How Pay Advantage Handles Failed Direct Debit Payments
Last updated About 5 hours ago
When a customer's Direct Debit payment fails, Pay Advantage can automatically manage the failed payment based on the settings you've selected for your Direct Debit schedule.
Depending on the reason for the failure, the system may automatically retry the payment or send your customer a secure link to update their payment details.
This article explains how failed Direct Debit payments are handled, when payments are automatically retried and when you may need to take further action.
What Happens When a Direct Debit Payment Fails?
When setting up a Direct Debit schedule, you'll be asked to select an On Failed Payment setting.
This determines how Pay Advantage should handle a payment if it fails.
Some of the available options include:
Retry in 3 days: Automatically reattempt the failed payment in 3 days.
Retry in 1 week: Automatically reattempt the failed payment in 7 days.
Retry with the next scheduled payment: Reattempt the failed payment in line with the customer's next scheduled Direct Debit.
If a payment fails and is eligible for an automatic retry, Pay Advantage will reschedule the payment according to your selected setting.
However, how the system handles a failed payment also depends on the reason the payment was declined.
Insufficient Funds
An insufficient funds failure occurs when your customer doesn't have enough money available in their nominated bank account to cover the Direct Debit payment.
What happens next?
Pay Advantage will automatically reschedule the failed payment according to the On Failed Payment setting you've selected.
The system will make up to three consecutive attempts to recover a payment that fails due to insufficient funds.
If the third consecutive attempt is unsuccessful, the Direct Debit schedule will automatically be placed on pause.
What do I need to do?
If the Direct Debit schedule has been paused, you'll need to follow up with your customer before payments can continue.
Depending on their circumstances, you may need to:
Update their nominated payment details.
Adjust the Direct Debit payment amount.
Change their scheduled payment dates.
Resume the Direct Debit schedule once the customer has confirmed they're ready to continue payments.
Important: Once the schedule has been paused following three consecutive failed attempts, it will not automatically resume. You'll need to review and resume the schedule when appropriate.
Pick-Up Card (Lost or Stolen Card)
A Pick-Up Card failure generally indicates that the customer's card has been reported as lost or stolen.
For security reasons, payments cannot continue to be processed using this card.
What happens next?
Pay Advantage will automatically send your customer a Change of Account link via SMS and email, allowing them to securely provide new payment details.
If the customer doesn't complete the link immediately, they'll receive automatic reminders on days 2, 4 and 7.
The link will expire on day 7.
What do I need to do?
Your customer will need to open the link and enter the details of a valid replacement card or another supported payment account.
If the link expires before they've updated their details, you'll need to manually send them a new Change of Account link.
Expired Card
An expired card failure occurs when the card linked to the customer's Direct Debit schedule has passed its expiry date and can no longer be used to process payments.
What happens next?
Pay Advantage will automatically send the customer a Change of Account link via SMS and email.
If the customer hasn't updated their details, automatic reminders will be sent on days 2, 4 and 7, with the link expiring on day 7.
What do I need to do?
Your customer will need to complete the Change of Account link with their updated card details or another supported payment account.
If the link expires, you'll need to manually send a new one so the customer can update their details and continue their payments.
s is a customer-initiated action and is controlled by their financial institution.
What happens next?
Pay Advantage will automatically send the customer a Change of Account link via SMS and email so they can update their payment details.
If the link isn't completed, automatic reminders will be sent on days 2, 4 and 7. The link expires on day 7.
What do I need to do?
Your customer has two options:
Provide a different payment account: The customer can use the Change of Account link to nominate a new bank account or card for future payments.
Contact their bank to remove the payment stop: If the customer wishes to continue using their existing account, they'll need to contact their bank and request that the payment stop be removed. Once this has been completed, they can enter the same account details through the Change of Account link.
If the link expires, you'll need to manually send the customer a new one.
Important: Pay Advantage cannot remove a payment stop placed by a customer's bank. The customer must contact their financial institution directly to resolve this.
Need Assistance?
If you're unsure why a customer's Direct Debit payment has failed, or need assistance updating or resuming a Direct Debit schedule, our Customer Support team is happy to help.
Related articles
How Your Customer Changes Their Payment Details for an Active Direct Debit
Direct Debit Statuses
Bulk Direct Debit Changes
Dishonours & Fee Settings
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