When a recurring payment fails

Cards expire, get replaced after fraud, or run short at month-end. DonorFinch handles the retries and the emails so you don't have to chase.

The retry schedule

After the 4th failure (about 11 days after the original date) the plan becomes past due and automatic retries stop.

Some declines don't retry at all, because retrying can't help: a card reported lost or stolen, a closed account, or the donor's bank saying "do not honor" permanently. Those go past due immediately.

What the donor receives

• After the first failure: a short email, "We couldn't process your monthly gift to Your Organization", explaining we'll try again and including an Update your payment method link.
• When the plan goes past due: a second email saying the gift is on hold until they update their card, with the same link.

Both emails come from DonorFinch with your organization's name. There's no phone call, no pressure, and nothing is charged twice.

What you see

• The plan shows Past due under Recurring, with the decline reason from the bank.
• Owners and Admins receive an email when a plan goes past due, and the dashboard's attention list counts past-due plans.

Getting the plan going again

1. Email the donor a card-update link from the plan page, or let them use the link in the email they got.
2. When they save a new method, the plan reactivates, the overdue period is charged once, and the schedule continues. Missed months are not stacked.

If the donor wants a fresh start instead, cancel the plan and have them give again from your form.

Things that don't happen

• Past-due plans are never auto-canceled; they wait for a decision. Review them monthly.
• Declines are not reported as gifts, so they never affect receipts or statements.
• Nothing is sent to collections, obviously; these are gifts.