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

# Account Lifecycle

> Account statuses, available products, and state transitions.

## Account Lifecycle and Status

Accounts move through a defined set of statuses that reflect their current state:

| Status         | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Active**     | The account is fully connected, verified (if applicable), and ready for use. All supported products are available. This is the normal operating state for most accounts.                                                                                    |
| **Processing** | The account is being set up or verified. For liability accounts, this may be a brief transitional state during discovery. For funding accounts, this typically means verification is in progress (e.g., waiting for micro-deposit confirmation).            |
| **Disabled**   | The account has been deactivated within Method. The account may still be active at the financial institution, but Method will not perform new operations on it. This can happen if the account is flagged for an issue or explicitly disabled by your team. |
| **Closed**     | Method has detected that the account is closed at the financial institution. The debt may have been paid off, the card may have been canceled, or the loan may have been settled. No new operations are available, but historical data remains accessible.  |

<Warning>
  **Common causes of Disabled status:** the Entity's [consent](/reference/accounts/consent/withdraw) was withdrawn, the Entity's verification expired or was revoked, the account was flagged by Method's risk monitoring, or your team explicitly disabled it via the API. Check the account's `error` field for the specific reason.
</Warning>

## State Transitions

* **Processing → Active**: Account setup or verification completes successfully
* **Active → Disabled**: Account is flagged for an issue or explicitly disabled. May be reversible — listen for `account.active` webhooks
* **Active → Closed**: Method detects the account is closed at the financial institution (debt paid off, card canceled, loan settled)
* **Disabled → Active**: The issue is resolved and the account is re-enabled
* **Closed** is terminal — closed accounts do not reopen

<Note>
  **Webhook tip:** Subscribe to `account.active`, `account.disabled`, and `account.closed` [webhook events](/reference/webhooks/overview) to handle transitions in real time rather than polling.
</Note>

### Key Webhooks

* `account.active`: Account transitioned to Active
* `account.disabled`: Account was disabled
* `account.closed`: Account was closed
* `account.update.completed`: An [Update](/guides/updates/overview) finished (balance/data refreshed)

## Subscriptions: Automatic Data Refresh

Instead of manually requesting [Updates](/guides/updates/overview) or [Balances](/reference/accounts/balances/overview), you can subscribe an account to automatic refresh. When subscribed, Method periodically fetches fresh data and notifies you via webhook. See [Update Subscriptions](/guides/updates/subscriptions) for details.

The `subscriptions` and `available_subscriptions` arrays on each Account show what's currently active and what can be enabled.

## Products and the Lifecycle

Each account carries a `products` array — the list of Method capabilities currently available for that account. Products include: `update` (refresh balances/data), `balance` (real-time balance), `payment` (send funds to creditor), `card_brand` (card art and product name), `payoff` (auto loan payoff quotes), `sensitive` (full account numbers), `attribute` (credit health metrics), and `payment_instrument` (card tokenization).

Product availability depends on three factors:

1. **Account type**: `card_brand` only applies to credit cards, `payoff` only to auto loans (see [Liability Types](/guides/accounts/liability-types))
2. **Account status**: Disabled and Closed accounts lose most products
3. **Team configuration**: Some products require team-level enablement (check `restricted_products`)

Always check the `products` array before attempting an operation. Attempting an operation not in `products` will return an error. See the [Products reference](/reference/accounts/products/overview) for the full list.