📝 Overview
This guide explains how to resolve failed Direct Debit payments when your customers pay through GoCardless. Unlike Stripe, GoCardless payments are not retried automatically, so any failed payments will need to be resolved manually from your dashboard.
Failed GoCardless payments can be found under To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments or Billing/Revenue ➜ Failed (which redirects to Failed Payments in To-Dos).
⚠️ GoCardless payments are not automatically retried. When a GoCardless payment fails, you will need to take manual action to resolve it using the options described below.
💡 Why GoCardless Payments Fail
There are several reasons why a Direct Debit payment through GoCardless may fail. Understanding the most common causes can help you resolve the issue more quickly.
Click the arrow to learn more about common failure reasons
Click the arrow to learn more about common failure reasons
The most common cause of a failed GoCardless payment is insufficient funds in the customer's bank account. Other possible reasons include:
Bank account closed – The customer's bank account has been closed since the mandate was set up.
Direct Debit cancelled – The customer has cancelled the Direct Debit instruction with their bank.
Bank declined the payment – The customer's bank declined the transaction for another reason.
For more detailed information about a specific payment failure, you can log in to your GoCardless dashboard directly, or contact GoCardless support at [email protected].
💡 When contacting GoCardless, have the Payment ID ready. A GoCardless Payment ID follows the format PM000123456789 (example).
🛠️ How To Resolve a Failed GoCardless Payment
When a GoCardless payment fails, it will appear under To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments. From here, you can click Actions next to the payment to choose how you want to resolve it.
Click the arrow to view the available actions
Click the arrow to view the available actions
Retry
This option allows you to retry the payment through GoCardless directly from within your dashboard. It is advisable to check with the customer that their account has sufficient funds before retrying.
If the retry is successful, the failed payment will be removed from the Failed Payments page and marked as paid in your revenue report. GoCardless retries may take 3–5 business days before the result is confirmed.
If the retry fails, the payment will reappear in your Failed Payments section.
💡 Future monthly payments scheduled to be processed through GoCardless are not affected by a single failed payment.
Void
Voiding an invoice will skip the payment permanently. Once voided, the invoice can no longer be paid.
Change payment method
This option allows you to change the customer's payment method on their membership and process the failed payment via the new method. This may be useful if the customer would like to switch to a different payment method such as Stripe.
Cancel membership
Select this option if you wish to cancel the customer's membership entirely. When you cancel the membership, you will also have the option to cancel any remaining pending payments.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Does GoCardless automatically retry failed payments?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. GoCardless payments are not automatically retried. You will need to manually retry the payment from To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments using the steps described above.
How long does a GoCardless retry take to process?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Once you retry a GoCardless payment, it may take 3–5 business days before the result is confirmed. If the retry is successful, the payment will be marked as paid in your revenue report. If it fails, the payment will reappear in your Failed Payments section.
Will future GoCardless payments be affected if one payment fails?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. Future monthly payments scheduled to be processed through GoCardless are not affected by a single failed payment. Only the specific payment that failed needs to be resolved.
How does the "failed payment attempts" setting work with GoCardless?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
The "Number of failed payment attempts before a membership is unusable" setting in Settings ➜ Registrations ➜ Customers counts manual retries for GoCardless, rather than automatic retries. Each time you manually retry a GoCardless payment and it fails again, that counts toward the limit. Once the limit is reached, the customer's membership becomes unusable.
For more information on this setting, see the Customer Settings guide here.
Where can I find more information about a specific GoCardless failure?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
For detailed information about why a specific payment failed, you can log in to your GoCardless dashboard. You can also contact GoCardless support at [email protected] with the Payment ID (which follows the format PM000123456789).
What happens if a customer's first GoCardless payment on a recurring membership fails?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
If the first payment on a recurring membership fails, the system will automatically remove the customer from any classes they registered for. This applies only to the first payment. For subsequent payments, existing registrations remain active.
For more detail on this behavior, see the guide on what happens when a payment fails here.
I'm not receiving GoCardless payouts to my bank account. What should I do?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
GoCardless payouts are managed entirely by GoCardless, not through your dashboard. If you are expecting a payout that has not arrived, log in to your GoCardless dashboard and check the Payouts section to see the status of your payouts, including whether they have been sent to your bank.
If a payout shows as sent but has not arrived in your bank account, or if payouts appear to be delayed or missing, contact GoCardless support at [email protected] with your account details and the dates of the expected payouts. GoCardless can investigate the status of the transfer with your bank.
If you believe customers are being charged but the payments are not appearing in your GoCardless dashboard at all, please also contact our support team so we can check whether there is a sync issue between your dashboard and GoCardless.
My customers are being charged but payments are not showing in GoCardless. What should I do?
Click the arrow to see the answer
Click the arrow to see the answer
If a customer reports being charged but you cannot find the corresponding payment in your GoCardless dashboard, start by checking the customer's profile in your dashboard. Navigate to Customers ➜ Customer List, find the customer, and check their Payments tab to see if the payment is recorded there.
If the payment shows in the customer's profile but not in GoCardless, or if the payment is missing from both, contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard with the customer's name, the expected payment date, and the amount. The team can investigate whether the payment was processed and whether there is a sync issue between GoCardless and your dashboard.