A recurring card charge runs as a continuous payment authority, and the Payment Services Regulations 2017's rules on consent and its withdrawal give a customer the right to stop it directly with their card issuer, whatever the merchant's own cancellation process says. A recurring bank charge more often runs as a Direct Debit, processed under the Bacs scheme rules that Pay.UK administers. Either way, PCI DSS v4.0 still limits how the stored payment instrument is kept between charges. anonym.plus marks each value on your device, so the entry stays auditable while customer data is shielded.
When this applies
A subscription entry keeps the customer's account on file for repeat charges. You strip those identifiers under the standard before the record is shared.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the billing entry in anonym.plus on your device.
- The tool flags stored number, name, and email data.
- Local OCR reads any scanned mandate page.
- Keep the plan code and cycle dates you must retain.
- Swap or black out the confirmed items.
- Save the clean entry locally.
What you need to provide
- The billing entry (CSV, PDF, DOCX).
- An operator (Replace keeps the entry readable).
- Optional allow-list for plan and cycle codes.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Account | CREDIT_CARD | stored card → [CARD] |
| Names | PERSON | subscriber Park → [SUBSCRIBER] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | park@example.co.uk → [EMAIL] |
| Bank | UK_SORT_CODE | sort 20-00-00 → [SORT] |
| Amount | MONEY | £9.99/mo → [AMOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | next charge → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Limits stored payment data per PCI DSS v4.0.
- Respects the consent and withdrawal-of-consent rules in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 that let a customer stop a continuous payment authority at their card issuer.
- Handles a Direct Debit mandate under the same care a Bacs scheme rule Pay.UK administers expects.
- Keeps plan and cycle codes for the billing record.
- Offline handling keeps the entry off any server.
Anonymise recurring billing records offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
A stored mandate may carry a sort code plus a number on file. The tool flags both, but review odd custom fields a billing system added before you share.
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer cancel a recurring charge with the merchant only?
No — not exclusively. Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017's consent rules, a customer can withdraw consent for a continuous payment authority directly with their card issuer, regardless of what the merchant's own cancellation process requires.
Does it handle a Direct Debit mandate sort code too?
Yes. The tool flags a sort code alongside the value on file so both can be shielded, which matters because a Direct Debit runs under the Bacs scheme rules Pay.UK administers rather than through the card networks.
Does the subscription record ever reach a server?
No. The app runs locally, so the subscription data stays on your device throughout.