Save a Card on File (Vaulting Cards)

Overview

Saving a card on file (also called vaulting) lets your office securely store a patient’s payment method for future use. This makes it faster and easier to:

Take future payments

Set up recurring payment schedules

Reduce time spent re-entering card details

🔐 Security & Compliance

PayStack is designed to minimize your PCI compliance burden and reduce risk:

Card data is stored securely at the payment gateway level (not on your local systems)

The full card number is never visible after it is saved

Stored cards are tokenized and can only be used for the patient they were saved for

👉 This helps your office avoid handling sensitive card data directly while still benefiting from saved payment methods.

Ways to Save a Card

Cards can be saved in four different areas of PayStack:

1) During an In-Office Payment

In the Pay module, enable the Vault Card toggle

Complete the transaction

The card is saved after the payment is processed

2) During a Phone Payment (Card Not Present)

While entering card details, enable the Vault Card toggle

Complete the transaction

The card is stored for future use

💡 Common use case: patients call in and want their card saved for convenience.

3) When Setting Up Recurring Payments

Enter the patient’s card details during setup

The system automatically saves the card as part of the process

⚠️

Surcharge note

Service fees are not shown during recurring setup. This is because the system cannot determine credit vs. debit until the transaction runs.

The authorization form will note that fees apply only to credit cards.

4) From the Patients Module

You can save a card without running a payment:

Go to the Patients module

Select the patient

Open the Vaulted Cards tab

Click Add New Card

Enter card details and save

👉 This is useful for preparing ahead of future payments.

Managing Cards on File

To view, update, or remove stored cards:

Go to the Patients module

Select the patient

Open the Vaulted Cards tab

From here, you can:

View saved cards (masked for security)

Add new cards

Remove outdated cards

Select which card to use for future payments

Why This Matters

Using saved cards helps your office:

Speed up checkout and phone payments

Improve patient experience with less friction

Enable recurring and automated payments

Reduce PCI scope and liability

✅ Best Practices

Always inform patients before saving their card

Use saved cards for patients with ongoing balances or payment plans

Periodically review stored cards and remove outdated ones

Take an In-Office Payment

Take a Payment by Phone (Card Not Present)

Set Up Recurring Payments

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