Can Shopify charge a customer’s card on file?

Can Shopify keep a customer’s card on file and charge it later?

Yes, for B2B customers. The customer vaults the card themselves, and Shopify keeps it on their company location. To charge it, open the order in the Shopify admin, click Collect payment, choose the card and click Charge. It needs Shopify Payments and a plan with B2B.

To charge a draft order, staff need the Draft orders > Charge vaulted card permission.

The catch for phone orders is the card you take yourself. You can key one in on a draft under Payment > Collect payment > Credit card (Shopify Payments only), but Shopify can’t vault it, so it won’t be there next week. Don’t write the number down either: a note becomes a card you’re keeping yourself. Keying a card in versus sending a link covers the risks.

Some older forum replies, such as this Shopify Community thread, say card on file is Plus only. That changed with Shopify’s April 2, 2026 changelog, which brought vaulted cards to non-Plus plans.

What are my options if Shopify can’t save a phone customer’s card?

Only with a B2B vaulted card can you charge the customer yourself next time. On the other routes the customer pays at checkout, or you key the card in each time.

Should I set up a regular as a B2B customer so I can charge their card?

Set up B2B for a business that orders on account, such as a trade buyer who restocks every week. For a person buying for themselves it’s usually more than you need: each customer becomes a company with a location, you must use new customer accounts, and B2B checkout drops Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Amazon Pay.

Pickup in store is also off by default for B2B, and the store owner has to contact Shopify Support to turn it on, which matters for a regular who collects. A vaulted card isn’t charged automatically, though a Shopify Flow workflow can do it. For the setup itself, see taking phone orders at a Shopify trade counter.

Does Shopify have Card on File like Square?

Not for every customer. As of October 2026, Square saves a card in its Customer Directory with the customer’s signed authorization, and staff charge it from the POS. On Shopify, that’s the B2B vaulted card above. Everyone else pays through a checkout link or has their card keyed in each time.

If you’re making the move, see switching from Square to Shopify POS at the counter and whether Shopify has a virtual terminal.

How do I take a repeat phone order without the customer’s card?

For a returning customer, open their last order in the Shopify admin and click Duplicate. Shopify creates a new draft with the same items and customer details. Change what’s different this week, then send the checkout link. The customer enters their own payment details on Shopify’s checkout.

For example, a deli customer orders the same platter every Friday. Each week:

1. In the Shopify admin, go to Orders, open their last order and click Duplicate. To start from a draft instead, go to Orders > Drafts, open it and click Duplicate. For other ways to bill an order that already exists, see how to send a payment link for an existing Shopify order.
2. Change quantities while they’re on the phone. Add any discount again, and choose shipping or Pickup in store and a location. Discounts and shipping rates aren’t duplicated.
3. Click Share > Copy link and send it, or send the invoice email, which links to checkout. To get the link to their phone, see sending a Shopify payment link by text.
4. Don’t mark the draft as Paid until the customer has actually paid.

Duplicate from the last order rather than keeping a “template” draft for each regular. Drafts created on or after April 1, 2025 are deleted after a year of inactivity, so a template can disappear. See why Shopify deletes old draft orders.

Can I charge a card my customer saved with Shop Pay?

No. Shop Pay saves a customer’s payment and shipping details for their own checkout on participating stores, so they don’t retype them. Only B2B customers can vault a card for staff to charge, and B2B checkout doesn’t offer Shop Pay at all.

On checkouts where Shop Pay is offered, a customer who enters only a phone number in the contact field isn’t prompted to save their details. Ask your regular to enter an email address at checkout, not just a phone number, so Shop Pay can offer to save their details for next time. If a customer won’t share an email, see Shopify draft orders without an email.

Can I send a checkout link from Shopify POS?

On POS Pro, More actions > Send cart emails the cart, or save it with Create draft order and email it from Load Drafts; taking phone orders without card details has the steps for both, and for texting a link.

Can I make a regular’s payment link from the Shopify POS cart?

Pay Link, from Countermade, turns the POS cart into a payment link. It shows staff the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping, so you can confirm it with the customer before you hang up. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, so staff never see or type card details.

Staff build this week’s order in the POS cart while the regular is on the phone, and make the link there. Tap twice by mistake and you still get one link, so there’s no second link to confuse your regular, and staff can see whether the link has been paid.

It needs Shopify POS Pro. Turn on local pickup at the store so a regular who collects can choose pickup at checkout.

Next step

Open your regular’s last order and click Duplicate.

Pay Link is from Countermade, the Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios. It isn’t on the Shopify App Store yet: join early access and we’ll email you when it’s ready to try.