What happens when a recurring payment fails?

A recurring payment can fail for several reasons, such as an expired card, insufficient fund, or a problem with the payment method. BetterUnite records the failed attempt so you can review it and help the supporter resolve the issue.

Depending on your settings, BetterUnite may send a notification and automatically retry the payment. What happens after unsuccessful retries depends on the type of recurring payment and the applicable settings.

What happens after a payment fails?

The failed attempt is recorded. Review the payment history and any available failure details.
A notification may be sent. For membership payment, a card-payment failure email can be enabled in Member Notification.
The payment may be retried. Automatic retries follow the applicable failed-payment settings. Review those settings to see the schedule that applies.

Avoid manually charging a card until you have checked the payment history and retry schedule. A manual charge alongside a scheduled charge can result in a duplicate payment.

What happens if retries are unsuccessful?

Membership subscriptions

Your membership failed-payment settings determine what happens after all scheduled attempts:

Mark as Failed: The subscription is marked as failed, and the record remains available for your team to review and follow up.
Canceled Subscription: The subscription is canceled automatically after the retries are exhausted.

Review the subscription's current status and your organization's failed-payment settings before advising a member about their access. A single failed payment does not necessarily mean the membership has been canceled or that the member has lost access.

Recurring donations without a membership

If all retry attempts are exhausted, the recurring donation payment may be canceled. Review the recurring payment record and its status to determine whether future charges are still scheduled.

How do I help a supporter resolve a failed payment?

Review the failed payment and its history for any available explanation.
Check whether the payment method needs to be updated. The supporter can use the Supporter Portal to update their card on file. If the supporter cannot access the portal, you can update the payment method on their behalf from the supporter's record in BetterUnite before the next retry or manual charge is attempted.
Check the current payment or subscription status and any scheduled retries before taking another payment.
If a membership subscription is failed or canceled, review whether reactivation is appropriate after the payment method is corrected. Reactivating a subscription resumes billing, so review the restart date and payment method first.
Follow up with the supporter if they need help or if you make a change to their subscription.

For details, see Troubleshooting Recurring Donation Billing Issues and Re-activate Subscription.

Where can I review the settings?

For membership payments, open Settings in Membership Management and review Member Notifications and Manage Failed Payments. There you can review whether failure notifications are enabled and which action is selected after retries are exhausted.

Review the recurring payment settings for the schedule and notifications that apply to other recurring payment types. For more information, see Membership Settings and What notifications are available for members?.

Need additional help?

We're here to help. Contact support@betterunite.com if you need assistance reviewing a failed recurring payment or subscription.