> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payment methods

> Credit card, entered at checkout. Rivet never sees your card details.

Rivet uses **Stripe** for every payment. When you activate your
subscription, you land on a Stripe-hosted checkout page where you
enter your card. The card details go straight to Stripe — Rivet's
servers never see them, store them, or process them.

## What we accept

Cards accepted at checkout:

* **Visa, Mastercard, American Express** — credit and debit.
* **Discover.**
* **Apple Pay and Google Pay** — if you're paying from a device that
  supports them. The checkout page detects this and offers the option
  automatically.

We don't currently accept:

* **PayPal.**
* **Interac e-Transfer.**
* **ACH / EFT direct from a bank account.** Not currently enabled —
  monthly card billing hasn't created enough demand to justify the
  extra reconciliation work.
* **Cheques. Wire transfers. Crypto.** Not for a monthly \$65
  subscription.

If your only viable payment method is something not on the supported
list — say, your practice is set up to pay vendors by EFT only —
email us. We can usually arrange annual upfront billing by invoice
in those cases.

## How checkout works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tap Activate my account">
    From the trial-warning modal, the trial-ended blocker, or anywhere
    else Rivet surfaces the subscription link.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Land on the checkout page">
    URL starts with `buy.stripe.com` — that's how you know you're
    on the payment provider's domain, not a phishing imitation. The
    page shows Rivet's branding (logo + product name + price) but
    the form is hosted by our payment provider.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your card details and billing address">
    The billing address fields are required — your province determines
    the right sales tax.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap Subscribe">
    A $1 charge verifies the card (refunded immediately) and sets up
            the monthly recurring billing. The first real charge for
            $65 + sales tax runs the same day.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Redirect back to Rivet">
    You're sent back to your inbox. The trial blocker is gone;
    your account is active.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The whole flow is about 60 seconds.

## What Rivet stores vs what the payment provider stores

A clean line:

| What the payment provider stores             | What Rivet stores                          |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Your full card number                        | Your customer ID                           |
| Your card expiration and CVV                 | Your subscription ID                       |
| Your billing address                         | Whether your account is active or in trial |
| Every charge, refund, and dispute            | Nothing about charges or invoices          |
| Your invoice history (7 years per CRA rules) | Nothing about invoice history              |

This is the entire reason we use a dedicated payment processor: it's
built specifically to hold card data safely and independently audited
for security. Rivet, by holding only a reference ID, never has to take
on that liability.

## Changing your card

Your **billing portal** handles this — a separate URL included in
every invoice email. Open the most recent invoice email, scroll to
the bottom, click "Manage your subscription." From there you can:

* Update your card.
* Update your billing address.
* View past invoices.
* Cancel your subscription.

Rivet doesn't have a "Change card" tab in the app. Your billing portal
is the right place for this — it handles card details so Rivet never
has to.

If you can't find the invoice email, see
[Invoices and receipts](/billing/invoices-and-receipts) for how to
retrieve a fresh customer portal link.

## A note on security

Rivet's database has no card numbers in it, has never had card
numbers in it, and isn't designed to ever hold card numbers. If
someone accessed Rivet's database, they couldn't take your card —
because it's not there.

The same is true for your clients' data: Rivet doesn't bill your
clients on your behalf, doesn't take payments from them, doesn't
hold their cards. Your clients pay you directly through whatever
method you already use (Jane, e-Transfer, cheque, etc.) —
Rivet stays out of the practitioner↔client payment relationship.

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Invoices and receipts" icon="receipt" href="/billing/invoices-and-receipts">
    Where to find every invoice.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Failed payments" icon="circle-exclamation" href="/billing/failed-payments">
    What happens if your card declines, and when it matters.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>