How to Stop Recurring Charges on a Credit Card

To stop recurring charges on a credit card, cancel the subscription with the merchant first: in your account on its website or app, or in the App Store, Google Play or PayPal if that's where you signed up. Then contact your card issuer, tell them you've withdrawn permission for that merchant to charge your card, and ask them to block future charges. Check your next statements to confirm the charges stopped.

Doing both matters. Cancelling with the merchant ends the subscription. Telling your issuer gives you a backstop if the merchant keeps charging anyway.

Below is the full process, step by step, plus why a new card number often doesn't stop anything, how the rules differ in some countries, and what to do if charges keep coming.

Why recurring charges keep going#

When you give a merchant your card for a subscription, you're giving it permission to charge you again on a schedule. That permission sits with the merchant. Nothing on your side needs to happen for the next charge to go through.

That's why recurring charges are so easy to forget, and why they can survive things you'd expect to stop them:

• Deleting the app doesn't cancel a subscription.
• Not using the service doesn't cancel it either.
• A replacement card may be updated automatically for the merchant (more on that below).
• An expired card may cause a failed payment, but the subscription can still be active and owed.

So the only reliable fix is to end the permission at its source, and then use your card issuer as a safety net.

Step 1: Identify every recurring charge on your card#

Before you can stop a charge, you need to know exactly who's taking it.

1. Download or open your last three statements. Look for amounts that repeat on roughly the same day each month.
2. Check 12 months back for yearly charges such as software, cloud storage, memberships or annual app plans.
3. Write down the merchant name exactly as it appears. Statement names are often shortened or show a payment company instead of the brand.
4. Check where the charge really comes from. Charges marked as Apple, Google or PayPal mean the subscription is managed there, not on the brand's own site.

If a name doesn't ring a bell, what to do about an unknown subscription charge explains how to decode statement names.

Where each kind of charge is cancelled#

Menus change, so check the provider's help page if yours looks different.

Step 2: Cancel with the merchant#

This is the step that actually ends the subscription.

1. Sign in to your account on the merchant's website or app.
2. Find Account, Membership, Subscription, Billing or Plan.
3. Choose Cancel or turn off auto-renew.
4. Save the confirmation: screenshot the page or keep the email, and note the date access ends.

For subscriptions billed through Apple, you must cancel through Apple, even if the service also has a website. The steps are in how to cancel subscriptions on iPhone. For PayPal, cancelling the automatic payment in PayPal stops PayPal paying, but the service may still consider you subscribed, so cancel with the service too. How to stop recurring payments on PayPal has the details.

If you can't find a cancel option#

Some services make it hard. Try:

• The help or FAQ page, searching "cancel"
• The service's support chat or email
• A written cancellation by email, with your name, account email and a clear "please cancel my subscription and confirm"

For memberships with contracts, notice periods or in-person rules, read the cancellation section of your agreement and cancel in the way it requires, in writing where you can.

Step 3: Tell your card issuer you've withdrawn permission#

Once you've cancelled, contact your card issuer. Use the number on the back of your card, secure messaging in your banking app, or your issuer's website.

Say something like: "I've cancelled my subscription with [merchant] on [date] and I've withdrawn permission for them to charge this card. Please block any future recurring charges from them."

Then ask:

• Can you block future charges from this merchant? Many issuers can. Some apps also have a section for managing recurring or saved-card payments.
• What do I need to send? Some may ask for the cancellation confirmation.
• What happens if a charge still comes through? Ask how to dispute it.

What issuers can do, and how, varies between banks and countries. The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has noted that some credit card providers give customers the ability to block certain recurring payments, while also stressing that you should be able to cancel directly with the company charging you. Its general advice on automatic payments is the same two-step approach: tell the company you're withdrawing permission, and tell your bank or card provider too.

In the UK: continuous payment authorities#

In the UK, a recurring card payment is often called a continuous payment authority. The Financial Conduct Authority says that once you ask your card issuer to stop these payments, the issuer must stop them, even if you haven't contacted the business. You need to ask by the end of the business day before the next payment is due. Payments taken after that are unauthorised, and the issuer must refund them and any related charges. The FCA still suggests letting the business know where possible.

