What happens when a subscription payment fails
When a subscription payment fails, an invoice is automatically created and sent to the customer, and the system retries the payment on a schedule you control from Payments > Settings > Subscriptions. You can also set the subscription to be cancelled automatically if all retries fail.
The payment failure process
A failed subscription payment moves through the same steps in this order:
An invoice is automatically created and sent to the customer.
The customer can pay the invoice with an existing payment method or add a new one. If a new card is used, it becomes the default payment method for future subscription payments.
The system automatically retries the subscription payment at fixed intervals based on your retry settings.
Whether the payment succeeds through a retry or through the invoice, the subscription status changes to Active, provided no other invoice is pending against the subscription.
If all retries fail, the subscription remains in the unpaid state.
Configure the retry settings
Retry settings live at Payments > Settings > Subscriptions, and any changes you make apply to both new and existing subscriptions, including subscriptions currently undergoing retries.
Open Payments > Settings > Subscriptions.
Choose the number of retries: 1, 2, or 3. The default is 3 retries, one day apart.
Choose the interval between retries: 1, 3, 5, or 7 days.
Set subscriptions to be automatically marked as cancelled when all payments fail, if that is the behavior you want.
What else to know
Customers receive notifications about the failed payment and the generated invoice.
Payment retries run in parallel with the invoice payment option, giving the customer multiple ways to complete the payment.
If the customer pays the invoice before a retry attempt, the retry process stops automatically.
You can update the retry settings at any time, and the changes immediately affect all applicable subscriptions.
For details on managing stored payment methods, see the article "Add and manage customer cards on file".