> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sdk.qfapi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Saved Payment Methods Overview

> Create and manage reusable customer and payment-token records for future payments.

Saved Payment Methods lets you securely associate a customer with a QFPay payment token for a supported future card-payment flow. The resulting `customer_id` and `token_id` can be reused by recurring payments and other supported customer-initiated payment scenarios.

## When to use this

Use Saved Payment Methods when you need to collect a cardholder's payment details once, store the QFPay-issued token, and use that token in an approved future-payment flow.

<Info>
  Payment token generation is currently supported for card payments made through the [Element SDK](/integration/online-shop/checkout-integration/payment-element). Wallet payment methods do not generate payment tokens.
</Info>

## How it works

1. Create a customer record and store the returned `customer_id`.
2. Collect card details through the Element SDK and provide the `customer_id` when initiating the card payment.
3. After successful payment and authentication, QFPay creates a `token_id`.
4. Confirm and persist the token from the Token Creation Notification.
5. Use the saved `customer_id` and `token_id` in a supported future-payment flow.

## What to store

| Value             | Purpose                                                           |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `customer_id`     | Identifies the customer record in QFPay.                          |
| `token_id`        | Identifies the saved payment method.                              |
| `token_expiry`    | Indicates when the payment token expires, when provided by QFPay. |
| `token_reference` | Your reconciliation or internal tracking reference, if supplied.  |

<Tip>
  Store only QFPay-issued identifiers and masked card information. Never store raw card details in your systems.
</Tip>

## Next steps

* [Customer & Token Setup](/integration/online-shop/integration-by-use-case/saved-payment-methods/customer-token-setup)
* [Token Notification](/integration/online-shop/integration-by-use-case/saved-payment-methods/token-notification)
* [Element SDK](/integration/online-shop/checkout-integration/payment-element)