Draft — legal review required before publication.

Payment processing and stored payment methods

Document type: Customer-facing payment information
Version: 0.3 draft
Trader: Converging Realities Ltd (Academbee)
Scope: Paid annual subscriptions, card payments, stored payment methods and automatic renewals
Last updated: June 2026

Legal review required before publication. This document explains how payments and stored payment methods work on Academbee. It should be read together with the Subscription and auto-renewal terms, Cancellation and no-refund policy, Privacy policy, and Personal data in billing (GDPR).


1. Summary

Academbee uses Stripe to process card payments and manage stored payment methods for annual subscription renewals.

In summary:

Topic What this means
Full card number Academbee does not store your full card number.
CVV / CVC Academbee does not store your CVV/CVC.
Payment processor Payments are processed by Stripe.
Stored payment method Stripe stores your payment method so your annual subscription can renew automatically.
Card updates You update your payment method only through the secure Billing page using Stripe-hosted payment fields.
Renewal Your default payment method is charged on each annual renewal date unless you cancel before renewal.
Failed payment A 7-day grace period applies, then your account moves to the free-tier in-app experience and your public profile is delisted.
Support/admin tools Academbee support and admin users cannot view, collect, or manually enter your full card details.

Do not send card numbers, CVV/CVC, or other full payment credentials to Academbee by email, chat, contact form, message, or support request.


2. Payment service provider

Academbee uses Stripe as its payment service provider.

Depending on your location, payment method, and the applicable Stripe services, payments may be processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., Stripe Technology Europe, Ltd., or another applicable Stripe entity.

Stripe may process personal data and payment data as described in Stripe’s own privacy materials. Academbee’s own billing-related personal data practices are described in our Personal data in billing (GDPR) document and our Privacy policy.


3. Strong Customer Authentication and payment security

For customers in the European Economic Area and other applicable regions, card payments may be subject to Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) under PSD2 or similar payment security rules.

This means your bank or card issuer may require additional authentication, such as:

  • confirmation in your banking app;
  • a one-time passcode;
  • 3D Secure authentication;
  • biometric confirmation, where supported by your bank or device.

Stripe applies SCA, 3D Secure, exemptions, and authentication flows where required or requested by your bank/card issuer.

Authentication may be requested when:

  • you first subscribe;
  • you update or save a payment method;
  • a renewal payment requires additional confirmation;
  • your card issuer decides that extra verification is required.

Some renewals may be processed as merchant-initiated transactions using a previously saved payment method. In those cases, additional authentication may not always be required, but your bank/card issuer may still request it.


4. What Academbee stores and what Stripe stores

Academbee does not store full card details. We receive limited billing information from Stripe so that we can manage your subscription, invoices, account status, failed payments, and renewal notices.

Data Academbee Stripe
Full card number No Processed/stored by Stripe where required for payment services
CVV / CVC No Not stored after authorisation
Card brand May display/store limited metadata Yes
Last 4 digits May display/store limited metadata Yes
Expiry month/year May display/store limited metadata Yes
Stripe Customer ID Yes Yes
Stripe Subscription ID Yes Yes
Stripe Payment Method ID Yes, as an identifier only Yes
Stripe Invoice ID Yes Yes
Invoice amount, currency, VAT/tax details Yes Yes
Payment status Yes Yes
Chargeback/dispute status, where applicable Yes Yes
Full card credentials in support/admin tools No Not available to Academbee

Academbee may use Stripe APIs to show limited card metadata such as the card brand, last four digits, and expiry date. This is shown so you can recognise your saved payment method. It is not the same as storing or displaying your full card number.


5. First subscription payment

When you subscribe to a paid Academbee plan, you will be asked to provide payment details through Stripe’s secure payment interface.

Your first payment may include:

  • the annual subscription price;
  • applicable VAT or taxes;
  • any displayed promotion or discount;
  • any prorated amount, where applicable to an upgrade.

Before payment, the checkout or billing screen should show the applicable amount, plan, billing period, and renewal information.

Once the payment succeeds, Stripe confirms the payment to Academbee and Academbee activates the paid subscription features for the relevant plan.


6. Saving a payment method

When you buy an annual subscription, your payment method is saved with Stripe for future annual renewals.

By completing checkout, you authorise Stripe and Academbee to use the saved payment method for:

  • the initial subscription payment;
  • future annual renewal payments;
  • payment retries after a failed renewal payment;
  • charges connected with plan changes, upgrades, or other paid subscription changes that you confirm.

Academbee does not save your full card details in its own database.


7. Automatic annual renewal

Paid Academbee plans renew annually unless cancelled before the renewal date.

Unless you cancel in time, Academbee will attempt to charge your default payment method on the annual renewal date.

Renewal reminders are sent:

  • approximately 30 days before renewal;
  • approximately 14 days before renewal;
  • with an in-app account notice after the 14-day reminder.

The exact delivery of emails may depend on email deliverability, spam filtering, your email settings, and whether your account email address is valid and active. You remain responsible for managing your subscription before the renewal date.

The Subscription and auto-renewal terms control the renewal process, cancellation timing, access after cancellation, and any no-refund rules.


