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# Credits and payment

> Adding money to your balance, cards and their health, auto-recharge and its retry schedule, and what to do when a payment fails.

Talkif is prepaid: you add money, calls draw it down. This page is the mechanics of adding it and keeping it topped up. How the balance is *spent* — buckets, the \$1.00 admission minimum, what happens at zero — is in [Credits and pricing](/concepts/credits-and-pricing); if you haven't read that, the rules below will feel arbitrary.

## Topping up

**Billing → Overview → Add Balance.** Choose an amount between **\$10 and \$10,000**; pay with a saved card, or through a hosted checkout if you haven't saved one yet. The balance updates the moment the payment succeeds — no invoice cycle, no waiting.

Purchased balance never expires and is spent last, after any subscription, promotional or bonus credit.

## Payment methods

Cards are handled by Stripe; Talkif stores only a reference and the card's last digits. **Billing → Payment Methods** lets you add cards and bank accounts, label them ("Corporate Visa"), and choose a **default** — the one used for manual top-ups by default and for auto-recharge. 3-D Secure is supported for cards that require it.

Each method carries a health status from its last charge:

**`active`** `status`

Healthy — the last charge succeeded, or it's never been charged.

---

**`declined`** `status`

The last charge was declined; the specific decline reason is recorded. Try again, or ask the bank.

---

**`expired`** `status`

Past its expiry date. Add a replacement.

---

**`blocked`** `status`

Permanently unusable — reported lost, stolen or fraudulent. Remove it.

---

A successful charge resets a method to `active`. Auto-recharge never attempts `expired` or `blocked` methods.

## Auto-recharge

The single most useful thing to switch on. When the balance falls below a **threshold**, Talkif charges your default card for a fixed **amount** — so a busy campaign never stalls on an empty balance and a long call never suspends the account.

| Setting                                       | Range                       |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Threshold — recharge when balance falls below | \$1 – \$1,000               |
| Amount — how much to add                      | \$5 – \$1,000               |
| Payment method                                | default, or a specific card |

**Billing → Overview → Auto-Recharge.** Pick a threshold above your biggest plausible hour of spend and an amount that covers a day; you can always change both.

#### When a recharge fails

The charge is retried on a schedule — **immediately, then after 1, 3 and 5 days**. At most **5 recharge attempts run per day**, so a broken card can't be hammered. If every retry fails, auto-recharge stops trying for that shortfall and the balance behaves as if auto-recharge were off: calls are refused below \$1.00 and the account is suspended if it goes negative. Fix the card (or top up manually) and it resumes.

#### Auto-recharge and suspension

With auto-recharge on, a charge that takes the balance to zero triggers a recharge instead of a suspension. The recharge is what keeps you calling — which is why the retry schedule matters: if the card fails on the first attempt, the account *will* be suspended until a retry succeeds or you top up by hand.

## When a manual payment fails

The balance simply doesn't change; nothing is charged twice. The method's status shows the decline reason. Common causes: a card limit, 3-D Secure not completed, a bank blocking an unfamiliar merchant. Retry with the same card after the bank clears it, or use another.

## Disputes

If you dispute a charge with your bank, the disputed amount plus a **\$15 processing fee** is held from your balance while the dispute is open. If it resolves in your favour the hold is released; if not, it's deducted. Contact support before disputing — a billing error is fixed far faster as an adjustment.

## Next

#### [Credits and pricing](/concepts/credits-and-pricing)

How the balance is spent, and what happens at zero.

#### [Cost breakdown](/account/cost-breakdown)

Where the money went.