How we protect your payment details
We never store your complete card details. Your card information goes over an encrypted connection straight to our payment processor, and payments are processed by certified payment gateways that keep your card number protected.
It's natural to think twice before saving a card. Here's what happens to your card details, in plain words, and how to update them.
How is my card protected?
Three things work together:
- An encrypted connection, straight to the processor. You type your card details into the payment processor's secure card fields, and they travel over a TLS-encrypted connection straight to the processor. They're scrambled on the way and never pass through our servers.
- Certified payment gateways. Payments are processed by certified PCI-DSS payment gateways. PCI-DSS is the card industry's security standard.
- Tokenization. The gateways use tokenization, which means a secure token stands in for your card number. We never store your complete card details.
Payment security, in our Security Center, follows your card from checkout to your last payment.
Why does checkout save my card?
Every payment plan needs a card on file, because your payments are charged automatically on their schedule. Your card on file is the debit or credit card saved for your payments.
That's why checkout asks for your card even when Defera Credit, the credit on your Defera account, covers everything due today. Your card is saved securely for your future payments, and it's charged $0 at booking when credit covers what's due. The "Due today" line on your checkout page shows what your card will be charged.
For example, if your Defera Credit covers your whole deposit, "Due today" shows $0. Your card isn't charged at booking, and it's saved for the payments that follow.
How do I update my card?
For security, a saved card can't be edited in place, so you can't change its CVC or expiration date on its own. Instead, Update Card takes your full card details in one secure flow and replaces the old card:
- Open your trip. Open Trips and tap your trip.
- Tap Update Card. It's in the trip's payment schedule, next to Make a Payment.
- Enter your card details and save. Enter the card number, expiration date, CVC and ZIP code. Your future payments use the new card automatically.
If an update doesn't go through, nothing changes on your plan: the card already on file keeps being charged on schedule.
There's no Payment Methods page on your Profile. Update Card, inside your trip, is the only place to change your card. Updating your card has more.
Which cards can I use?
We accept debit and credit cards. Prepaid cards, including gift and stored-value cards, aren't accepted on payment plans. What payment methods can I use? has the full list.
See a charge you don't recognize?
Start by checking it against your trip. A charge I don't recognize shows how. If something still looks wrong, chat with the Defera Concierge, our AI concierge, or email support@defera.app. Our email response time is 2–5 hours.