Virtual cards for Google Ads

Google Ads has up to three payment settings, and which ones you can choose depends on the billing country and currency. Postpay, formerly automatic payments, charges your payment method after your ads run: on the first day of each month, and whenever your costs reach the payment threshold. Prepay, formerly manual payments, means you pay before your ads run, and costs are taken from that payment until it is used up. Monthly invoicing is a line of credit for eligible businesses.

On postpay the threshold starts at a set amount and rises each time the account reaches it before the month ends, so charges get larger over time. The billing summary in your account shows your payments and what is due next.

Google's payment-method help says it does not accept prepaid cards for postpay. Prepay is not offered everywhere either: Google lists the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and Japan among the many countries where it isn't available, so accounts billed there pay by postpay.

Before you buy a card for a postpay account, use the BIN shown in the catalog to look up whether the range is classed as credit, debit or prepaid. Google also accepts one-time use virtual cards that carry an accepted network logo, and for a payment made in advance it asks you to add a little more than the payment, to cover a card verification.

You need the right access on the account, usually admin, to change payment details. For postpay, open Billing, go to the payment methods, add a credit or debit card and make it the primary payment method. For prepay, choose to make a payment from the billing summary and pay with the card. Either way, enter the number, expiry date and CVV from My cards, with the cardholder name and billing address exactly as they appear there.

Keep the payments profile itself accurate for you or your business. Google may check its name and address when it verifies the advertiser.

The currency of a Google Ads account is set when the account is created and cannot be changed, because it decides how you are billed. Billing in another currency needs a new account, and the country of a payments profile cannot be changed either.

For an account billed in US dollars, a USA Visa or Mastercard is the natural choice. For a prepay account in a local currency, a card issued in that country, such as the Indian Reloadable Visa Card, the Brazilian Reloadable Visa or the Turkish Premium Visa, can be the closer match. In the European Economic Area, the card issuer may ask for an extra authentication step when a card is added or charged.

A declined payment is usually the card issuer's decision, not Google's, and the billing summary shows the reason where one is available. Common reasons are too little available on the card, a limit below the charge, an expired card, a mistyped number or CVV, a card not enabled for online or international payments, and an authentication step that was not completed. My cards shows each card's details, not one-time codes, so if a payment asks for a code you cannot complete, use a different card.

Your ads can stop until the balance is paid. Fix the cause, retry the payment from the billing pages, and keep a backup payment method on file: Google charges it when the primary one is declined. Google may also ask you to confirm a card with a small temporary charge or with documents.

Give each Google Ads account its own card and keep a backup card on file. Google suspends accounts related to a suspended account, including accounts that use the same payment method, so never move a card from a suspended account to a new one, and never open new accounts to get around a suspension.

Google asks advertisers to complete advertiser verification, which checks the person or business behind an account. GetVCC may also ask for an identity check before you buy a card. GetVCC cards are for paying your own legitimate ad spend, never for getting around Google's policies, and Google decides which cards it accepts.