## TL;DR

For Stripe invoices, the invoice-level payment method wins if one is set; otherwise the subscription's default payment method applies; otherwise the customer's default is used. The confusion usually comes from setting a customer default and expecting it to override a stale subscription default. Decide where to set the method based on intent: customer default for account-wide billing, subscription default for plan-specific cards, invoice level only for one-off overrides.

## The query

```text
Stripe default payment method vs invoice payment method: which one wins
```

## Use this when

- You set a new card as the customer default but renewals still charge the old card
- Deciding where to attach a payment method for subscription billing
- An invoice paid with a different card than expected

## Not for

- One-off PaymentLinks or Checkout sessions (different payment settings model)
- Splitting one invoice across two cards (Stripe does not do that natively)

## Steps

1. Check invoice.default_payment_method: if set, that is what gets charged.
   Expected output: You confirm or rule out the invoice-level override.
2. Check subscription.default_payment_method: a stale subscription default beats the customer default.
   Expected output: You find the old card pinned at the subscription level.
3. Update the subscription default to the new method if that subscription should follow the new card.
   Expected output: Renewals now use the intended card.
4. Leave the customer default as the account-wide fallback for new subscriptions.
   Expected output: New subscriptions pick up the right card automatically.
5. Document the precedence in your runbook so support stops guessing.
   Expected output: Future 'wrong card' tickets get a 30-second answer.

## Variant phrasings

### Stripe which payment method is used for invoice

### Stripe subscription default payment method overrides customer default

### Stripe invoice paid with wrong card

## Root cause

The precedence is invoice first, subscription second, customer last, because each level is a more specific override of the more general one. Most 'wrong card' mysteries are a forgotten subscription-level default from the original signup.

## Edge cases

- During trials the subscription default is what matters at trial end; set it before conversion
- Payment method updates via the portal change the customer default, not per-subscription pins

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_EaieSLYm2AyQsBZwGF70MA