access-and-refresh-token) . | Merchant Dashboard | Platform | Use the public and private keys to build a single merchant solution, or obtain an OAuth token for authorizing your app integration for multiple merchants or businesses. | | 2. | [Create a plan](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/working-with-recurring-payments-and-subscriptions#create-a-plan) | `/recurring/v1/plans` | Platform | Define a plan with a billing cycle and amount for a merchant. | | 3. | [Generate an Ecommerce API key (PAKMS key)](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/generate-ecommerce-api-key-or-pakms-key) | `/getapikey` | Ecommerce | Use the Ecommerce API token to generate a PAKMS key to identify the merchant during card tokenization. | | 4. | [Create a card token](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/create-a-card-token) | `/v1/tokens` | Ecommerce | Generate a card token using customer card details to use as the `source` to create a card-on-file (COF). | | 5. | [Save a card-on-file (COF)](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/save-a-card-for-future-transactions#use-customer-id) for a customer. | `/v1/customers` | Ecommerce | Save the card token to the customer's profile. This is used as the `source` to charge the subscription. | | 6. | [Create a subscription](https://docs.clover.com/dev/docs/recurring-apis-subscriptions#create-a-subscription) | `/recurring/v1/plans/ {planId}/subscriptions` | Platform | Create a subscription associating the customer with the plan. | ## Restrictions Recurring payment configurations and related APIs are not available for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) merchants. *** # Watch video: Recurring payments [block:html] { "html": "
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WatchLearn
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In this video, learn:

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  • How to define, create, edit and delete plans for recurring payments.
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  • How to create subscriptions for plans.
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