AI Credits

AI Credits are the in-app currency that powers every ScaanMe AI feature. Instead of paying per click or signing up for a separate AI subscription, you keep a single balance of credits and each AI action quietly spends a few of them. This keeps things simple: one wallet, one balance, used across logo generation, cover art, AI text, card scanning, and translation. Think of it like prepaid mobile data, you top up once and spend as you go.

Who this is for: anyone using ScaanMe's AI tools to build or polish a vCard. If you let the AI design a cover image, redraw your logo, write your bio, scan a paper business card into a contact, or translate your card into another language, you are spending credits. Knowing how the balance works means you never get caught mid-design with an empty wallet.

Why a credit system instead of a flat fee: AI image generation is genuinely expensive to run, while writing a line of text is cheap. Credits let ScaanMe charge fairly, a heavy task like generating a high-quality cover costs more than a light task like writing a tagline, so you only pay for what you actually use. It also means new AI features can be added without changing your plan.

The cost depends on how heavy the task is. ScaanMe groups every AI action into a simple weight: light text-style tasks cost 1 credit, and image generation costs 2 credits. There are no hidden surcharges, the number you see is the number deducted, and your balance updates the instant the result comes back.

Generating a logo or a cover image costs 2 credits each. This covers the AI logo / profile image and the AI cover (banner) tools inside the vCard editor, including the *Enhance* mode that feeds your current image to the AI as a starting point. Each successful image deducts 2 credits; if generation fails or the AI returns nothing, you are not charged, the deduction only happens once a real image is produced and saved to your card.

AI text, card scanning, and translation cost 1 credit each. Writing or rewriting a bio with the AI builder, scanning a physical business card into a saved contact, and translating your card's content into another language each spend a single credit per run. These light tasks are deliberately cheap so you can iterate freely, regenerate a tagline a few times, or translate into several languages without burning through your balance.

Before any AI action, ScaanMe checks you have enough. If your balance is below the cost of the task, the tool stops and shows *You do not have enough AI credits* instead of starting and failing halfway. This guard runs before the AI is called, so you are never charged for a task that could not complete. When that message appears, it is your cue to top up.

Your balance is shown live inside the AI tools. When you open the AI logo or AI cover generator in the vCard editor, the modal header displays your current credit count and the cost of the next image (2 credits). This is the fastest way to glance at what you have without leaving what you are doing, the number reflects your real-time balance straight from your account.

To see plans and your wallet from the menu, open the sidebar and expand AI Credits. In the left navigation you'll find an AI Credits group; click it to expand, then choose Plans. This page is also where you confirm whether you have an active balance, when credits run low, the AI tools themselves will prompt you here.

Note on the unlimited tier. Some accounts are provisioned with an effectively unlimited balance (any balance of 999 or more is treated as infinite). If that's you, AI actions still work normally but your balance is never decremented, so you'll see a high number that doesn't drop. For everyone else, the balance counts down by the cost of each task and shows the exact remaining figure.

Open the Plans page from the AI Credits menu group. Each plan is shown as a card with its name, a short description, the price (in your store currency), and the headline figure, the number of AI Credits you receive. Compare the credits-per-price across cards to pick the best value for how much AI you expect to use. If no plans appear, the page shows a friendly *No Plans Available* state with a Refresh and Contact Support button.

Click Buy Now on your chosen plan to open the checkout. The checkout has three parts: an order summary on the left (plan, credits, tax, and total payable), a billing details form, and a list of payment methods. The summary line reads like *Plan name - N Credits* so you can confirm you picked the right pack before paying.

Fill in the billing details, most are pre-filled from your account. Name, email, mobile (with country code), address, city, state/province, and country are required; WhatsApp number, zip code, tax number, and the personal/business Type are optional or auto-selected. ScaanMe remembers these from your last purchase, so usually you just confirm them. Accurate billing details matter because they appear on the invoice you can download afterward.

