How can I add and charge a customer's card on file for manual orders?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

Merchants are requesting the ability to save customer credit cards on file and charge them for manually created orders in Shopify, particularly for B2B transactions with variable order amounts. This functionality exists in competing platforms like Square and QuickBooks but is not natively available in Shopify.

Current Limitations:

  • Shopify only supports card-on-file through subscriptions or installment payment options
  • Draft orders require customers to complete checkout themselves via invoice
  • Shop Pay stores customer payment info, but customers must authorize each new charge
  • The “Charge vaulted card” staff permission only applies to pre-orders or try-before-you-buy products

Workarounds Mentioned:

  • Processing payments through external systems (Square, QuickBooks, Authorize.net) alongside Shopify for inventory/sales tracking
  • Using Shopify Plus with New Customer Accounts to save cards on the front end for B2B company locations
  • Third-party solution: Easy Pie Checkout (Stripe-powered) with future payment features

Status:
Multiple feature requests have been submitted since 2022, but Shopify staff cannot provide updates on implementation. The lack of this feature is causing frustration among merchants, with some reconsidering their platform choice. Several businesses note this is a dealbreaker for B2B operations where customers expect to authorize charges over phone without re-entering card details.

Summarized with AI on October 29. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
20

Hi Sophia,

Cards on file for non subscription transactions and orders are a key service element for our business. We often have a customers card details stored and when they call us, we create a new order and charge it to their account. This happens with a phone conversation and authorization and permission to do so. These are usually high value, loyal customers. The inability to have their card on file means that every time they call in to our high service business model, they need to re give their card details to us. This they do not like at all.

Are there any apps or functionality in shopify that allow for this?

If not, please add me to the list of people wanting this request.

Kind regards,

Billy

4 Likes