Server-Side API Requests/
Subscription/
Create

Subscription: Create

See also the Subscription response object.

A subscription can be created using either a payment method token or - under certain conditions – a payment method nonce.

The payment method must be vaulted before you can associate it with a subscription, so it's usually simplest to refer to the payment method using its paymentMethodToken. Here's an example:
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "the_plan_id"
}, (err, result) => {
    // Handle the result
});
However, payment method tokens do not carry any 3D Secure data. If you use 3D Secure and need to apply 3DS to the first transaction of a new subscription, you must create the subscription using a 3DS-enriched payment method nonce. ;
Parameters
addOns

The collection of add-ons associated with a subscription. Add-on details can only be managed within the Control Panel.

addarray
Array of add-ons to add to the subscription.
amountString
Price of the add-on. This will override the inherited add-on amount.
inheritedFromIdString
Specify an add-on ID to apply to the subscription. You can't duplicate an add-on that is inherited from the plan, but you can update the quantity.
neverExpiresbool
Set a subscription's billing cycle to never expire instead of specifying a number of billing cycles.
numberOfBillingCyclesString
Number of billing cycles to apply the add-on. Must be greater than 0.
quantityNumber
How many of this add-on to apply to the subscription. The default is 1.
removearray
Array of add-on IDs that are inherited from the plan. IDs specified will be removed from the subscription.
updatearray
Array of add-ons that are inherited from the plan.
amountString
Price of the add-on. This will override the existing add-on amount.
existingIdString
Update a particular add-on by specifying the add-on ID.
neverExpiresbool
Set a subscription's billing cycle to never expire instead of specifying a number of billing cycles. This will override inherited plan details.
numberOfBillingCyclesNumber
Number of billing cycles to apply the add-on. This will override inherited plan details. Must be greater than 0.
quantityNumber
How many of this add-on to apply to the subscription. The default is 1.
billingDayOfMonthNumber
The value that specifies the day of the month that the gateway will charge the subscription on every billing cycle. The value of this field must be 1-28 or 31. A value of 31 tells the recurring billing engine to charge the subscription on the last day of the month, regardless of how many days are in the month. Passing a value with this field will override the plan's default settings. For dates 29 and 30, the date has to be set to 31, which will be default to the last day of the month, otherwise it returns a validation error.
descriptor

Dynamic descriptors are not enabled on all accounts by default. If you receive a validation error of 92203 or if your dynamic descriptors are not displaying as expected, please contact us.

Dynamic descriptors are sent on a per-transaction basis and define what will appear on your customers' credit card statements for a specific purchase. The clearer the description of your product, the less likely customers will issue chargebacks due to confusion or non-recognition.



See the dynamic descriptor example for additional information.

nameString

The value in the business name field of a customer's statement. The specific length/character requirements for this value depend on your processor. Contact us for assistance.

phoneString
The value in the phone number field of a customer's statement. Phone must be 10-14 characters and can only contain numbers, hyphens and parentheses.
urlString
The value in the URL/web address field of a customer's statement. The URL must be 13 characters or shorter.
discounts

A collection of discounts associated with this subscription. Discount details can only be managed within the Control Panel.

addarray
Array of discounts to add to the subscription.
amountString
Price of the discount. This will override the inherited discount amount.
inheritedFromIdString
Specify a discount ID to apply to the subscription. You can't duplicate a discount that is inherited from the plan, but you can update the quantity.
neverExpiresbool
Set a subscription's billing cycle to never expire instead of specifying a number of billing cycles.
numberOfBillingCyclesString
Number of billing cycles to apply the discount. Must be greater than 0.
quantityNumber
How many of this discount to apply to the subscription. The default is 1.
removearray
Array of discount IDs that are inherited from the plan. IDs specified will be removed from the subscription.
updatearray
Array of discounts that are inherited from the plan.
amountString
Price of the discount. This will override the existing discount amount.
existingIdString
Update a particular discount by specifying the discount ID.
neverExpiresbool
Set a subscription's billing cycle to never expire instead of specifying a number of billing cycles. This will override inherited plan details.
numberOfBillingCyclesNumber
Number of billing cycles to apply the discount. This will override inherited plan details. Must be greater than 0.
quantityNumber
How many of this discount to apply to the subscription. The default is 1.
firstBillingDateString
The day the subscription starts billing. The field can accept date objects and must be a future date. This will override default plan details. Dates will be interpreted as UTC dates.
idString
A string value representing a specific subscription in the Vault. Max 36 characters; must be unique within a merchant's Vault; valid characters are letters, numbers, - and _. If not specified on creation, the gateway will generate an alphanumeric ID that can be accessed on the result. The generated IDs will never start with a leading 0 and are case insensitive.
merchantAccountIdString

The merchant account ID used to create the subscription's transactions. Currency is also determined by merchant account ID and it must match the Plan's currency. See the Transaction merchantAccountId parameter for more information.

neverExpiresbool

When true, the subscription never expires.

numberOfBillingCyclesNumber
Number of billing cycles the subscription should last.
options
Optional values that can be passed with a request.
doNotInheritAddOnsOrDiscountsbool

When true, the plan's add-ons and discounts are ignored for this subscription.

paypal
PayPal-specific options.
descriptionString
The description of the transaction that is displayed to customers in email receipts from PayPal. 127 character maximum.
startImmediatelybool
This option overrides a plan's details and starts the subscription immediately.
paymentMethodNonceString

One-time-use reference to a payment method provided by your customer, such as a credit card or PayPal account.

