Troubleshooting Failed Stripe Direct Debit Payments
If a direct debit payment fails in Rechargly, it is usually because the customer's bank rejected the debit request. This article explains the most common reasons and what to do about each one.
Common reasons for direct debit failures
1. Insufficient funds
The customer's bank account did not have enough funds when the debit was processed.
Wait 2-3 business days and retry the payment from the Invoices page.
If the issue persists, contact the customer to confirm their account has sufficient funds.
2. Account closed or invalid
The bank account linked to the agreement no longer exists or has been closed.
Go to Agreements and find the customer.
Send them a new agreement link so they can update their payment details.
3. Bank rejected the debit (authorisation issue)
The customer's bank has blocked the direct debit, often because the customer has not authorised it or has placed a block on third-party debits.
Ask the customer to contact their bank and authorise direct debits from Rechargly/Stripe.
Once authorised, retry the payment.
4. Mandate cancelled
The customer has cancelled their direct debit mandate with their bank.
Remove the payment method from the customer profile in Stripe so the customer can set up their direct debit again.
5. No reason provided
Stripe does not always tell us why the payment method failed. Remove the payment method from Stripe and ask your customer to set up their direct debit again.
6. Payment debited from the bank but showing as failed in Stripe
In rare cases, the customer's bank confirms money was debited from their account, but Stripe and Rechargly show the payment as failed. This can happen when:
The bank initiates the debit but later reverses it due to an internal compliance check.
There is a timing mismatch between when the bank processes the debit and when Stripe receives confirmation.
The bank returns a late failure code after initially accepting the debit.
What to do:
This one sits between the customer's bank and Stripe, so Rechargly cannot resolve it directly.
The customer needs to check their bank statement and confirm whether the funds actually left their account and were not refunded.
If the funds were taken and not returned, the customer shares that bank statement for the relevant period with Stripe. Stripe will then investigate and take the appropriate action.
Do not retry the payment until Stripe has confirmed the status of the original debit.
Our support team can help you gather what Stripe needs (customer name, invoice number, and dates), but the investigation and any refund sit with Stripe and the customer's bank.
How to retry a failed payment
Go to the Invoices page.
Find the failed invoice (it will show a "Failed" status).
Expand the invoice and select the Stripe logo.
Click Charge customer to attempt the payment again.
Stripe will process the retry. Allow 2-3 business days for BECS debits to clear.
Pro tip:
Make sure you turn on revenue recovery from Stripe so that your clients are notified when a payment fails or if their card is about to expire.