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This customer has no attached payment source or default payment method

Exact error

Error: This customer has no attached payment source or default payment method.

What it means

Stripe tried to charge a customer (usually the first invoice of a new subscription created with the API) but there is no payment method it is allowed to use. A card being attached to the customer is not enough: it must be set as the default, or passed for that subscription.

Likely causes

• Creating a subscription with stripe.subscriptions.create() for a customer who never entered a card.
• The PaymentMethod was attached to the customer but never set as invoice_settings.default_payment_method or passed as default_payment_method.
• A one-time Checkout payment (mode: 'payment') was used first; by default it does not save the card for later charges.

How to fix it

1. Simplest fix: let Stripe Checkout create the subscription. In subscription mode Checkout collects the card and sets it on the subscription for you:

   const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
     mode: 'subscription',
     customer: customerId,
     line_items: [{ price: 'price_123', quantity: 1 }],
     success_url: `${origin}/success?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}`,
     cancel_url: `${origin}/pricing`,
   });

2. If you build the subscription with the API, create it as incomplete and save the card when the first payment is confirmed in your frontend (Stripe Elements):

   const subscription = await stripe.subscriptions.create({
     customer: customerId,
     items: [{ price: 'price_123' }],
     payment_behavior: 'default_incomplete',
     payment_settings: { save_default_payment_method: 'on_subscription' },
   });

3. If the customer already has a saved card (pm_...), make it the default before creating the subscription, or pass it directly:

   await stripe.customers.update(customerId, {
     invoice_settings: { default_payment_method: paymentMethodId },
   });
   // or
   await stripe.subscriptions.create({ customer: customerId, items: [{ price: 'price_123' }], default_payment_method: paymentMethodId });

4. If a one-time Checkout payment should also save the card for future charges, set setup_future_usage:

   payment_intent_data: { setup_future_usage: 'off_session' }

Prevent this next time

• Test webhooks locally with `stripe listen` and the Stripe test cards before going live.
• Check webhook delivery attempts in the Stripe Dashboard after each deploy, and keep test and live keys clearly separated per environment.

Related errors

• No such customer: 'cus_...'
• Your card was declined
• No signatures found matching the expected signature for payload

More Stripe errors and fixes →