Start With Your Use Case
The fastest way through the docs is to start from what you’re trying to do, then pick how you’ll collect payment details (the channel), which determines what the customer can pay with (the method).
Use cases
| Use case | Channels | Methods |
|---|---|---|
| Take a one-off payment | Hosted · Embedded · Direct | Card · BECS |
| Save a payment method | Embedded · Direct | Card · BECS |
| Charge a saved payment method | Direct | Card · BECS |
| Recurring without a plan | Direct | Card · BECS |
| Recurring with a payment plan | Direct + Portal | Card · BECS |
| Virtual terminal | Embedded (internal) · Direct | Card · BECS (saved only) |
Why this order matters
The use case determines what must be captured at the moment of authorisation — customer identity, consent to future charges, mandate acceptance. Capture the right information up front and every later charge (recurring, saved-method, plan-generated) processes under the correct card-scheme and direct-debit rules automatically. See Stored Credentials & Recurring Charges for what ElasticPay handles for you.