Failed Payments Problems with Payments Within Your Membership Website

Jul 28, 2022

Table of Contents

When you build an online membership website, you're full of excitement to earn a passive income with an online business. However, there are times where problems can arise, like failed payments which put a stop for your monthly revenue.

It can be an extremely stressful circumstance, but be assured that there are simple solutions to this issue!

In this article, we'll discuss the causes of why online payments may fail in your membership site.

In addition, we'll talk about the ways your business online can handle these failed payments with the least amount of difficulty, and we'll go over some ways to keep fromfailed payment at all costs.

We'll get started!

What are the causes of failed payments?

The beauty of having an online company is that you can accept payments using a range of ways (credit/debit cards, Stripe, PayPal as well as digital wallets etc. ).

But, when a failed payments occurs, the business owner soon realize that the ease of payment options can be both an opportunity and a drawback.

Most common reasons for non-payments comprise:

  • A cancelled or expired debit/credit card
  • Insufficient funds on the debit or credit card
  • Incorrect bank account or card number
  • A bug in your payment gateway
  • A hold is placed on the account or card of the customer because of the bank's security prevention

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

If a missed due to a payment that you made is the fault of yours the negative impact it has on the business of your member.

  • You may not be able to withdraw your cash whenever you want or have to forfeit that money completely.
  • The person who is unable to pay may not want to go through the trouble of returning to make another payment. Therefore, you may be losing a client.
  • Customers may lose faith to your company if the payment is not successful or is not received, and may be reluctant to return.

Losing a customer can be a severe loss. If you have a website that has many failed transactions the consequences could be devastating. It's essential to understand what to do when your site experiences a lot of failed payments.

How do I handle the issue of a failed payment?

Failure to pay is a common occurrence. It's a normal part of doing business on the internet. When they occur to you, be sure that you're prepared for the circumstance.

Below are a few useful tips.

Don't panic.

The first thing you need to do when a situation of payment failure occurs is to be sure to remain calm.

We've said it before, failed payment can happen even to the most seasoned of us. If you're calmer the better chance that you will not annoy your customer with your overreaction. It's okay to be alarmed, but make sure you're relaxed so you can handle 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, don't assume your customer knows about it.

The first step is to contact your client to let them know of the problem. In addition to providing excellent customer service, it also assures your client that you're aware and that they're important to you.

Find an answer.

After alerting your client to the problem and notified them of the issue, it's time to present an idea of how you can resolve the problem.

If the problem is in your hands, tell them know that you've solved the issue. If it's at their side, offer clear steps on how to fix the problem.

The more simple and concise your instructions are, the greater the chance that your client will follow through.

Be professional.

In the event of a failed payment, it can be embarrassing for both the customer and you. It's essential to stay professional, both for the benefit of the client as well as your own personal benefit.

Never take a failed payment or a lack of a response from your customer to the heart. The only thing you have to do is inform the customer of the issue with a solution and let the customer wait. You can't force a member returning to your website for membership, and you don't need to!

Take a lesson from it.

And lastly, take the opportunity to learn from the mistake. If it was a problem that you caused or not can take this as an opportunity to learn and do better in the future!

How to Avoid Failed Payments In the First Place

It's true that the old saying goes: Prevention is the best medicine. The same goes for failed payments.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to prevent the failed-payment problem prior to it arising.

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

In the next section, we'll review general settings for failed payments in addition to a discussion of some specific solutions for gateways. Then, we'll let into a fantastic plugin that will continue to record lost payments for a long time after the gateway gives up.

settings for failed payments

There is a useful setting for recovering your failed payments. For it, go to your WordPress dashboard > > Settings > Emails tab.

When you are looking through the list of automated emails, you'll see an option that reads, "Send Failed Transaction Notice". Just check the box to activate the setting.

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

There's a default message that comes with the program However, you're able to edit the message any way you would like. For example, you might include a hyperlink to the member's account page to allow them to easily and quickly modify their details for payment.

Recovery of failed payments using Stripe

If you're using this Stripe payments gateway you are able to configure the possibility of establishing a personalized retrying schedule.

For this feature you must go to your Stripe Dashboard > Settings > Payments > Subscriptions and Emails > Manage failed payments Set it so that the customer's account is charged after X amount of time.

Additionally, you can use Stripe's Smart Retries. This awesome feature allows you to determine an optimized time, then attempts to charge the card of the customer at that time.

Recovery of failed payments using PayPal

It's not necessary to setup or modify with PayPal's specific payment recovery.

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

Recovery of failed payments using Authorize.net

In terms of recovering payments it is the Authorize.net payment gateway is also pretty straightforward (though still useful! ).

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

The Churn Buster Plugin

And of course, long after the payment processor is gone, Churn Buster is still at work trying to retrieve the failed transactions should they happen. The program even includes features that can improve the strategic timing and frequency of retries to cards which can lead to greater chances of success.

Churn Buster's retry scheduling algorithm is highly effective in helping to recover failed payments caused by things like daily spending limits, temporary holds, and processing timeouts.

The best part? Churn Buster offers new customers a free 14-day trial.

Final Reflections

Whatever kind of business online you have, failed payments can appear on your doorstep in any moment. Make sure you remain calm and handle the situation in a calm and professional manner.

Remember, prevention is the best medicine. Hopefully, our tips will help you handle your payment problems like a boss!

Have you had the experience of having to handle a non-payment payee? How did you handle it?