8. Updating your payment method

You can update your payment method from:

Billing & subscription → Update payment method

Academbee uses Stripe’s secure payment interface, such as Stripe Payment Element and Setup Intent flows, to collect and save the new payment method.

When you update your payment method:

  • card details are entered into Stripe-hosted secure fields;
  • full card details do not pass through Academbee servers for storage;
  • Stripe validates and saves the new payment method;
  • Stripe may ask for authentication if required by your bank/card issuer;
  • the new payment method may become your default payment method for future renewals.

Academbee support cannot update your card manually and will not ask you to provide full card details by email, chat, phone, or support request.


9. Expired, replaced, or unavailable cards

Your card may expire, be replaced, be blocked, be reported lost or stolen, or otherwise become unavailable.

Where supported by Stripe, card networks, or your card issuer, card details may be updated automatically. Academbee cannot guarantee that automatic card updates will happen.

You are responsible for keeping a valid payment method on file if you want your paid subscription to continue without interruption.


10. Failed payments

A payment may fail for reasons including:

  • expired card;
  • insufficient funds;
  • bank/card issuer decline;
  • failed SCA/3D Secure authentication;
  • suspected fraud;
  • blocked transaction;
  • technical error;
  • unavailable payment method.

If a renewal payment fails:

  1. Academbee may retry the payment.
  2. You may receive email and/or in-app notices asking you to update your payment method.
  3. A 7-day grace period applies, during which paid access may continue.
  4. If payment is not completed within the grace period, your account moves to the free-tier in-app experience and your public profile is delisted from public search.

The detailed failed payment consequences are set out in the Subscription and auto-renewal terms.


11. Cancellation and stored payment methods

You may cancel your paid subscription according to the Cancellation and no-refund policy and the Subscription and auto-renewal terms.

Cancelling a paid plan stops future renewals, but it does not automatically delete all billing records that Academbee must keep for legal, accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, dispute, or compliance reasons.

After cancellation:

  • your paid access continues until the end of the current paid subscription year;
  • no refund is issued unless required by applicable law;
  • the plan does not renew after the current paid term;
  • your account moves to the free-tier in-app experience at the end of the paid term;
  • your public profile is delisted according to the cancellation policy.

Where payment method removal is available in the Billing page, you may remove or replace the saved method there. If you cannot remove it directly, contact support and we will direct you to the appropriate secure Stripe-supported process where available.

Academbee will never ask you to send full card details to remove or change a payment method.


12. Invoices, receipts, and billing records

Academbee and Stripe may generate invoices, receipts, payment confirmations, and related billing records.

Billing records may include:

  • customer name or business name;
  • billing email;
  • billing address, where required;
  • VAT or tax information, where applicable;
  • plan name;
  • invoice amount;
  • currency;
  • tax/VAT amount;
  • invoice number or Stripe invoice identifier;
  • payment status;
  • limited payment method metadata, such as card brand and last four digits.

Academbee may retain invoice and accounting records for the period required by applicable law.

For more detail, see Personal data in billing (GDPR).


13. Refunds, disputes, and chargebacks

Academbee’s refund rules are set out in the Cancellation and no-refund policy and Subscription and auto-renewal terms.

Academbee does not offer discretionary refunds through support or admin tools.

If you believe a payment was unauthorised, duplicated, or incorrect, contact us as soon as possible at support@academbee.com.

You may also have rights through your card issuer or payment provider. If you raise a chargeback or payment dispute, Academbee and Stripe may process relevant payment, invoice, subscription, account, and communication data to investigate and respond to the dispute.


14. Security controls

Academbee applies reasonable technical and organisational controls to protect billing-related information in its systems.

These controls may include:

  • access restrictions for billing/admin areas;
  • role-based access controls;
  • audit logging for relevant billing actions;
  • use of Stripe-hosted payment fields;
  • server-side handling of Stripe webhooks;
  • secure storage of Stripe identifiers;
  • separation between payment credentials and Academbee application data;
  • restrictions against collecting card details through support channels.

Academbee does not permit staff, contractors, or administrators to request or store full card numbers or CVV/CVC values.


15. What you should not do

For your security, do not send Academbee:

  • full card numbers;
  • CVV/CVC codes;
  • screenshots showing full card details;
  • bank authentication codes;
  • one-time passcodes;
  • online banking passwords;
  • 3D Secure passwords;
  • card PINs.

Academbee will never ask for these details by email, support ticket, chat, phone, or message.


16. Relationship with other documents

This document explains payment processing and stored payment methods.

It does not replace:

If there is a conflict between this document and the Subscription and auto-renewal terms, the Subscription and auto-renewal terms apply to subscription renewal, cancellation, downgrade, upgrade, failed payment, access, and no-refund rules.

If there is a conflict between this document and the Privacy policy or Personal data in billing (GDPR), those privacy documents apply to personal data processing.


17. Contact

For billing or payment questions:

Email: support@academbee.com
Trader: Converging Realities Ltd
Address: Panagias Kikkou 38, 2331, Lakatamia, Nicosia, Cyprus

Please do not include full payment card details in any message to us.