Card on File (CoF): your guarantee for split payment bookings

What is Card on File?

When a player creates online a split-payment booking, they save a card as a payment guarantee. If other players haven't paid their share 2 hours after the match ends, Playtomic automatically charges the booking owner's saved card for the remaining amount — protecting the club from unpaid bookings.

How it works, step by step

1. Booking created: The booking owner creates a split payment booking online, saves a card, and pays only their share.

2. Other players pay: Before match start or up to 2h after it ends

3. Auto-charge (if needed): If there’s still an outstanding amount after the 2-hour window, Playtomic attempts to automatically charge the booking owner’s saved card.

Key rules

Booking owner requirements

• A saved card (CoF) is required to create a split-payment booking. Without one, the player must pay the full amount upfront.
• The booking owner pays only their share at the time of booking — not the full amount.
• If the booking owner pays their share using the club wallet, they must still have a card on file saved as a guarantee for any unpaid shares.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported and count as a CoF guarantee.
• The booking owner cannot remove their card on file while they have an upcoming split-payment booking.

Payment window for other players

Other players can pay at any of these times:

✅ Before match start

✅ Up to 2 hours after match ends

❌ After auto-charge is triggered

What happens after the 2-hour window

• If there's still an unpaid amount, Playtomic automatically attempts to charge the booking owner's card.
• If the charge succeeds: the booking is fully paid and other players can no longer pay their share.
• If the charge fails (expired card, insufficient funds, declined authentication): Playtomic won’t retry the charge. The outstanding amount remains unpaid, and the club will need to follow up and collect the payment directly.

❗The club does not initiate any charge: all automatic charges are handled by Playtomic's system based on the rules above.

FAQ

• Can a club charge the booking owner directly? 
  Generally, no. Clubs do not initiate charges. The auto-charge is managed entirely by Playtomic's system based on the rules described above. 
  The one exception is CIT (Club-Initiated Transaction), which allows US clubs to manually trigger a charge on a player's saved card. This feature is not yet available in other markets.

   

• Can players pay after the 2-hour window closes? 
  No. Players can only pay before the match starts or within the 2-hour window after the match ends. Once the automatic charge has been triggered and succeeds, other players can no longer pay their share.

   

• Is full payment 100% guaranteed with CoF? 
  Not 100%, but CoF significantly improves the recovery rate. The automatic charge can still fail — for example, if the saved card has expired, has insufficient funds, or the booking owner declines authentication. If that happens, the outstanding amount remains unpaid and the club is responsible for collecting it directly.

   

• What if the booking owner wants to pay with the club wallet? 
  They can still use the club wallet for their own share, but they must also have a card on file saved as a guarantee for any unpaid shares from other players. Without a saved card, they'll need to pay the full booking amount upfront using single payment.

   

• Can the booking owner delete their saved card? 
  Not while they have at least one upcoming split-payment booking. The card on file must remain active as a guarantee until all upcoming bookings have been completed.

   

• Do Apple Pay and Google Pay work as a Card on File? 
  Yes. Players can use Apple Pay or Google Pay to pay for split-payment bookings, and these will function as a Card on File guarantee, covering any unpaid shares from other players if the automatic charge is triggered.

   

• What should the club do if the automatic charge fails? 
  If the charge fails, the outstanding amount remains unpaid. The club is responsible for following up with the players to recover the remaining payment. Playtomic will not retry the charge automatically.