Recurrence

Recurrence allows you to automatically charge a client at predefined intervals, without requiring a new payment action for each charge. This model is recommended for subscriptions, membership fees, service plans, and any product with recurring charges.

The Scheduled Recurrence feature is available in Checkout Cielo and Link de Pagamento, with different configuration and management options. With Scheduled Recurrence, the merchant only needs to define that a transaction should repeat, and Checkout executes it again at the configured interval.

Difference between recurring and installment transactions

Although both generate charges over time, recurring and installment transactions affect the card limit differently.

Criteria	Recurring transaction	Installment transaction
Limit commitment	Only the amount of the current charge	Total purchase amount
Limit release	After each charge is processed	As installments are paid
Examples	Subscriptions, monthly fees, service plans	Higher-value purchases paid in installments

Example of a recurring transaction: an insurance subscription of R$ 100.00 charged monthly for a year. In each cycle, only R$ 100.00 commits to the card limit.

Example of an installment transaction: a refrigerator worth R$ 2,000.00 paid in 10 installments of R$ 200.00. The total purchase amount commits to the card limit as soon as the transaction is approved.

Retries in recurring transactions

When a recurring charge is declined, the system automatically performs up to four retries, with a four-day interval between each attempt. These rules are fixed and cannot be changed by the merchant.

The retry occurs only when the response code is considered reversible by the card brand. Otherwise, no new attempt will be made.

⚠️
Excessive numbers of declined attempts may result in fines.
An excessive number of unauthorized attempts may incur fees. Card brands define their own rules and amounts for this type of occurrence. Refer to the Card Brands Retry Programs.

Recurrence in Checkout Cielo

In Checkout Cielo, recurrence is created through the API.

To create a recurring charge, include the Payment.RecurrentPayment node in the request. The recurrence is created only if the first transaction is authorized.

You can configure the interval between recurring transactions using the Payment.RecurrentPayment.Interval field and define the recurrence end date using Payment.RecurrentPayment.EndDate.

Recurrence in Link de Pagamento

In Link de Pagamento, recurrence can be configured in three ways:

via Cielo website: enable the Cobrança recorrente option when generating a Link de Pagamento.
via Cielo app: fill in the fields marked as required for recurrences.
via API: send the recurrent object in the request that creates a payment link, using the recurrent.interval and recurrent.enddate fields to configure the recurrence interval and define an end date.

Recurrence management

After creating a recurrence through Checkout Cielo or Link de Pagamento, you can monitor its status, update its information, or stop future charges when necessary:

Recurrence management operations are available through API and Cielo website:

via Cielo website: see Recurrence Report to monitor, update, or deactivate recurrences;
via API:

❗
Once a recurrence is deactivated, it cannot be reactivated. Make sure you want to perform this action before deactivating the recurrence.