Making a Recurring Contribution#

Giving to Collectives on a regular basis means they have a more sustainable source of income and can plan projects and initiatives with more confidence.

You can set up recurring payments through the Open Collective platform.

Setting up a recurring payment#

Creating a regular payment to a Collective on Open Collective is easy.

Just go to their “Contribute To” page, and select a Monthly or Yearly option from the menu. Then confirm how much you want to give.

Screenshot of recurring contribution modal.

You will also be asked if you want to add a platform tip. This will be added to your amount each time a recurring payment is due. Platform tips are totally optional, but help us to make changes and updates to the Open Collective platform. Find out more on our Platform Tips page.

If your payment is processed with Stripe, your first payment will be made when you complete the transaction. After that, a monthly payment will be taken out of your account on the first of every month.

{% hint style="info" %}
To prevent you from being charged twice in a short time frame, if you contribute after the 15th of a given month, the next charge will not be the 1st of next month but the month after.

For example, if you set up your recurring contribution on January 20th, you will be charged again on March 1st, not February 1st.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
Due to the large number of recurring transactions, not all recurring transactions are processed exactly on the 1st, but they always happen within the first few days of the month.
{% endhint %}

If your payment is processed with PayPal, your first payment will be made when you complete the transaction. After that, a monthly payment will be taken out of your account on the same day each month.

Verifying your credit card#

You may be asked to verify your credit card when you set up a recurring payment. We do this to comply with banking regulations in selected countries.

Verification will involve confirming your payment using your phone, banking app or a dedicated device.

If your card requires verification, you will receive an email.

Screenshot of credit card verification email.

If you do not verify your card, we will not be able to process your payment. We will make a total of six attempts to email you, and if you do not respond your contribution will be canceled.

To verify your card, click on the button on the email, and sign into your Open Collective account.

A confirmation page from your bank should then appear.

If you are unable to verify your card, you should first make sure your browser is up-to-date and you have switched off ad-blockers.

It is also possible that your bank’s verification services are not working properly. If you are unable to find a solution, you can contact our support team.

Cancel or change your contributions#

If you wish to change or remove a recurring contribution:

1. Navigate to your Dashboard > Contributions.
2. Use the account switcher to select the account you are using to make the payments. (If you are giving from a Collective or Organization, you will also need to select the “From Name” subpage)
3. You should then be able to edit or cancel your recurring payments to the Collectives you support.

From an active recurring contribution, you can:

• Update payment method — change the card or PayPal account used for future charges
• Update contribution amount — change how much you give to the collective each period
• Update platform tip amount — change or remove your optional tip to Open Collective (see Platform Tips)
• Cancel — stop future payments

{% hint style="info" %}
Contributions using some payment methods (such as ACH and SEPA) do not support changes. If you wish to change a recurring contribution using these methods, please cancel and create a new one instead.
{% endhint %}