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If you pay by card and your card is replaced — because it expired, was reissued, or was lost — your AutoPay can keep running without you entering the new details. Most people find this useful. Some are startled by it. Both reactions are reasonable, so here is exactly how it works.

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Where the new number comes from

You did not send it to us, and we did not guess it. Visa, Mastercard and Discover each run an account updater service. When your bank issues you a replacement card, the card network passes the new number and expiry date to businesses that already have a recurring payment set up with you. Utilities, subscriptions and lenders all use it. So the sequence is:
1

Your bank replaces your card

New number, new expiry, or both.
2

The card network updates its records

It links your old card to the new one.
3

Your next AutoPay payment uses the new card

If the update arrived, the saved payment method in uPortal360 shows the updated last four digits and expiry date. Check that page — it is how you tell whether the update reached us.

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Do not count on it

Automatic card updates do not always work. Treat them as a safety net, not as your payment.The update depends on your bank and your card network sending the new details, and on them arriving before your payment date. Any of that can fail, and we are not told in advance when it does. A payment that relies on an update that did not arrive is a missed payment.If you know your card was replaced, reissued, or had its number changed, update it yourself on the Payment Methods page — then check after your due date that the payment actually posted. See Managing payment methods and When payments post.
A card update is more likely to be missing when the replacement card has a new account number rather than a new expiry date, when the replacement comes from a different bank, or when your card was replaced close to your due date.
A missed AutoPay payment costs money. You may be charged a returned payment fee, and if you have a promotional offer, a missed payment can end the promotion early and make deferred interest payable. Do not leave that to an automatic update you cannot see.

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What this means for you

Your AutoPay does not stop when your card expires either. An expired card is not a reliable way to stop a payment — the update may well arrive and the payment may well be taken.So the caution runs both ways. Do not rely on an automatic update to make a payment happen, and do not rely on a lapsed card to make one stop. If you want a payment to happen, confirm it. If you want one to stop, opt out of AutoPay.
It also means the card shown on your account may not be the card you originally entered. If the last four digits on your Payment Methods page are not the ones you remember, this is usually why — not an error, and not someone else’s card.

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If you would rather it didn’t happen

You have three routes, depending on what you actually want:
Letting a card lapse will not reliably stop a payment. If you want a payment to stop, opt out of AutoPay — and do it at least three business days before your next scheduled payment date.

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What we store

Even with updates arriving automatically, your full card number is not kept in the portal. Only the last four digits are shown, and the security code is never stored. See How we protect your data.

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If you don’t recognize a card on your account

Contact us. If you believe a card was added that is not yours, say so when you call — that is handled differently from a routine query.

Contact us

Have your Account Number to hand.