---
title: Buy Credit (prepaid gateway AI credit top-ups via Stripe checkout)
---
# Buy Credit (prepaid gateway AI credit top-ups via Stripe checkout)

## What it is

**Buy Credit** lets a signed-in Omniscio user top up their **prepaid gateway AI
credit** with a credit card. You pick an amount, Omniscio opens **Stripe's hosted
Checkout page** in your browser, you pay, and the credit lands on your balance a
moment later. It's the self-serve way to keep gateway credit on hand so your AI
work never stalls for lack of funds.

**Buying** is **1:1 face value**: pay $25 and you get **$25** of usable credit. The card
processing fee is **absorbed** — it is not added on top and it does not eat into
the credit you receive.

**Spending** it is not 1:1. Each request billed against the balance is charged at the real
upstream cost **plus a flat 10% surcharge** (`DEFAULT_MARKUP_PCT = 10` in
[`gateway/gateway/credits.ts`](../../gateway/gateway/credits.ts), baked into the deployed service
as `GATEWAY_MARKUP_PCT=10`), so $25 of credit buys about **$22.73** of AI at provider list prices.
The 1:1 promise is about the purchase, never the burn rate — do not describe the balance as
un-marked-up. Using an own API key skips the credit balance and the surcharge entirely.

The **Buy Credit** card lives in **Settings → Accounts & AI → Plan & Usage**, directly under the
**"Credits remaining"** balance, so buying more sits right where you see what's left — alongside your
plan and monthly allowance. The same balance also shows under **Settings → API Keys** (where creating
a pooled key needs it), with a link back to Plan & Usage to add credit. _(Moved here 2026-08-18 in the
money-surface consolidation; it was previously under Settings → API Keys.)_

## Where to find it

**Settings → Accounts & AI → Plan & Usage**, in the **Buy Credit** card under the
**Credits remaining** balance. (The balance is also visible under Settings → API Keys.)

## How it behaves

### How to use it

1. Open **Settings → Accounts & AI → Plan & Usage** and find the **Buy Credit** card under your
   **Credits remaining** balance.
2. Pick an amount. There are four one-tap presets — **$10 / $25 / $50 / $100** —
   or enter a **custom amount** (minimum **$5**, maximum **$1,000**).
3. Omniscio opens **Stripe Checkout** in your browser. Stripe is the payment
   processor; your card details are entered on Stripe's own hosted page, never
   inside Omniscio.
4. Complete the payment on Stripe. When you're done you're returned to Omniscio.
5. Your balance updates **shortly** after payment — a verified Stripe webhook adds
   the credit. If you don't see it immediately, **refresh the balance**; crediting
   is near-instant but not synchronous with closing the Checkout tab.

### Money-safety facts

- **1:1 face value on the PURCHASE, fee absorbed.** $25 paid → $25 of credit. The processing fee
  is covered for you, so what you pay is what you get.
- **Cost + 10% on the SPEND.** Each request billed against the balance is charged at real upstream
  cost plus a flat 10% surcharge, so $25 of credit buys ≈ $22.73 of AI. This is the only markup;
  an own API key bills the provider directly and skips it.
- **Presets + custom range.** $10 / $25 / $50 / $100 presets, or any custom amount
  from **$5** to **$1,000**.
- **Credit is applied by a verified webhook**, not by the browser returning. Omniscio
  only adds credit when Stripe's signed webhook confirms the payment succeeded, so a
  closed tab or a flaky network can't leave you paid-but-not-credited — the balance
  catches up on the next refresh.
- **Refunds and chargebacks auto-debit the credit back out.** If a payment is later
  refunded or charged back, the corresponding credit is automatically removed from
  your balance, so the balance always reflects money actually settled.

## Related

- [plan-billing.md](plan-billing.md) — the Plan & Usage screen where the Buy Credit card now lives
- [api-keys.md](api-keys.md) — the Settings → API Keys panel, which still shows the balance for key creation
- [cost-control.md](cost-control.md) — watching spend and managing budget caps on your AI usage