# Continuous payment authority

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A **continuous payment authority** (**CPA**) is a type of regular automatic payment where an individual gives a vendor permission to take money from a [credit](/source/Credit_card) or [debit](/source/Debit_card) account whenever the vendor feels money is owed.[1] They are often used by [payday lenders](/source/Payday_loans), gym memberships, and [subscription](/source/Subscription) sites such as those for magazines.[1][2]

Continuous payment authorities should not be confused with [direct debit](/source/Direct_debit) arrangements or [standing orders](/source/Standing_order_(banking)). Often there is no written record of them, and the payer (whose credit or debit card the CPA is linked to) can cancel them by contacting the vendor or their [bank](/source/Bank).[3] Concerns have been raised about abuse of CPAs by companies to withdraw money from the accounts of unsuspecting customers, who often do not realise the [terms and conditions](/source/Contractual_term) associated with use of the service.[4][3]

## Cancellation rights

In the United Kingdom, a consumer can cancel a continuous payment authority by contacting either the business taking the payment or their card issuer. The Financial Conduct Authority states that, once a customer asks their card issuer to cancel a recurring card payment, the card issuer must stop the payments, even if the customer has not contacted the business first.[5]

The FCA’s consumer credit rules also provide that a firm must cease to exercise its rights under a continuous payment authority once it has been notified that the authority has been cancelled.[6]

## See also

- [Direct debit](/source/Direct_debit)
- [Standing order](/source/Standing_order_(banking))

## References

1. ["Continuous payment authority: manage recurring payments"](http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/recurring-payments). Moneysavingexpert.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.

1. ["Continuous payment authorities: it is your right to cancel"](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/continuous-payment-authorities-it-your-right-cancel). *FCA*. 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2023-03-04.

1. ["Spring Budget 2017: Crackdown on 'subscription traps' planned"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39167860). BBC News. 2017-03-04. Retrieved 2017-03-04.

1. ["Locked In: Consumer issues with subscription traps"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180725153911/https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/policy/policy-research-topics/consumer-policy-research/consumer-policy-research/locked-in-consumer-issues-with-subscription-traps/). Citizens Advice. 2017-03-04. Archived from [the original](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/policy/policy-research-topics/consumer-policy-research/consumer-policy-research/locked-in-consumer-issues-with-subscription-traps/) on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2017-03-04.

1. ["Recurring card payments"](https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/recurring-card-payments). *Financial Conduct Authority*. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

1. ["CONC 7.6 Exercise of continuous payment authority"](https://handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/CONC/7/6.html). *FCA Handbook*. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Continuous payment authority](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_payment_authority) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_payment_authority?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.