Recurring Billing
Use this guide to understand saved cards, renewal dates, cancellations, free tiers, and what happens when payment fails.
PayBru uses Paystack to charge a saved card on each billing date so members don't have to pay manually every month.
What "Recurring" Means on PayBru
When you first subscribe, you complete a checkout with Paystack. Paystack securely tokenises your card and PayBru saves a reference (an authorisation), not the card number itself. On each future billing date PayBru asks Paystack to charge that saved card again.
Only cards (Visa or Mastercard, debit or credit) can be used for recurring renewals. Other Paystack methods — like Pay-by-Bank (Ozow Instant EFT) or Capitec Pay — work for once-off payments such as your first subscription, a gift, a tip, a crowdfunding pledge, or a store purchase, but they cannot auto-charge later, so they're not used for recurring renewals.
If you paid your first month with EFT, Ozow or Capitec Pay, you'll need to save a card before the next renewal or your membership will go past due.
The Renewal Flow
- You subscribe and complete your first payment via Paystack.
- PayBru records the next billing date.
- When your billing date arrives, PayBru asks Paystack to charge your saved card.
- If the charge succeeds, your membership stays active and you receive a receipt.
- If the charge fails, your membership enters a short grace period — see Failed Payments and Access Changes.
Pending checkouts that you start but don't complete expire after about 30 minutes.
Billing Cycles
Most memberships are billed monthly. Your billing day stays aligned to the day you first subscribed.
| Subscription date | Next billing date |
|---|---|
| 5 March | 5 April |
| 15 January | 15 February |
| 31 January | 28 February (end of month) |
If you subscribed on the 29th, 30th, or 31st, shorter months use the last day of the month.
If your creator offers prepaid durations (3, 6, or 12 months) you'll be charged the full prepaid amount once and renewed at the end of that period, not every month. See Membership Tiers for the available durations.
Free Tiers
Free tiers renew without payment. Your access date stays current, but no card is charged.
Cancellations
When you cancel a paid membership:
- Your membership status changes to Canceled.
- Your access continues until the end of the period you've already paid for.
- No further charges happen after cancellation.
- Once the paid period ends, your status changes to Ended and you lose access to that creator's gated content. Linked Discord roles for that tier are also removed.
You can cancel any time from My Activity > My Memberships in the Client Portal.
Updating Your Card
Update your card any time at Resources > My Profile > Payments so renewals keep working. We strongly recommend updating before your card expires — if a renewal fails, see Failed Payments and Access Changes.
Timing Notes
- Most successful charges confirm in under a minute.
- Some banks add delays or extra authorisation steps; in rare cases a charge takes longer.
- All amounts are in South African Rand (ZAR) — see South African Rand Pricing.