Failed Payments Problems with Payments Within Your Membership Website

Jul 28, 2022

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If you've created an online membership website and you're excited to finally create steady income through an online company. There are instances where problems can be encountered, for instance, a failure to pay, that put a pause for your monthly revenue.

This can be a stressful scenario, but you can be confident that there are simple solutions to this issue!

In this article we'll go over the reasons why online payments may fail within your site's membership.

Also, we'll discuss ways your business online can deal with these unpaid payments in the most graceful way possible as well as a look at ways to preventfailed payment at all costs.

Let's get to it!

What are the causes of failed payments?

The beauty of having an online business is the ability to accept payments in a number of ways (credit/debit cards, Stripe PayPal, digital wallets, and so on. ).

However, when a failed payment occurs, business owners quickly learn that these convenient payment options can be both an opportunity and a drawback.

The most common causes of failure to pay include:

  • An expired or canceled debit/credit card
  • A lack of funds on the credit/debit card
  • The incorrect bank account or card information
  • There is a problem with your payment processor
  • A hold is placed on the customer's account/card because of the bank's security prevention

What are the consequences of failed payments for My Small Business?

No matter if a failed payment was your fault, it can negatively affect your membership business.

  • You may not have the ability to access your funds at the time you'd like, or you may have to forfeit that money completely.
  • A member whose payment fails might not wish to deal with the hassle of making a new payment. Therefore, you may be losing a client.
  • A customers might lose trust with your business in the event of the payment is not successful or is not received, and may be reluctant to return.

The loss of a client can be a severe loss. If your site experiences many failed transactions the consequences could be catastrophic. Therefore, it's crucial to understand what to do when failed payments happen to you.

How do I handle a Failed Payment?

In the event of a failed payment, it happens. It's just part of conducting business on the internet. When they occur to you, be sure that you're prepared for the situation.

Following are a few helpful tips.

Don't panic.

The first thing you should do when a failed payment arises is keep your mind on the right track.

As we mentioned, failing payment can happen even to the most seasoned of us. The more calm you are more likely you won't offend your customer in a rash reaction. You're allowed to be a bit worried However, make sure that you're at ease so that you can manage the situation in a manner that is appropriate.

Be sure that everyone is aware.

This is a crucial issue! In the event of a non-payment do not assume that your client knows about it.

The first step is to reach out to your customer and inform them about the issue. In addition to providing excellent customer service, but it shows your customer that you're aware of them and that they're important to you.

Provide a solution.

When you've alerted the customer to the problem, you'll want to offer the solution to fix it.

If the issue lies on your end, let them know you've fixed the problem. If it's something that they can do, give them clear steps on how to fix the problem.

The simpler and more clear your instructions, the higher the likelihood that your customers will follow through.

Be professional.

A failed payment can be embarrassing for both you and your customer. But it's important to remain professional for the sake of your customer as well as for your own benefit.

Never take a failed payment or a lack of a reply from your client to take it to. All you can do is communicate the problem, offer a solution, and wait. There is no way to force a customer returning to your website for membership, and you wouldn't want to anyway!

Learn from it.

Last but not least, make the most of this opportunity to learn from this mistake. If it was a problem on your end or not, you are able to always use the situation as a learning experience to improve your performance in the future!

How to Avoid Failed Payments In the First Place

It's true that the old expression is: Prevention is the most effective treatment. The same goes for failed payment.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to avoid the problem of failed payment before it starts.

includes features to assist with failed repayment recovery, which work with the payment gateway.

Below, we'll go over general settings for failed payments in addition to a discussion of several solutions that are specific to gateways. Last, we'll clue users into an amazing plugin that will continue to capture lost payments long after the gateway has given up.

settings for failed payments

There is a useful setting for recovering failed payment. For access, go to your WordPress dashboard > Settings > email tab.

In the list of automated emails, you'll see an option titled, "Send Failed Transaction Notice". Just check the box to enable the option.

Once enabled, this function will email anyone whose payments have failed.

The default message comes that comes with the program, but you can edit the message any way you would like. You could, for instance, include a link to the member's account page in order to let them easily and quickly update their payment details.

Rectifying failed transactions with Stripe

If you're using this Stripe payments gateway you can set up a customized retry timetable.

For this feature you must go to the Stripe Dashboard > Settings > billing > subscriptions and emails > Manage failed payments Set it up so that a customer's account is charged at the end of X time.

Additionally, you can use the Stripe Smart Retries feature. This awesome feature allows you to determine the best time to charge, and then attempts to charge a customer's credit card at the same moment.

Paying back failed transactions with PayPal

There's nothing to set up or customize with PayPal-specific payment recovery.

After a failed payment, PayPal will complete three retries over fifteen days (each attempt will be separated by five days). If the attempts all fail within 15 days, the subscription cancels automatically.

Recovering failed payments with Authorize.net

In terms of payment recovery it is the Authorize.net payment gateway is pretty straightforward (though nevertheless, it's a great option! ).

If you enable the Automatic Retry feature, a member's subscription will remain in a "pending" status until the card's information is updated.

The Churn Buster Plugin

In the end, even after the payment processor has stopped working, Churn Buster is still busy working hard to recover the failed transactions should they happen. The program even includes capabilities that enhance the timing of strategic transactions and frequency of retries to cards which can lead to greater results.

Churn Buster's optimized retry schedule can be extremely effective when helping to recover failed payments that are caused by issues like daily spending limits or temporary hold-ups, as well as processing timeouts.

The greatest benefit? Churn Buster provides new customers with an unbeatable 14-day trial.

Final thoughts

No matter what sort of online business run, insolvent payments could appear on your doorstep at any time. Be sure to remain cool and manage the situation in a calm and professional manner.

Keep in mind that prevention is the best treatment. Hope that these tips help you handle your failed payments like a boss!

Did you have to handle a non-payment payment? What did you do?