Automatic payments

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Automatic payments is a payment setting in Google Ads. Using this setting, you first accrue advertising costs, then have those costs automatically charged to your primary payment method.

If you use automatic payments, you will be charged for your advertising costs whenever your account reaches a predetermined amount known as your payment threshold and on the first day of the month.

You may be able to switch the payment setting for your account between Automatic to Manual payments, and vice versa, in your account’s 'Billing Settings'. The option to switch from Automatic to Manual payments is possible only in countries where the Manual payment option is available. If you are currently on Manual payments and this option is no longer available in your country, you can only switch to Automatic payments and you will not be able to switch back to Manual payments. Learn more about Manual payments option availability

To change your payment setting:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the the Billing icon , then select Settings.
2. Open the 'How you pay' section, then click open 'Alternative payment options' to view other options available to you.
3. Click Switch to manual and follow the steps in the pop-up window to confirm the change.

If you have more than one Google Ads account, this feature might not be available in all your accounts.

Payment threshold

When your ad serving costs reach a certain amount, known as the payment threshold, your payment method will be automatically charged for those costs. Your account’s payment threshold can be found in your 'Billing Summary' page and will be automatically raised if your costs reach this amount before the end of the monthly billing cycle.

• When your account costs reach the threshold before the month has ended, your threshold is raised. This may happen several times until your account reaches a final threshold. Threshold amounts depend on your account, country and currency. Threshold amounts can also be updated (lowered or increased) by Google for reasons separate from your account costs.
• The amount that you're charged may be slightly more than the threshold if your account accrues costs very quickly. You can be charged multiple times a month if your account reaches your billing threshold repeatedly over that time.
• You won't be emailed or notified when your payment threshold increases, but you can always find your current threshold by going to your 'Billing Summary' page. To see what your current threshold is, click the tool iconand under 'Billing', choose Summary. You’ll find your threshold amount in the 'Next automatic payment' card.

Based on the frequency of monthly charges, some customers may have an option to increase their payment threshold to a higher amount above the maximum amount that is set automatically. This setting will help users who have frequent monthly charges to be charged less frequently across a month, but at higher amounts.

To see if this option has been enabled in your account and to make changes to your threshold value, follow these steps:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the billing icon and then select Settings.
2. Open the 'How you pay' section, then click the Edit threshold link to view the recommended threshold amount and update your threshold limit.
3. To set your payment threshold at the recommended amount, click Use recommended amount, then click Save.
4. You can also set any other payment threshold amount up to a recommended value, then click Save.

Note: Some customers in the US may see their threshold being automatically increased from November 2022. This allows for fewer charges per month.

Customers can opt out from the feature and any future automatic threshold increases.

To opt out from the experiment:

1. ​In your Google Ads account, click the billing icon and then select Settings.
2. Open the 'How you pay' section, then click the Edit threshold link to update your threshold limit.
3. Select a different amount for your threshold or to opt out from any future automatic increases, select the box for 'Opt out of automatic threshold increases'.

Related links

• Understanding why you've been charged
• About payment settings in Google Ads
• Issues with charges