Payment Method

When you need a payment method on file, how to add one, and what happens when your MCP server crosses the 1,000-request free tier.

Need help? Connect help.mctx.ai for instant answers.

A payment method on file is what keeps your MCP server live after it grows beyond the free tier. This page covers when you need one, how to add it, and what happens if you remove it.

When You Need a Payment Method

You do not need a payment method until at least one of your MCP servers is about to exceed — or has already exceeded — 1,000 requests in a calendar month.

If your usage is comfortably below that threshold, no payment method is required and you will not be charged anything.

Once any MCP server you own first crosses 1,000 requests in a month, that threshold crossing is recorded permanently (the "trip"). From that point forward, every month that MCP server runs above 1,000 requests is a billing month — whether or not you have a card on file at the time.

How to Add a Payment Method

Go to Dev → Payouts → Payment Method in your dashboard
Enter your card details
Review the three-tier hosting fee schedule displayed on the screen
Check "I understand and accept hosting fees above 1,000 requests/month"
Save

One card covers every MCP server in your account. You do not add a separate card per MCP server.

What Happens at 1,000 Requests — No Card on File

If your MCP server crosses 1,000 requests in a calendar month and you have no payment method saved:

Your MCP server is suspended immediately at the moment it exceeds the free tier threshold
Subscribers receive a "temporarily unavailable" message
You receive an email notification and a persistent banner in your dashboard
Your MCP server stays suspended until you add a payment method

Once you add a payment method, your MCP server resumes automatically. All requests above 1,000 in that month — including the ones that triggered the suspension — are billed at graduated rates. There is no waiver for the first overage month.

Tip: Add a payment method before you expect to exceed 1,000 monthly requests. You can check your current usage on the MCP server detail page at any time.

What Happens at 1,000 Requests — Card on File

If a payment method is already saved when your MCP server crosses 1,000 requests:

Your MCP server stays live — no interruption, no notification
Billing begins silently from request 1,001 onward
Your invoice is calculated at the end of the month using the graduated tier rates
No warning emails are sent once a card is on file

Removing a Payment Method

Removing your card immediately suspends every MCP server you own that has ever crossed the 1,000-request threshold — even MCP servers that are currently within the free tier for this month.

This happens because the trip is recorded permanently. Any MCP server that has previously exceeded 1,000 requests in a single month is considered a billing-eligible MCP server. Without a payment method, those MCP servers cannot stay live.

MCP servers that have never exceeded 1,000 requests in any month are not affected by card removal.

Before removing your card, consider adding a replacement first to avoid a gap in service.

When you create an MCP server, you accept a hosting terms checkbox: "I understand and accept hosting fees above 1,000 requests/month." That acceptance — including the timestamp — is recorded in your account as the consent audit trail required by the FTC Negative Option Rule.

You can review or update your account details in Dev → Settings.

Next Steps

How Pricing Works — Tier rates, the 15,000-request math example, and what counts as a request
Usage and Invoices — How the monthly billing cycle works and how to read your invoice

See something wrong? Report it or suggest an improvement — your feedback helps make these docs better.