Other countries have their own rules. If you're unsure what applies to you, ask your issuer.

Why a new card number doesn't always stop charges#

A common shortcut is to report the card lost, get a new number and assume the charges will fail. Often they don't.

Visa and Mastercard both run services for merchants that store your card for regular billing: Visa Account Updater and Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater. When a participating issuer reissues a card, for example for an upgrade, a new expiry date or a lost or stolen card, these services can pass the updated number and expiry date to merchants that request them. The merchant's next recurring charge then goes to your new card.

Not every issuer or merchant takes part, so sometimes a new card does stop the charge. But you can't count on it, and even when the payment fails, the subscription isn't cancelled. Some services keep retrying, mark your account as overdue, or ask you for a new card. What happens to your subscriptions when your card changes goes into this in more detail.

Stopping payment isn't cancelling a contract#

If the charge is for something you agreed to for a fixed term, such as a phone contract, a gym with a minimum term, or a loan, blocking the card doesn't cancel what you owe. The CFPB makes the same point about automatic payments: cancelling the payment doesn't cancel the debt. The company can still pursue the money and add fees. Cancel the agreement properly, or pay another way.

A worked example: four charges, one afternoon#

Say your statement shows these recurring charges:

Total: $185.88 + $35.88 + $59.99 + $155.88 = $437.63 a year.

You keep the cloud storage and cancel the other three. You save $185.88 + $59.99 + $155.88 = $401.75 a year. If you'd gone the "new card" route instead and the updater service passed your new number along, you'd have saved nothing.

The prices are examples. The pattern of a few forgotten charges adding up to hundreds a year is common.

Step 4: Check your next statements#

Don't assume the charges stopped. Set two reminders:

• The day after each charge's usual date, to check it didn't go through.
• One cycle later, to check again. Some merchants have already processed the next charge by the time your cancellation lands.

If you cancelled a yearly plan, set the reminder for the yearly renewal date.

What to do if charges continue after you cancelled#

If a charge still appears:

1. Contact the merchant first. Send your cancellation confirmation, the charge date and amount, and ask for a refund and confirmation that no more charges will be taken.
2. If the charge came through Apple, request a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com (sign in → "I'd like to" → Request a refund). Apple decides each request, so a refund isn't guaranteed. More in how to get a refund for an App Store subscription.
3. If the merchant won't help, contact your card issuer. Explain that you cancelled, give the date you withdrew permission and show your proof. Ask about disputing the charge and blocking future ones.
4. If it looks like fraud (a charge you never signed up for), contact your issuer straight away. They may cancel the card and issue a new one, and help you dispute the charges.

Keep a record of every call and message: date, time, who you spoke to and what they said.

How to keep recurring charges under control#

A few habits stop the pile from growing back:

• Use one card for subscriptions. Every recurring charge is then on one statement, which makes reviews quick.
• Write down each subscription when you sign up: price, billing cycle, next charge date, and where to cancel.
• Use virtual card numbers if your issuer offers them. Some let you create a separate number per merchant, which you can lock. Treat this as a backstop, not a replacement for cancelling.
• Review your statement monthly, and every subscription quarterly.
• Get reminded before each charge, so you can cancel before the money goes, not after.

You can keep that list in a spreadsheet or your notes app. Monthlee is an iPhone app that keeps subscriptions and bills in one list without linking your bank or card; you add each one yourself and it reminds you on the day or 1, 2, 3 or 7 days before each charge. After a renewal, it asks whether the charge matched what you expected.

The bottom line#

To stop recurring charges on a credit card, cancel the subscription with the merchant, or in the App Store, Google Play or PayPal if that's where you signed up. Then tell your card issuer you've withdrawn permission and ask them to block future charges.

Don't rely on a new card number, because card updater services can carry your subscriptions over. Remember that stopping a payment doesn't cancel a contract. Check your next two statements, keep proof of every cancellation, and go back to the merchant, then your issuer, if anything slips through.