In this article, you'll learn how to add a backup payment method to your Google Ads account to help ensure your ads keep running smoothly, even if your primary payment method fails.
On this page
- Get started with backup payment methods
- Set up your backup payment method
- Best practices for payment method management
- Key considerations
Get started with backup payment methods
If you use automatic payments, you'll need to have one payment method that's designated as a primary. You can also add a backup credit card to your account, to serve as a safety net. If your primary payment method fails for any reason (such as, insufficient funds, an expired card, a declined transaction, or an "Account Closed" status), we'll automatically attempt to charge your costs to your backup payment method. This helps ensure your ads continue running without interruption.
If you're experiencing issues with your primary payment method, such as declines or errors, adding a backup payment method can prevent your ads from being paused. Learn how to Resolve a declined payment in Google Ads.
Set up your backup payment method
You can follow the steps below to add a backup payment method.
- Go to the Billing icon
and select Payment methods.
- Locate the payment method you want to set up as a backup.
- Select Set as backup. Or, you can choose Set as primary option as per your preference.
Set up your backup payment method
You can follow the steps below to add a backup payment method.
- Go to Settingsunder Billing
- In the Payment methods section, find the payment method you want to set as a backup.
- Open the Actions dropdown menu, then select Set as backup payment method.
If a backup payment method isn’t added, you’ll continue to notice an alert at the top of the page reminding you to do so.
Note: Only credit or debit cards (where available) can be used as backup payment methods, but not a bank account. You can only have one backup payment method at a time, even if there are multiple payment methods on file.
Best practices for payment method management
- Always ensure your backup card is valid and has available funds.
- Review your billing settings regularly to make sure everything is up to date.
Key considerations
- If both your primary and backup methods fail, your ads may stop running until a successful payment is made.
- Adding a backup method doesn’t affect your billing threshold or payment schedule, it only acts as a fallback.