Optionally apply a coupon before paying. Type a code in the Coupon Code field and click Apply. Valid AI-credits coupons reduce the total instantly, either a fixed amount off or a percentage discount, and the summary updates with the new total. Important edge case: coupons work only with one-time payment methods, not with recurring/plugin gateways, and the page warns you if you pick an incompatible method. Each coupon also has per-user and total usage limits, so a code may report *already used* if you've hit the cap.

Pick a payment method and click Continue for payment. Choose a one-time gateway (the exact list depends on what your store has enabled, e.g. Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Paystack, Mollie, Paddle and more) or, where available, an offline/bank-transfer option. You're taken to the gateway to complete payment, and on success you return to ScaanMe with confirmation. The purchased credits are added on top of any balance you already have, they stack, they don't replace.

Every purchase is logged under AI Credits transactions. From the AI Credits menu group, open Transactions to see a table of every order with its order ID, payment transaction ID, plan name, payment method, amount, and a colour-coded status badge, Pending, Processing, Paid, Failed, Cancelled, or Refunded. This is your full purchase history in one place.

Download an invoice for any paid order. For transactions marked Paid, click the payment transaction ID or use the row's action menu to open Invoice. The invoice pulls the billing details you entered at checkout, the plan, the credits purchased, and the amount, so it's ready for your records or accounting. Invoices are only available for successful (Paid) transactions.

To top up, just buy another plan, there's no separate top-up screen. Because purchased credits are added to your existing balance, topping up is simply repeating the Plans → Buy Now → checkout flow whenever you're running low. Many users keep a small pack for everyday text and scanning and buy a larger pack before a big design session. Watch the balance shown in the AI tool headers and refill before it dips under the cost of your next task.

Draft your prompt before you generate. Since each image costs 2 credits and each text run costs 1, a few seconds spent writing a clear, specific prompt (describe the style, colours, and mood you want) usually gets a usable result on the first try, saving you the credits you'd spend regenerating. Vague prompts are the most common reason people burn extra credits.

Use Enhance mode when you already have a decent image. Rather than generating a logo or cover from scratch, the *Enhance* option feeds your current image to the AI as a base, often giving you a cleaner, on-brand result in one pass. It costs the same 2 credits but tends to need fewer retries because the AI starts from something close to what you want.

Buy the right size pack for your rhythm. If you mostly write bios and scan cards, a small pack lasts a long time at 1 credit each. If you're redesigning visuals, plan for 2 credits per image and choose a larger pack so you're not interrupted mid-session. Because credits stack, there's no penalty for buying a bigger pack early.

Keep your billing details current. The checkout pre-fills from your account, so updating your name, address, and tax number once means every future invoice is correct without re-typing. This matters most for business accounts that need clean invoices for accounting.

Do credits expire? No, your credits stay in your balance until you spend them. Each purchase adds to what you already have rather than resetting it, so unused credits carry forward indefinitely.

What happens if an AI generation fails, do I lose the credit? No. The cost is only deducted after a real result is produced and saved. If the AI returns nothing, errors out, or your balance changes underneath the request, ScaanMe refuses the charge, so you're never billed for a task that didn't deliver.

Why does an image cost more than text? Image generation is far more compute-intensive than writing a line of text. A logo or cover costs 2 credits, while text, card-scan, and translation each cost 1, so you pay in proportion to how heavy the task really is.

My balance shows a very high number that never goes down, why? Your account is on the unlimited tier. Any balance of 999 or above is treated as infinite, so AI actions work normally but never deduct. You don't need to buy more credits while you're on this tier.

Can I use a coupon when buying credits? Yes, enter it in the Coupon Code field at checkout and click Apply. It must be a coupon issued for AI credits, must be unexpired, and must be within its usage limits. Note that coupons only apply to one-time payment methods, not recurring/plugin gateways.

Where do I find a receipt for my purchase? Open AI Credits → Transactions, find the order marked Paid, and click its transaction ID or the Invoice action to view and download the invoice. Invoices are available only for successful (Paid) transactions.

Which AI features actually spend credits? The AI logo/profile image and AI cover generators (2 credits each), and the AI text builder, card scanning, and translation (1 credit each). Browsing, editing by hand, and non-AI actions never cost credits, only the AI-powered steps do.