How do I move my subscribers to a new platform without losing them?
By Stefan Pretty, founder and CEO of SubblyUpdated · 4 min read
The short answer
Move the saved cards, not just the customer list. If the cards are in your own Stripe, Braintree or PayPal account, your provider can transfer them and renewals carry on with no action from subscribers. If the old platform keeps the cards, each subscriber has to add theirs again, so make it one step and ask well before their next renewal. Either way, run the new platform alongside the old one, stop old billing before new billing starts, and tell subscribers what's changing.
The steps, in order
- Find out where the cards are. In your own payment account, or kept by the platform? Who keeps my customers' saved cards? covers the common platforms.
- Set up the new store first. Send new sign-ups there while the old platform keeps billing existing subscribers.
- Freeze changes on the old platform. Turn off new sign-ups and subscriber self-service, so nobody changes a plan or card mid-move.
- Export everything. Customers, subscriptions, next charge dates, prepaid orders and the payment token IDs that point to each card.
- Ask your payment provider to transfer the cards. The account owner usually has to request it. The cards go encrypted to the new processor, which sends back a file matching old IDs to new ones.
- Recreate each subscription with its next billing date, so subscribers are charged when they expect, not on the day you move.
- Stop the old billing. Cancel old subscriptions before they charge, and confirm your old provider has stopped all automatic billing.
- Tell subscribers, then watch the first renewals. Check failed payments closely in the first cycle.
How long does moving the cards take?
| Move | How long | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Your old processor sends the data | A few days to several weeks | It depends on the processor; you request it as the account owner |
| Stripe imports it | Usually within 10 business days | Counted from when Stripe has all the data it needs |
| Changing processors inside Recharge | 7 to 14 business days | Existing subscribers can't be charged or refunded during the transfer |
| PayPal's card vault transfer | 1 to 2 weeks | Free, after PayPal checks the receiving processor |
| Waiting for subscribers to update cards | Months or longer | Shopify's name for this is a slow drip |
Plan next charge dates around the transfer: Recharge, for example, suggests keeping them at least three days after your migration date, and letting the old system take any charge that falls before it.
What if the cards can't move?
Then each subscriber adds their card again, and how many do it depends on how easy you make it and how early you ask. A few things help:
- Send the request well before their next renewal, and say the subscription is still active.
- Explain in one line what changed, what they need to do and by when.
- Make it one step: a direct link to add a card, without logging in or going through checkout again.
- Use more than email. Stripe suggests text messages or in-app notices too, and notes that asking customers to re-enter their details can rebuild trust with them and with card issuers.
- Keep the old platform billing anyone who hasn't moved yet, so you don't lose a renewal while you wait.
How do I avoid double billing or missed renewals?
- Make sure only one system can collect each renewal. Shopify recommends pausing billing on the old system while you migrate, and Stripe says to cancel old subscriptions before they charge.
- If a renewal is due soon, start the new subscription after the old system's last charge.
- Keep your old payment account open and connected until the move is complete. Stripe warns that card updates made with the old processor after the transfer are lost, and Recharge recommends keeping the old processor connected so cards that fail to import can still be charged.
- Keep your statement name the same if you can. A new name on a statement can cause card issuers to decline renewals, or confuse subscribers into disputing them.
Do I need to tell my subscribers?
Yes, and it's on you. Platforms don't do it for you: Recharge, for example, says it doesn't send customers any migration notices. Tell subscribers before the move what's changing, whether they need to do anything, and the name they'll see on their statement. After the move, send a short note confirming their next delivery and charge date.
On Subbly
Moving to Subbly
Subbly's migration team moves your store for free: products, customers and active subscriptions with their billing schedules, plus saved cards wherever your payment data allows. Your current store keeps taking orders until you choose to go live. Past orders don't come across, so export your order history before you close your old account.
If your old platform won't release the cards, Subscription Switch emails each subscriber a personal link to add their card in one step, with no login or checkout, and has brought back up to 84% of subscribers within 11 days.
