We’ve improved Calendar Payments to clearly separate collecting a card on file from bookings where no payment is required.
What’s changing?
Previously, businesses could configure a $0 payment amount when they wanted to collect a customer’s card details without charging them.
This created an unintended experience: if a booking became free - for example, after applying a 100% discount coupon - customers could still be asked to enter their card details and a $0 transaction could be processed.
We’re separating these two use cases with a dedicated “Collect Card on File” option in Calendar Payment settings.
Collect Card on File
When Collect Card on File is enabled
- Customers will be asked to provide their card details during booking
- Their card will be securely saved for future use
- They will not be charged while booking the appointment
- No payment transaction will be created during booking
This gives businesses an explicit way to collect a card without requiring an upfront payment.
0 and free bookings
When Charge upfront is enabled, payment collection will now depend on the final amount due.
- Final amount > $0 → Collect payment details and process the payment normally
- Configured amount = $0 → Skip card collection and payment entirely
- Coupon reduces the amount to $0 → Skip card collection and payment entirely
- Coupon leaves an amount > $0 → Collect the discounted amount normally
This means customers making a genuinely free booking will no longer be asked for unnecessary payment details or go through a $0 transaction.
