Automatic payments

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

How Automatic Payments Work

When you use automatic payments, you will be charged for your advertising costs:

• Whenever your account reaches a predetermined amount known as your payment threshold
• On the first day of the month

Switching Between Automatic and Manual Payments

You may be able to switch between Automatic and Manual payments in your account's Billing Settings. Note that the Manual payment option is only available in certain countries. If you are currently on Manual payments and this option is no longer available in your country, you will only be able to switch to Automatic payments.

Changing Your Payment Setting

To change your payment setting:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon , then select Settings.
2. Open the “How you pay” section, then click to 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.

Note: This feature might not be available in all Google Ads accounts.

Payment Threshold

Your payment threshold is the amount at which your payment method will be automatically charged for your advertising costs. Your threshold can be automatically raised if your costs reach this amount before the end of the monthly billing cycle.

• The amount 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. You can find your current threshold in your "Billing Summary" page.

Increasing Your Payment Threshold

Some customers may have an option to increase their payment threshold to a higher amount. This can help users with frequent monthly charges to be charged less often but at higher amounts.

To change your threshold value:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon , then select Settings.
2. Open the “How you pay“ section, then click Edit threshold link.
3. Set your payment threshold at the recommended amount or any other amount up to the recommended value.

Note:

• Some customers in the US may see their threshold being automatically increased to allow for fewer charges per month.
  • These customers can opt out of future automatic threshold increases. If applicable to you, follow these steps:
    • In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon , then select Settings.
    • Open the “How you pay“ section, then click Edit threshold.
    • Select a different amount for your threshold, or check the box for "Opt out of automatic threshold increases" in the future.

Related Links

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