Auto-recharge

Auto-recharge keeps your balance from running out while you're not watching. When the credit balance drops below a threshold you set, EcoLink charges your saved card for a fixed amount and credits the wallet. No emails to click, no manual top-ups in the middle of a training run.

This is the same flow as a manual Add credit, just initiated by EcoLink on your behalf when needed.

How it works

1. You set up the trigger: pick a low-balance threshold (e.g., $20) and a recharge amount (e.g., $50).
2. EcoLink watches your balance. When it drops below the threshold AND you have a saved card on file, a background worker fires off a charge to that card.
3. Stripe charges the card off-session — no SMS prompt, no 3DS challenge under normal conditions (the card was authenticated when you first saved it).
4. The wallet credits within a couple of seconds of the charge succeeding. Your work continues uninterrupted.

A Auto-recharge $50.00 row appears in the Transactions tab with type auto_recharge.

Configuring auto-recharge

On the Billing page, scroll to the Auto-recharge card.

Field	Meaning
Enable	The on/off toggle. Off means the worker never touches your card.
Threshold	When balance falls below this, recharge fires. Range: $0–$10,000.
Amount	How much to charge each time it fires. Range: $1–$1,000.
Payment method	Which saved card to charge. Required when enabling.

Click Save to apply.

Example settings:

• Threshold = $20, Amount = $50 — recharge $50 whenever the balance drops below $20. Good baseline for steady inference workloads.
• Threshold = $100, Amount = $200 — heavier workloads that should never get close to running out.
• Threshold = $5, Amount = $20 — tight budget, accept occasional brief depletion.

Prerequisites

To enable auto-recharge:

1. You must have at least one saved card on file. Do a $1 manual top-up first if you're starting fresh — that saves the card for future use.
2. Pick the card on the Auto-recharge form (drop-down lists every saved card on your account).

You can change the pinned card at any time; the previous one stays attached to your Stripe customer profile for use elsewhere.

When auto-recharge runs

The worker polls every minute. When your balance crosses below the threshold, the next poll triggers the charge — typically within 60 seconds. Concretely:

• Balance drops to $19.50 at 14:32:15 (threshold = $20)
• Worker polls at 14:33:00, sees balance < threshold, kicks off the charge
• Stripe processes the charge (usually under 2 seconds)
• Webhook lands, wallet credited
• New balance at ~14:33:02 = $19.50 + $50 = $69.50

There's a 5-minute cooldown between auto-recharge attempts on the same account. Without it, a one-time decline could spam your card with retries.

When auto-recharge fails

Cards can decline for many reasons. EcoLink distinguishes two failure classes:

Soft failures (auto-recharge stays enabled, retries next tick)

• Insufficient funds — your bank rejected the charge for balance reasons. Auto-recharge tries again at the next cooldown window (5 min).
• Generic decline — bank declined without a specific reason. Same retry behavior.
• Processor timeout — Stripe couldn't reach your bank in time. Retried.

In all soft-failure cases, the Auto-recharge card on the Billing page shows the last error message (e.g., insufficient_funds: Your card was declined.). The worker keeps trying every 5 minutes — fix the underlying issue and the next attempt should land.

Hard failures (auto-recharge gets disabled)

These mean the card cannot be charged off-session until the customer takes action. EcoLink disables auto-recharge immediately so the worker stops attempting:

• Card requires authentication (3DS) — your bank has flagged off-session charges for step-up. You'll need to do an on-session payment to re-authenticate.
• Expired card — replace it via Payment methods.
• Lost or stolen card — bank reported the card as no longer valid. Use a different card.
• Invalid card number / CVC / expiry — possible if the saved card data has drifted from the bank's record.

When auto-recharge gets disabled, you'll see a clear message on the Billing page explaining why. The fix is always: do a manual top-up with a working card (or replace the card via Payment methods), then re-enable auto-recharge on the Billing page.

Notifications

You won't get a notification for a successful auto-recharge — they're routine, and the Transactions ledger has the record. You WILL get a notification if:

• Auto-recharge fails (the Billing page shows the error; consider also wiring an alert if you depend on this for production workloads).
• The worker disables auto-recharge after a hard failure.

See Notifications for the full notification taxonomy.

Cancelling or pausing auto-recharge

• Temporarily pause: toggle Enable to off on the Billing page. Saved card stays attached; settings are preserved.
• Permanently disable: same — toggle off + leave it off. There's no separate "delete the config" action.
• Remove the card entirely: do that on the Payment methods page. EcoLink clears the payment_method_id pointer on auto-recharge automatically; the worker stops trying.

What auto-recharge doesn't change

Auto-recharge is purely a "don't run out of credit" safety net. It doesn't change:

• Your rate limits on the inference API
• Your resource caps (concurrent GPU instances, cloud drives)
• The per-token / per-hour prices you pay for what you use

If you want predictable upfront billing with bonus credit AND higher rate limits during the term, look at commit plans — pay 3, 6, or 12 months at a discount and get the bonus amount as extra wallet credit. Auto-recharge and commit plans coexist: if you spend faster than the commit credit covers, auto-recharge fires to keep you above your threshold.

Common questions

Can I have multiple cards on file but only auto-recharge from one?

Yes. Auto-recharge uses the pinned card (the one selected in the form). Other saved cards are available for manual top-ups but won't be touched automatically.

What if my card requires 3DS for every charge?

3DS-required cards can't be used for off-session charges by design (the standard requires the customer present). Auto-recharge will fail the first time and disable itself. Workarounds:

• Use a different card (some banks have less-strict 3DS rules for recurring merchants).
• Skip auto-recharge; rely on the low-balance warning notifications (which fire at 60 / 30 / 20 / 10 / 5 / 3 / 1 minutes of remaining runtime) and do manual top-ups.

How much does Stripe charge me on top of the recharge amount?

Stripe's processing fees are paid by EcoLink, not you. The amount you set as the recharge amount is exactly the amount that credits your wallet — no hidden subtraction.

Related

• Adding credit — manual top-up flow (you'll need to do this once to save a card)
• Payment methods — view, change, or remove saved cards
• Commit plans — pay 3, 6, or 12 months upfront and get bonus credit + higher rate limits during the term
• Notifications — what gets surfaced when balance / charges happen