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Failed Payment Handling

PayRequest automatically handles failed subscription payments and chargebacks to help you recover revenue without manual intervention.

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How Automatic Retries Work

When a subscription payment fails (due to insufficient funds, expired card, or chargeback), PayRequest automatically schedules retry attempts.

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Retry Schedule

  • First Retry: 3 days after the failed payment
  • Second Retry: 10 days after the failed payment
  • Default Maximum: 2 retry attempts (configurable per subscription)
Your billing schedule stays the same. Retries don’t affect your regular monthly billing dates.

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What Triggers a Retry?

PayRequest creates automatic retry attempts for specific failure reasons:
  • Insufficient Funds (AM04): Not enough money in customer’s bank account
  • Multiple Reasons (MS03): Can indicate insufficient funds or similar recoverable issues
  • Payment Method Error: Temporary payment processing issues
Not all chargebacks trigger retries. Fraud, customer disputes, or irreversible chargebacks will mark the subscription as “Payment Failed” without scheduling retries.

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Viewing Retry Status

On the subscription detail page, you’ll see a Payment Retry Status card when there are failed payments:
Payment Retry Status Card
 The retry card shows:
  • Failed Attempts: Current failures vs maximum allowed (e.g., “1 / 2”)
  • Last Failure: When the most recent failure occurred
  • Next Retry Scheduled: When the next automatic retry will happen
  • Retry History: Complete timeline of all retry attempts

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Retry History

The retry history shows every attempt with:
  • Attempt number
  • Date and time
  • Status (Chargeback, Pending, Paid)
  • Failure reason (e.g., “Insufficient funds”)
  • Amount
This gives you full visibility into payment recovery efforts.

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Configuring Retry Attempts

You can customize the maximum number of retry attempts per subscription:
  1. Go to Subscriptions in your dashboard
  2. Click on a subscription
  3. Navigate to the Settings tab
  4. Change Max Retry Attempts (1-5 attempts)
  5. Click Save Changes
For high-value subscriptions, consider increasing retry attempts to 3-4 for better recovery rates.

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What Happens After Max Retries?

When all retry attempts are exhausted:
  • Subscription status changes to Payment Failed
  • You’ll see a warning: “Max retry attempts reached - Subscription requires attention”
  • No further automatic retries will occur
  • You can manually contact the customer or cancel the subscription

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Understanding Billing vs Retry Dates

Retries don’t change your regular billing schedule.

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Example Timeline

Let’s say you have a monthly subscription that bills on the 5th of each month:
DateEventBilling Date
Sept 5Regular monthly billingNext: Oct 5
Sept 11Chargeback receivedNext: Oct 5 ✓
Sept 14First retry attempt (3 days later)Next: Oct 5 ✓
Sept 21Second retry attempt (10 days after failure)Next: Oct 5 ✓
Oct 5Next regular billing as scheduledNext: Nov 5
Your regular billing dates remain unchanged regardless of retry attempts.

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When the Retry Payment is Successful

Once a retry payment is confirmed:
  • Failed Attempts: Reset to 0
  • Retry Fields: Cleared automatically
  • Subscription Status: Returns to “Active”
  • Retry Card: Hidden (no active failures)
  • Next Billing: Remains on original schedule
The subscription continues normally from the next scheduled billing date.

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Chargebacks

When a customer disputes a payment through their bank:
  1. PayRequest receives the chargeback notification
  2. Invoice status changes to Chargeback
  3. Subscription is marked with a failed attempt
  4. System checks the chargeback reason code:
    • AM04 / MS03 (Insufficient funds) → Automatic retry scheduled (3 days later)
    • Other reasons (Fraud, dispute, etc.) → Subscription marked “Payment Failed” without retry
  5. You’re notified in your activity log
Only chargebacks with recoverable reasons (insufficient funds) are automatically retried. Fraud or customer disputes require manual intervention.

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Notifications

You’ll be notified when:
  • A payment fails or is charged back
  • A retry attempt is scheduled
  • All retry attempts are exhausted
  • A retry payment is successful
Check your Activity Log for complete payment recovery tracking.

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Best Practices

  • Standard subscriptions: 2 retries
  • High-value subscriptions: 3-4 retries
  • Annual subscriptions: 4-5 retries
Check subscriptions with active retries weekly to:
  • Identify patterns (same customer, same failure reason)
  • Reach out to customers proactively
  • Update payment methods before max retries
If the first retry fails, consider:
  • Sending a friendly reminder email
  • Asking them to update their payment method
  • Offering alternative payment options
For subscriptions that exhausted all retries:
  • Contact the customer directly
  • Offer a manual payment link
  • Consider pausing instead of canceling

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FAQs

No. Each retry is a separate payment attempt. The customer is only charged once when a payment succeeds.
Yes. Go to the subscription detail page and click “Process Payment” to create an immediate payment attempt.
The next scheduled retry will automatically use the updated payment method.
No. Retry attempts are included in PayRequest at no additional cost.
Yes. Set “Max Retry Attempts” to 0 in the subscription settings to disable automatic retries.
If the subscription was canceled before the retry, the retry will not be attempted.