How we handle failed payments

Member payments can fail because of insufficient funds, an expired credit card, or another reason for a decline. Memberful notifies members about failed payments and retries the charge before deactivating their subscription. In this help article, we’ll explain how Memberful handles failed payments and expired credit cards, how to review payment declines, and why accurate business classification matters.

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How Memberful handles failed payments

After the first payment failure, Memberful emails the member to let them know their subscription is past due and prompts them to review and update their payment details. For more detail about these notifications, see Email templates. Memberful retries the payment up to four times, with 12 hours between retries.

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Why payments are declined

Credit card declines are determined by Stripe. For each transaction, Stripe passes back a simple “Yes” or “No” message to Memberful, but they don’t provide us with any additional information. The Stripe declines do show up in your Stripe dashboard, and sometimes they show a reason for the decline. Take a look through Stripe’s Declines and Failed Payments documentation for more information.

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How Memberful handles expired credit cards

If Memberful detects that a member’s credit card expires before their next renewal date, it emails the member a reminder. On the renewal date, Memberful attempts to charge the card on file, whether it is the original card or a replacement the member has added. An expired card usually results in a failed payment, although some banks allow charges on expired cards.

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How to reduce failed payments

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Check your merchant category code

Merchant category codes (MCCs) classify businesses by the goods or services they provide. Stripe assigns a code based on the information you provide during onboarding. Review your classification to make sure it accurately reflects your business, and update it if needed. When choosing a category, consider its association with fraudulent activity while keeping it aligned with what your business provides. Where accurate, describe the professional and essential nature of your service. Many membership products fit this description. Avoid the following categories where a more accurate alternative applies:

• entertainment and recreation
• travel and lodging
• transportation
• food and drink
• digital products, where possible; if this category applies, specify the type of digital product you provide
• clothing and accessories
• regulated and age-restricted products

The following categories are associated with lower instances of fraud and may be appropriate for your business:

• professional services
• membership organizations
• education

Choose the subcategory that accurately describes your business.

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Review and update your merchant category code

Allow at least 30 days before assessing whether the changes have reduced your failed payment rate.