Failed Payment Handling
What happens when a subscriber's payment fails, and how to recover it.
Why Payments Fail
Common reasons:
- Insufficient funds
- Expired card
- Card declined
- Bank blocked transaction
- Payment method removed
Automatic Retry (Smart Retries)
We automatically retry failed payments:
Default schedule:
- 1st retry: 3 days after failure
- 2nd retry: 5 days after 1st retry
- 3rd retry: 7 days after 2nd retry
Smart optimization:
- We retry at optimal times
- Based on success patterns
- Different times of day
Customer Notifications
When payment fails, customer receives:
- Immediate email: Payment failed notification
- Update link: Easy way to update card
- Reminder emails: Before each retry
- Final notice: Before cancellation
Customize emails in Settings → Emails → Dunning.
Dunning Management
Dunning is the process of communicating with customers about failed payments.
Configure Dunning
- Go to Settings → Subscriptions → Dunning
- Set:
- Number of retries
- Days between retries
- Email schedule
- When to cancel
Access During Dunning
Choose what happens during failed payment:
- Keep access: Customer can still use product
- Pause access: Temporarily suspend
- Immediate block: Block until paid
Manual Recovery
Reach Out Personally
For high-value customers:
- Go to Subscriptions → Past Due
- Find the customer
- Click Send Message
- Offer to help resolve
Update Card for Customer
If customer provides new card:
- Open subscription
- Click Update Payment
- Enter new card details
- Retry payment
Retry Immediately
Force an immediate retry:
- Open subscription
- Click Retry Payment
- Payment attempted now
Automatic Cancellation
If all retries fail:
- Subscription marked cancelled
- Customer notified
- Access revoked
Win-Back
Cancelled customers can reactivate:
- Send win-back email (configure in dunning)
- Link to resubscribe
- Track recovery rate
Metrics
Monitor in Analytics → Subscriptions:
- Failed payment rate
- Recovery rate
- Churn due to payment failure
- Average recovery time
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