How can I charge a Stripe subscription and save the card for future use in one call?

Below is an explanation drawn from the Stripe documentation:

Saving a Card When Charging Immediately

When you create a subscription that requires an immediate charge (such as the first invoice) and also need to store the card for future payments, you have two main options:

1. Separate Flow:
   • First, use a SetupIntent (confirmed via ‛stripe.confirmCardSetup’) to collect the card information and attach the resulting PaymentMethod to the Customer.
   • Then, use a PaymentIntent (for example, the one on the subscription’s first invoice) to charge the customer.

2. Combined Flow with PaymentIntent:
   • Create the PaymentIntent with the parameter setup_future_usage set (for example, to "off_session"). This tells Stripe that the PaymentMethod collected during the payment should be saved for later use.
   • Then, call ‛stripe.confirmCardPayment’ on that PaymentIntent.

   When this PaymentIntent is confirmed (and if 3D Secure authentication is required, it’s completed successfully), Stripe will not only process the immediate payment but also save the card details to the Customer for future use.

Answer to Your Question

It is possible to attach and save the customer’s card details during the immediate payment confirmation—without a separate confirmCardSetup call—if you properly configure your PaymentIntent. In your case, if you are processing the subscription’s first charge using a PaymentIntent created with setup_future_usage, confirming that PaymentIntent (via ‛stripe.confirmCardPayment’) will charge the customer and save the card for future subscription payments.

Important Considerations

• 3D Secure Authentication:
  For regions or circumstances where 3DS is required, the 3DS authentication performed during the PaymentIntent confirmation will be sufficient to save the card details.

• Parameter Usage:
  Ensure that setup_future_usage is set appropriately when creating the PaymentIntent. This signals Stripe to save the PaymentMethod as part of the payment flow.

• Payment Method Types:
  Note that behavior can vary for different payment method types or if no Customer is provided initially. With a Customer provided, the resulting saved PaymentMethod will be attached automatically after a successful payment flow.

Example (Pseudo-code)

Below is a simplified example outlining the creation of a PaymentIntent (on your backend) that is meant for a subscription’s first charge and to save the card:

JAVACopied
Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<>();
params.put("amount", firstInvoiceAmount);
params.put("currency", "usd");
params.put("customer", customerId); // ensure you have the customer

// Set up to store the card for future use
params.put("setup_future_usage", "off_session");

// Create the PaymentIntent
PaymentIntent paymentIntent = PaymentIntent.create(params);

Then on the frontend, you confirm the payment with:

JAVASCRIPTCopied
stripe.confirmCardPayment(paymentIntent.client_secret, {
  payment_method: {
    card: cardElement,
    billing_details: { name: 'Customer Name' }
  }
}).then(function(result) {
  if (result.error) {
    // Handle error here
  } else {
    // Payment succeeded, card has been saved for future use
  }
});

Conclusion

Yes—you can achieve both an immediate charge and the association of card details with a subscription in one call by using a PaymentIntent configured with setup_future_usage. This eliminates the need for a separate confirmCardSetup call as long as your PaymentIntent is set up correctly and you meet any required authentication steps.

For more detailed information, refer to the Stripe documentation on PaymentIntents and SetupIntents.