Handling Failed Payments
Failed payments are common. Here's how to handle them effectively.
Common Failure Reasons
Insufficient Funds: Most common (60% of failures)
Expired Card: Card expired since last charge
Fraud Prevention: Bank blocked the transaction
Incorrect CVV: Security code mismatch
Card Limit Exceeded: Daily/monthly limit reached
Automatic Retry Schedule
Preppable automatically retries failed payments:
Day 0: Initial charge fails
Day 3: First automatic retry
Day 5: Second automatic retry
Day 7: Subscription paused
Customer Communication
When payment fails, customers receive:
Immediate Email: "Payment failed, please update card"
SMS Alert: "Update payment method at [link]"
In-App Notification: Banner on dashboard
Final Notice: Before subscription pause
Restaurant Actions
You can:
View Failed Payments: Dashboard → Customers → Failed Payments
Contact Customer: Send personal message
Pause Subscription: Stop deliveries until payment updated
Cancel Subscription: After multiple failures
Preventing Failures
Encourage customers to:
Keep card information updated
Use debit cards (lower decline rates)
Contact bank before subscription start
Set up payment alerts
Re-Activating Paused Subscriptions
When customer updates payment method:
Charge processes automatically
Subscription reactivated immediately
Customer receives confirmation
Next delivery scheduled