Failed Payments and Dunning
Some subscription payments will fail — cards expire, funds run short, banks decline. How you respond to those failures has a direct, measurable effect on your revenue.
Dunning is the process of recovering failed payments gracefully, and this article explains how to do it well.
Why Payments Fail
- Expired or replaced cards.
- Insufficient funds at the moment of charge.
- Bank fraud checks blocking the transaction.
- Temporary network or issuer outages.
A Sensible Dunning Flow
Rather than cancelling immediately, a good flow retries intelligently and keeps the customer informed so they can fix the problem before losing access.
- Retry the charge on a smart schedule over several days.
- Email the customer with a clear update-card link.
- Show an in-app banner prompting them to fix payment.
- Only suspend access after retries and reminders are exhausted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many retries should I allow?
Usually three to four over a week or two. Providers can optimise retry timing based on when issuers are most likely to approve.
Should access stop the moment a payment fails?
No. A short grace period recovers a lot of revenue and avoids frustrating customers over a temporary glitch.
If you need a hand with any of this, your Progressive Robot delivery team is ready to help. Raise a ticket from the Support area of your client portal or speak to your account manager and we will guide you through the next steps.