# Recurring
Recurring payments are used to charge customers on a regular basis. MoneyCollect now supports merchants to initiate recurring payments through our powerful API, in which way to facilitate your customers with an easy first payment and then ready to collect payments recurrently without any effort.
To reduce the risk of chargebacks, it’s recommended to communicate how often and how much the customer will be charged as clearly as possible. We suggest notifying the customer a couple of days in advance of the next payment, for example by sending them an email.
### Initial payment
Intial payment is the first transaction of a rebilling cycle. In order to get started with recurring payments you need to require the customer’s consent through the initial payment.
Merchants can start a recurring transaction through [create payment api](https://apireference.moneycollect.com/docs/api-v1/7f574d73b54f4-create-a-payment).For the initial transaction of a rebilling cycle, `initial` must be set to `true`, `relationPaymentId` must be `null`, and `setupFutureUsage` must be set to `on`.
{% hint style="info" %}
For the initial payment, cutomers need to complete [3D Secure authentication](https://docs.moneycollect.com/docs/payment/3d-secure-authentication) process to prevent fraud.
{% endhint %}
### Rebill payment
Rebill payment is the subsequent transaction of a rebilling cycle.
For the subsequent transaction of a rebilling cycle, the `initial` can be `null` or set to be `false` , the `relationPaymentId` must be the `Payment ID`of its initial payment, and `setupFutureUsage` must be set to `on`.
{% hint style="info" %}
Recurring payment are not available for visitors, that is to say, the`customerID`cannot be `null`in recurring payments for both initial payment and rebill payment.
[Create a customer](https://apireference.moneycollect.com/docs/api-v1/54da7edbbe496-create-a-customer) for your shopper,then associate the returned `customerId` with the membership identifier in your system.
{% endhint %}
### MoneyCollect dashboard
MoneyCollect enables merchants to view their existing recurring payments from MoneyCollect Dashboard.
1. Navigate to `Payments` page in your Dashboard，and click `Edit view`.
2. Tick `Description`.
3. You can tell from `Description` which are initial payments and which are rebill payments.
4. Select one of payments to `Payment details` page.
5. In`Payment details` page, you can also tell from `Description` if this is an initial payment or a rebill payment.
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### Zero-Amount Authorization + Recurring Use Case
In certain **Recurring (subscription / periodic payment)** scenarios, you may need to perform an initial card validation (such as triggering a 3D Secure authentication or verifying card viability) without actually charging the card. In these cases, you can use a **Zero-Amount Authorization + Recurring** flow.
This flow enables you to initiate the first transaction with an amount of **0**, solely to validate the payment method and cardholder authentication. After successful authorization, subsequent recurring charges proceed normally under the standard recurring mechanism.
#### Overview of the Use Case
* When the first transaction is intended for card validation or to trigger a cardholder authentication (e.g., 3D Secure) but no actual amount is to be charged, a **zero-amount authorization** can be utilized.
* Once card verification succeeds, the payment method can be used for subsequent periodic charges as defined by the recurring schedule.
#### Permission and Activation
* **Zero-amount authorization is not enabled by default.** Merchants must contact their MoneyCollect account manager to request activation of this capability.
* After activation, merchant systems can submit a recurring subscription request where the **first transaction amount is set to `0`** for authorization and validation without capturing funds.
#### Request Example (Zero Amount Authorization)
When creating the initial recurring transaction, set the transaction field `amount` to **0** to indicate that this is an authorization request rather than a charge.the `setupFutureUsage` must be set to `on`.
#### Subsequent Recurring Charge Logic
After the zero-amount authorization completes successfully (including cardholder authentication such as 3D Secure where required), the subsequent recurring charges follow the **same flow and parameter requirements** as a standard recurring subscription.
