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

# Customers Overview

> Manage shopper profiles and link saved payment methods.

The Customers API is the central hub for managing shopper profiles within PaveWay. By creating customer records, you can:

1. **Simplify Checkout**: Link [Card Tokens](/api-reference/payments/card-tokens) to a customer's email to enable one-click payments.
2. **Manage Subscriptions**: All [Subscriptions](/api-reference/subscriptions/overview) are linked to a specific customer ID.
3. **Track History**: Monitor transaction history and balances for individual shoppers.

### The Customer Object

A customer object represents a unique person or business purchasing from your platform. It stores contact information, billing/shipping addresses, and metadata.

#### Identification

Customers are primarily identified by their unique `id`. However, for integrations like checkout, they are often looked up or linked via their **email** or **phone number**.

#### Saved Payment Methods

When a card is [tokenized](/api-reference/payments/card-tokens), if an email address is provided, it is automatically linked to any customer profile with that same email. This allows you to retrieve a customer's saved cards without storing sensitive data.

### Authentication

All Customer API endpoints require your **Secret Key** in the `Authorization` header as a Bearer token.