If you are a merchant using Stripe to process online payments, you won’t need to be told how frustrating it is to see a customer’s payment fail.
Whether it’s because of a declined card, an authentication error, or even an issue with your setup, failed payments can prove costly, both in terms of time and also potential lost revenue.
Table of Contents
If you need a facility that gives you access to high risk credit card processing , you can always expect a few challenges that you will need to overcome. However, the good news is that Stripe is someone who provides clear data and tools that can help you resolve many of the common issues you are likely to encounter.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some straightforward fixes you can try if you’re experiencing failed payments on Stripe.
Always start by checking the decline code in Stripe’s dashboard
A good starting point when trying to solve a failed payment issue is to try and get a handle on exactly why the transaction has been declined.
Finding out this information is relatively simple. This is due to the fact that Stripe logs every transaction attempt, and the decline code is always your first clue.
What you need to do is go to your Stripe dashboard, locate the failed payment, and review the code. You are probably likely to encounter one of the following codes more often than not.
card_declined
insufficient_funds
incorrect_cvc
do_not_honor
expired_card
As you would expect, each of these codes signify a different cause and prompt a specific solution. For example, incorrect_cvc is oftena customer error where they have entered a three-digit security code that does not match correctly. You will find that Stripe provides short explanations with each code to help guide your next step.
Make sure you enable automatic email receipts and retry logic
Stripe lets you automatically send emails to customers when a payment fails. This is especially helpful for recurring charges.
You can use these emails to include a link to update payment information or retry a payment. You can also set up automatic retries for subscriptions, spacing them out over several days.
This automation gives your customer a chance to fix the issue themselves, often recovering the sale without any extra effort on your part.
Using Stripe’s checkout or Payment Element can boost success rates
In reality, many payment failures happen purely because the customer entered their details incorrectly. If you’re using a custom form, it may potentially lack built-in error handling or security features.
On the other hand, Stripe’s Checkout and Payment Element products are pre-built and highly optimized, with real-time card validation, 3D Secure integration, and built-in compliance with SCA and PCI-DSS.
You could find that by switching to one of Stripe’s own front-end solutions you might reduce failure rates significantly, especially on mobile.
Make sure you’ve enabled 3D Secure for SCA compliance
In Europe and some other markets, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is required. If you haven’t configured your account to support 3D Secure transactions, banks will routinely decline payments that require this step.
If you’re not using this or haven’t updated your system, it could explain failed payments from international customers.
Try asking the customer to contact their bank
Sometimes, the issue lies entirely with the customer’s bank. If the bank doesn’t trust the transaction or thinks it might be fraudulent, they can decline it, even when the customer has funds and everything seems normal.
Encouraging the customer to contact their bank directly can resolve these issues.
Offer the customer alternative payment methods
Remember, credit and debit cards aren’t the only way to pay. Stripe supports a wide variety of local payment options including ACH transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Afterpay, and SEPA Direct Debit.
By offering these alternative methods, you are giving your customers more flexibility, and a potential way around a failed card. This is a particularly useful solution for international customers who may prefer bank transfers or region-specific services.
Be sure to double-check API integration and webhooks
If payments are failing but customers insist everything looks correct on their end, the problem might be on your side. Be sure to check your API logs for any errors during the payment process. A misconfigured webhook, outdated API version, or incorrect payment flow can all lead to failures that look like customer errors.
You will find that Stripe’s Dashboard includes a developer section where you can monitor logs, webhook activity, and version history.
Consider setting up dunning management for subscriptions
If you are running a subscription-based business, failed payments can quickly lead to lost customers if not managed properly. Stripe lets you set up dunning management, which is a way to describe the need to follow up when a payment fails.
This is straightforward to do as you can configure Stripe to do things like retry the charge multiple times over several days, and email the customer automatically to update their card.
You even have the option to cancel the subscription if payment still fails after several attempts. Using these tools can reduce churn and automate a lot of the recovery process.
Always keep customer payment information up to date
Last but not least, you need to be mindful that one of the most common causes of failed recurring payments is expired cards. Stripe can help here, too. Their automatic card updater, which is available for Visa, Mastercard, and some American Express cards, tries to update saved card details when the customer’s bank issues a new one.
In summary, although failed payments can be a real nuisance, you should be reassured to know that they’re usually fixable. The key is to diagnose the issue correctly and take action quickly. Whether it’s a customer error, a bank issue, or a technical problem in your setup, Stripe gives you the tools to put things right. Make sure you are using built-in Stripe features to help fix failed payments and proactively prevent them. At the end of the day, your primary aim always has to be to take steps to improve your customer’s checkout experience.
