BETA does not migrate tokens or replace mandates. If you need tokens moved from Provider A → Provider B, follow your provider’s token-migration guide (this is a separate process). This article is only about shifting subscription handling to BETA.
Payment methods, and payment Tokens: Migration between Payment Providers
When moving from one payment provider to another, payment tokens are migrated entirely by the payment providers. BETA does not handle the migration itself.
Does: Transfer subscription management (scheduling, retry rules, billing logic) to BETA.
Doesn’t: Move payment tokens, bank details, or mandates — those stay with the payment provider unless you complete a tokens migration with them.
Risk: If the old provider still has active subscriptions when BETA starts billing, customers may be billed twice.
A payment token is a secure reference to a customer’s payment method (like a card or bank account) that allows payments to be processed without storing sensitive card or bank details directly. Tokens are specific to each payment provider and cannot be transferred manually, they must be migrated between providers.
For example, ACH (Automated Clearing House) is a type of bank transfer used in the US.
A mandate is the customer’s authorisation for a provider (e.g., GoCardless) to collect payments from their bank account. Mandates remain with the payment provider unless explicitly migrated by that provider.
Different providers support different payment types - check with your payment provider to find about what is supported.
A subscription controls when and how often a customer is billed.
It defines:
The billing amount
The billing frequency (e.g. monthly, yearly)
The next billing date
Retry logic and billing cycle rules
In short:
A subscription is the billing schedule and logic.
Run final billing on your current provider.
Process the last scheduled collection so nothing is left outstanding on their side.
Export subscription & payments reports from your current provider (and from BETA if already populated). Keep these for reconciliation.
Decide a switch date (single date or short date range) when control will move to BETA.
Request a silent cancellation from your provider (see GoCardless section below).
This cancels subscriptions on their platform without sending customer emails.
Confirm cancellations are complete (and that no future recurring collections remain scheduled on the old provider for your customers).
Enable BETA-managed subscriptions and verify billing settings (billing anchor, price links, retry schedule).
Run a small test (1–5 accounts) to confirm BETA charges work as expected.
Monitor the first cycle closely and reconcile with your exported reports.
If you use GoCardless, you must request a silent cancellation of subscriptions after your final billing.
Why: Silent cancellation prevents customer-facing cancellation emails from GoCardless that would confuse members.
How: Submit the silent cancellation form to GoCardless:
https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new?ticket_form_id=1900000625334
or email: help@gocardless.com (they prefer the form).
In the form: specify the date or date range for cancellation and confirm you want merchant-level silent cancellation.
Important: GoCardless will not recreate recurring payments on your behalf. After silent cancellation, BETA must be used to recreate/manage recurring billing.
To migrate your GoCardless subscribers, the BETA team needs a CSV file that maps each of your members to their GoCardless Customer ID.
Your CSV should include the following columns:
First name
Surname
Date of birth
Email address
GoCardless Customer ID (format: CU#########)
To migrate your subscribers, the BETA team needs a CSV file that maps each of your members to their unique Customer ID within your subscription platform.
Your CSV should include the following columns:
First name
Surname
Date of birth
Email address
Customer ID (as it appears in your subscription platform)
Subscriptions on GoCardless will be cancelled at merchant level. Customers should not receive cancellation emails.
Payments that were already created before the cancellation will still be processed by GoCardless.
Why silent cancel?
Silent cancel prevents customers receiving automated emails from the old provider, avoiding confusion while you migrate billing to BETA.
Who manages mandates after migration?
Mandates remain with the payment provider (e.g., GoCardless) unless you arrange token/mandate migration with that provider.
Will customers be charged twice?
A — Only if an old subscription remains active when BETA starts billing. Follow the checklist: run final billing, request silent cancellation, confirm, then enable BETA billing.
What if my provider is not GoCardless?
Ask your provider for a merchant-level cancellation or token migration option. The mechanics differ by provider — contact their support and request silent/merchant-level cancellation where possible.
