Card Account Updater (CAU) Overview

What is Card Account Updater?

Card Account Updater (CAU) is a service from our payment processor, Fiserv, that automatically keeps the card details you have on file updated. When a customer's card is renewed, reissued, or replaced — for example, it expired, was lost or stolen, or the card number changed — CAU updates that card's information on file automatically, without you or your customer having to do anything.

If the bank reports that a card has been closed, CAU can't update it. Instead, ServiceCore marks the card inactive so you're not charging a card that would decline. See Why is a card inactive or labeled? below.

Why does it matter?

Recurring, scheduled and repeat payments fail most often because the card on file is out of date. CAU reduces those failures automatically, which means fewer declined payments, less time spent on collections for issues that were really just a stale card number all while getting paid quicker.

What does it cover?

• Cards are enrolled in CAU when they're saved, and stay enrolled while they're in use: added or charged in the last 90 days, set as the customer's default card, or on a recurring invoice. Other cards are paused and re-enrolled the night after they're used again. While a card is paused, bank changes aren't picked up, so the first charge on a long-unused card can still decline. Cards on AutoPay and default cards are never paused.
• Fiserv checks with the card networks every day, and ServiceCore applies any updates overnight. A change at the bank usually shows up in ServiceCore within a week.
• On average, about 3–5% of stored cards are updated in any given month. Most cards won't need an update at all in a typical month.
• Supported card brands: Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. American Express isn't supported.
• CAU is available for U.S. accounts that process cards through CardPointe. It isn't available for Canadian accounts, and cards saved through another processor aren't covered.

What does it cost?

• $10/month base fee
• $0.30 for each card that is actually updated
• Typical total impact: $10–$80/month, depending on how many of your stored cards get refreshed that month

How do I see what's been updated?

In ServiceCore: Go to Customers, open the customer, then go to the Payment Types tab (it opens on Credit/Debit Cards). Cards that CAU changed show a badge (or a refresh icon next to Exp. Date for a new expiration date). Hover over it to see the date. The page shows Active cards by default; click Filter and change Status to Inactive to see cards that were replaced, closed, or deactivated. See How can I tell which cards are updated? below for step-by-step instructions.

Active cards with CAU badges. Hover over a badge or the refresh icon next to Exp. Date to see when CAU made the change.

In CardPointe: Log in to CardPointe, then go to Reporting > Card Updates. This report shows which cards were updated and when, along with the count of declined transactions tied to out-of-date profiles — so you can see the impact directly.

Why is a card inactive or labeled?

Every night, ServiceCore checks with Fiserv for card updates reported by your customers' banks and applies them automatically overnight. Here's what each result means and what, if anything, you need to do:

Where did the old card go after an update? When a card number changes, the new card shows under Active with an Auto-updated badge, and the old card moves to Inactive with a Replaced by CAU badge and the old last four digits. Because they're in different views, you won't see them side by side.

Why do I see the same card twice? If the same card was saved twice on a customer, CAU updates each copy, so you'll see two identical Auto-updated cards under Active. You can deactivate the extra copy, but first check the customer's recurring invoices. If they use the copy you're deactivating, switch them to the other one.

Why is a card with a future expiration date inactive? A bank can close a card before it expires — for example, if it was reported lost or stolen, or the account was closed. The expiration date on file doesn't change that. If CAU marked the card Account closed, it would have declined the next time you charged it.

What should I do when a card is made inactive?

1. Check with your customer before re-adding the card. If a card is labeled Account closed or Account invalid, the bank has told us the card details on file can't be charged. Re-adding the same details will look like it saved, but the charge will decline, and CAU will move it back to Inactive — sometimes the next night, usually within a few days.
2. Collect a new card from your customer. Add it to their profile and set it as the default if needed — when CAU closes the default card, the default is left blank.

3. Update each recurring invoice. When CAU removes a closed card, it's also removed from any recurring invoices that used it. Those invoices are still created and sent on schedule, but they won't be charged, and nothing warns you. Billing doesn't fall back to the default card, so setting a new default isn't enough — choose the new card on each recurring invoice.

   

4. If your customer says their card is still active: Their bank may have sent them a replacement card before CAU picked up the update. Ask them to read the card number and expiration date from the card they're using now, and add it again. If the charge goes through, you're all set. If it declines, your customer will need to contact their bank or provide a different card. If they confirm the details are correct and it still declines, contact our support team.
5. Not sure what happened? Check the badge on the Payment Types tab and the customer's audit log (below) before contacting support. Most changes can be explained there.

Using the Audit Log to See What Changed a Card

• The audit log shows card changes on a customer's profile, including when a card was added, deactivated, or changed. To see it, your user role needs the Audit Logs permission — ask your account admin if you don't see it.
• CAU changes are made by an automated process, not a person, so they show "No User ID" instead of a name. An overnight "No User ID" change is CAU.
• In some cases, an automatic change (like clearing the default card) can show the name of the last person who edited the customer. That person didn't make the change.
• If a user's name appears on a card deactivation, that user deactivated the card — even if the card shows a CAU badge. The badge shows CAU's last change to the card, not who deactivated it.
• Changes can take 15–30 minutes to appear in the audit log. Times can also look a day off: CAU runs overnight, so some reports show the change on the following day.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Will my first month cost more than usual?