A payment method must be vaulted before you can associate it with a subscription, so it's usually simplest to refer to the payment method using its paymentMethodToken. However, there are 2 cases where you can pass a payment method nonce instead of a payment method token:

  • If the nonce was generated by our Drop-in UI and you passed a customerId when generating the client token, or
  • If the nonce was generated from a vaulted payment method belonging to the customer that will own the subscription
paymentMethodTokenString

An alphanumeric value that references a specific payment method stored in your Vault. It is required when creating a subscription unless you pass a paymentMethodNonce instead, which can be done under certain circumstances.

planIdString
The plan identifier. Values can use only letters, numbers, -, and _. Plans must be created in the Control Panel.
priceString

The price specified for a subscription. Billing price must be formatted like 10 or 10.00. If you provide a price, it can't be an empty string and can't be greater than the maximum allowed by the processor (contact us for your specific limit). If you omit the price, the subscription will inherit the price from the plan.

trialDurationNumber

The trial timeframe specified in a plan. Specifying a trial duration via the API will override the subscription's plan details. It is required if trial period is set to true and must be 1-3 digits. If you specify a trial duration of 0, the gateway will start the subscription immediately and not consider it to include a trial period.

trialDurationUnitString
The trial unit specified in a plan. Specify day or month. Specifying a trial duration unit via the API will override the subscription's plan details.
trialPeriodbool
A value indicating whether a subscription should begin with a trial period. Specifying a trial period via the API will override the subscription's plan details.
;

ExamplesAnchorIcon

Specify merchant accountAnchorIcon

If you have multiple merchant accounts, you can pass the merchant account ID to specify which merchant account to use to process transactions for the subscription. If a merchant account ID is not passed, we'll use your default merchant account. If you would like to change which merchant account is default, contact us.
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "theToken",
    planId: "silverPlanGbp",
    merchantAccountId: "gbpAccount"
}, (err, result) => {
    // Handle the result
});

Create with 3D Secure enriched payment method nonceAnchorIcon

If you use 3D Secure and need to apply 3DS to the first transaction of a new subscription, you must create the subscription using a 3DS-enriched nonce. See 3D Secure for Recurring Transactions for details on how to properly obtain and use a 3DS-enriched nonce for subscription transactions. Once you've obtained a 3DS-enriched nonce, provide it on the subscription create call:
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodNonce: "nonce_from_the_client",
    planId: "the_plan_id",
}, (err, result) => {

});

Override plan detailsAnchorIcon

When creating the subscription, you can modify the default behavior in three ways:
  • Add-ons/discounts that would be inherited from the plan can be updated on the subscription.
  • Add-ons/discounts that would be inherited from the plan can be removed from the subscription.
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "thePlanId",
    addOns: {
        add: [
            {
                inheritedFromId: "addOnId1",
                amount: "20.00"
            },
            {
                inheritedFromId: "addOnId2",
                amount: "30.00"
            }
        ],
        update: [
            {
                existingId: "addOnId3",
                quantity: 2
            },
            {
                existingId: "addOnId4",
                quantity: 3
            }
        ],
        remove: [
            "addOnId5",
            "addOnId_6"
        ]
    },
    discounts: {
        add: [
            {
                inheritedFromId: "discountId1",
                amount: "7.00"
            }
        ],
        update: [
            {
                existingId: "discountId2",
                amount: "15.00"
            }
        ],
        remove: ["discountId3"]
    }
}, (err, result) => {

});
When adding add-ons/discounts to a subscription, all details will be inherited from the add-on/discount specified by the inheritedFromId. When updating add-ons/discounts, all details will be inherited from the add-on/discount specified by the existingId. You can override any of the following:
  • numberOfBillingCycles or neverExpires
  • quantity
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "thePlanId",
    addOns: {
        add: [
            {
                inheritedFromId: "addOnId1",
                amount: "20.00",
                numberOfBillingCycles: 2,
                quantity: 4
            }
        ],
        update: [
            {
                existingId: "addOnId2",
                amount: "15.00",
                neverExpires: true,
                quantity: 3
            }
        ]
    },
    discounts: {
        add: [
            {
                inheritedFromId: "discountId1",
                amount: "20.00",
                numberOfBillingCycles: 2,
                quantity: 4
            }
        ],
        update: [
            {
                existingId: "discountId2",
                amount: "15.00",
                neverExpires: true,
                quantity: 3
            }
        ]
    }
}, (err, result) => {

});

Override trial detailsAnchorIcon

  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "silverPlan",
    trialPeriod: true,
    trialDuration: 3,
    trialDurationUnit: "month",
}, (err, result) => {

});
  • Valid values for trialDurationUnit are day and month.
  • You can disable the trial period (if the plan has one) by passing trialPeriod as false.

Set start dateAnchorIcon

You can override the start date from the plan in three different ways:
  • Set billingDayOfMonth.
  • Set the option startImmediately, which overrides any plan start date and starts the subscription immediately.
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "silverPlan",
    billingDayOfMonth: 19,
}, (err, result) => {
    result.subscription.billingDayOfMonth; // 19
});
  1. Callback
  2. Promise
gateway.subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "silverPlan",
    options: {
        startImmediately: true
    },
}, (err, result) => {
    result.subscription.status; // "Active"
    result.subscription.transactions.length; // 1
});

Dynamic descriptorsAnchorIcon

  1. Callback
  2. Promise
subscription.create({
    paymentMethodToken: "the_token",
    planId: "planWithoutTrial",
    descriptor: {
        name: "company*my product",
        phone: "3125551212",
        url: "company.com"
    },
}, (err, result) => {
    result.subscription.descriptor.name; // "company#my product"
    result.subscription.descriptor.phone; // "3125551212"
    const transaction = result.subscription.transactions[0];
    transaction.descriptor.name; // "company*my production"
    transaction.descriptor.phone; // "3125551212"
});

See AlsoAnchorIcon