When a Payment Fails 💳🐷

A payment didn't go through. There are three possible reasons, and they need completely different fixes. 💳

1️⃣ The supporter's bank blocked it
2️⃣ Our safety checks stopped it — before it ever reached the bank
3️⃣ The creator's account can't currently accept payments

Here's how to tell which, and what to do. 👇

Most declines. The bank blocked it before we saw anything, and banks don't explain themselves.

🚫 International transaction blocks — very common, and most people don't know they have one
🚫 A daily or per-transaction limit
🚫 Insufficient funds
🚫 Card expired, or details entered wrong
🚫 Fraud detection — new merchant, unusual amount, purchase at 3am
🚫 Bank verification not completed — the screen was closed too early

What to try, in order:

1️⃣ Pay by Bank, if available in your country. Clears more reliably than cards and costs less. Often the whole fix. 🏦
2️⃣ Check the details — number, expiry, security code, billing address. The billing address is the one people get wrong.
3️⃣ Complete the bank verification screen fully. Don't close it, don't switch apps mid-way.
4️⃣ Ring your bank. One sentence — "I'm making an online purchase and it's being declined" — usually unblocks it immediately.
5️⃣ Try a different card.

This is the one nobody expects, so here's the honest explanation.

We run risk checks before a payment reaches the card networks at all. Not to be difficult — because stopping a fraudulent payment early protects the creator from a chargeback, and protects the whole platform's ability to take payments. 🐷

⏱️ Too many payments too quickly. Rapid-fire attempts look like card testing, so they get slowed down.

💷 Spending limits. There are caps on how much can be spent in a short window — per hour, per day, per week. They exist to protect cardholders whose details have been stolen.

👥 Paying lots of different creators very fast. A pattern that shows up in stolen-card fraud far more than in genuine support.

💰 An unusually large single payment. Not blocked — but it may need extra confirmation.

🌐 Elevated risk across the platform. During unusual activity, limits tighten platform-wide for everyone. Temporary, and it eases automatically.

Sometimes you'll be asked for a one-time code rather than being blocked.

That's not a rejection — it's a checkpoint. Enter the code and the payment goes through. It's the same principle as your bank texting you before a big purchase. ✅

After a run of failed or rapid attempts, there's a short cooldown before you can try again.

Retrying repeatedly makes this worse, not better. Wait it out, then try once. 🚫

Your support history shows your spend over the last hour, 24 hours and 7 days — and your current limits.

If a payment is being stopped and you can't work out why, look there first. It's usually immediately obvious. 📊

Nothing to do with you or your card. The message will say which:

📋 "Wishlist plan not active" — the creator's subscription has lapsed. They need to renew.

📝 "Temporarily unavailable while updating page" — the creator needs to post. Recurring features pause when someone misses the 3 posts every 28 days rule.

⚠️ "Account status issue" — something on the creator's account needs resolving.

In all three: message the creator. They can usually fix it in minutes and often don't know it's happened. 💬

Different problem, faster handling needed.

The supporter is notified and the payment retried. If it keeps failing, the subscription lapses — they lose access, the creator loses the income.

Usually a replaced or expired card. People forget what's attached to a card they've cancelled.

Creators: 💡

✅ Watch your dashboard. Failed recurring payments show up — don't let them sit.
✅ Message the supporter. Nine times out of ten it's a new bank card and a nudge fixes it in a minute.
✅ Don't take it personally. A failed payment is rarely someone leaving.

Creators: a high failure rate raises your risk classification, which can affect your reserve. See Payouts & Reserves 🏦🐷.

Not a punishment — a high decline rate is a recognised fraud signal, so it gets watched.

What keeps it low:

✅ Sensible pricing — very large amounts decline more often
✅ Clear listings, so nobody's paying for something confusing
✅ Encouraging Pay by Bank where available
✅ Telling supporters not to hammer retry 🚫

"I was charged but it says failed."
Usually a pending authorisation that drops off within a few working days rather than a real charge. If it settles, message us with the date and amount. 💬

"Why do I need a code when my card worked fine?"
Extra confirmation on higher-value or unusual payments. Enter it and you're through. 🔐

"I've been told to wait before trying again."
A cooldown after rapid or repeated attempts. Wait, then try once — don't retry through it.

"My card works everywhere else."
Usually an international block, since the platform is UK-registered. One call to your bank sorts it. 🌍

"Why does Pay by Bank work when my card doesn't?"
Different rails. Bank payments skip card fraud rules entirely — which is why it's the first thing to try. 🏦

"I've hit a spending limit — can it be raised?"
Limits protect cardholders whose details get stolen. Check your support history to see where you are; if you think there's a genuine problem, message us. 💬

"Why so many checks?"
Because every chargeback prevented is money a creator keeps. These checks are the reason payments here stay switched on. 🛡️

Every check exists so creators keep their money. 💳🐷