It might. The very first update run checks every eligible card — anything used in the last 90 days — since this is the first time CAU has run for your account. After that, you're only charged for cards that actually change, so update volume (and cost) typically drops and becomes more predictable after month one.

How can I calculate my expected cost? 

On average 3-5% of cards will update in a given month. Using this baseline you can calculate your expected cost based on how many unique cards you accept.

For example in the last 90 days if you accepted:

• 500 cards = 15-25 card updates = $14.50 - $17.50 expected cost (including monthly fee)
• 1000 cards = 30-50 card updates = $19 - $25 expected cost (including monthly fee)
• 5000 cards = 150-250 card updates = $55-$85 expected cost (including monthly fee)

Which card networks are supported? 

Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. American Express isn't supported, so Amex cards on file won't be updated automatically.

How does the Card Account Updater work? 

When a card is saved on file (or used for recurring billing), ServiceCore enrolls it in CAU. Every night, ServiceCore checks with Fiserv for any updates banks reported in the last 7 days and applies them automatically. An update can be a new card number, a new expiration date, a notice that the account was closed or the card is invalid, or a request to contact the card issuer. See Why is a card inactive or labeled? for what each one means.

Do we need to trigger updates before running billing ? 

No. Because cards are enrolled on a continuous lifecycle, their billing tokens are kept in a "persistently fresh" state. You can simply run your billing jobs normally; the system will automatically use the most up-to-date underlying credentials. If the bank reports a card as closed, it's removed from recurring invoices so you're not charging a card that will decline. Collect a new card from your customer and choose it on each recurring invoice.

Why was our account automatically enrolled in the Continuous Card Account Updater? 

We auto-enrolled all accounts that process cards through CardPointe and run recurring payments or store cards on file to immediately protect your revenue. Expired and reissued cards are the #1 cause of bad debt. By enabling this feature automatically, your saved customer cards are updated in the background with zero setup or code required on your end.

Can we opt out of auto-enrollment or disable this feature? 

Yes. While we strongly recommend keeping it active to prevent lost subscriptions, you can reach out to our payments team at servicecorepay@servicecore.com to discuss opting out.

Do we need to ask our end-customers for permission to auto-update their saved cards? 

Card network rules (Visa/Mastercard) permit automatic updates for active Card-on-File and recurring subscription agreements.

Will we or our customers be notified when a card is updated or made inactive?

No—and that is by design. The update happens silently in the background between their bank, the card networks, and our vault. Your customers enjoy an uninterrupted payment experience without needing to fill out manual update forms or respond to expired card emails.

ServiceCore doesn't send an email or notification. When you open a customer whose cards CAU changed in the last 30 days, a banner at the top of their Credit/Debit Cards page lets you know. You can close the banner on your computer; it comes back if there's a newer change. In the default Active view, the banner only shows for new or Contact issuer cards — for closed cards, change the Status filter to Inactive to see it. You can also check the CardPointe Card Updates report.

What if a customer calls our support team asking how we got their new credit card number?

You can inform them: "When your bank reissues a card, they securely share the updated details directly with card networks (Visa/Mastercard) to prevent service interruptions for your active subscriptions. We received this update automatically through your bank's secure network program."

Do we need to update our database when a card changes, or does the platform handle it?

Our platform handles the vault updates automatically. If only the expiration date changes, the same card is updated. If the card number changes, ServiceCore adds the new card and moves the old one to Inactive. Recurring invoices switch to the new card automatically, and if the old card was the default, the new card becomes the default.

How can I tell which cards are updated? 

1. Go to Customers and open the customer.
2. Go to the Payment Types tab. It opens on Credit/Debit Cards and shows Active cards by default.
3. Each card shows Active or Inactive. Cards CAU changed also show a badge (Auto-updated, Replaced by CAU, Account closed, Account invalid, or Contact issuer). Hover over the badge to see when it happened. An expiration-date update shows a refresh icon next to Exp. Date.
4. Click Filter and change Status to Inactive to see cards that were replaced, closed, or deactivated. (Click Clear to go back to Active.)
5. Compare the badge with the table in Why is a card inactive or labeled? to see what happened and what to do next.

Why did a card disappear from my customer's profile?

It most likely moved to Inactive. On Payment Types > Credit/Debit Cards, click Filter, change Status to Inactive, and check its badge. If it says Account closed or Account invalid, the bank closed it. If it says Replaced by CAU, CAU replaced it with a new card — but the badge shows CAU's last change, not who deactivated it, so check the audit log: if a person's name is on the deactivation, someone on your team did it. If there's no CAU badge, someone on your team deactivated it. If it says Contact issuer, someone on your team deactivated it. CAU leaves those cards active.

Why did my customer's default card change or go blank?

If the default AutoPay card was closed by the bank, CAU removes it as the default and leaves the default blank — choose a new default once you have a new card. If the default AutoPay card was replaced with a new card number, the new card becomes the default automatically. CAU never switches the default AutoPay card to a different existing card. Neither does deactivating it manually. Either way, the assignment is just cleared.

I added a card and it went inactive a few days later. Why?

If the bank had already closed the card, it may save to the profile but will decline when charged, and CAU will move it back to Inactive — sometimes the next night, usually within a few days. Ask your customer for a different card or to contact their bank. If it went inactive with no CAU badge, someone on your team deactivated it — check the audit log.