A payment failed

Most failures happen at the customer's bank rather than anywhere you control. The usual fix is for them to try again or use a different card.

Common causes

• Insufficient funds
• The bank declining an unfamiliar transaction
• An expired card
• A verification step the customer did not finish on their phone

What to do

Ask them to try again. If it fails twice, ask for a different card. Do not keep retrying the same card, because repeated attempts make banks more suspicious rather than less.

The verification step

Card payments often ask the customer to confirm in their banking app. People close the tab before finishing it, which looks like a failure and is really an unfinished payment.

If your own payouts have stopped

That is a different problem. Check Settings, then Online Payments, since payouts can be held when account verification is outstanding.

Do not take a risk on it

A failed payment is not a payment. Deliver the work when you are happy, not because the customer says it went through.

Common questions

Can I see why it failed?

The payment record carries what came back. Bank declines are often deliberately vague, and only the customer's bank can say more.

Should I charge a fee for a failed payment?

Failures are usually not the customer's fault. Ask them to try again first.

What if the money left their account but I see nothing?

Pending authorisations look like payments and clear on their own. Give it a couple of days before refunding anything.