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My payment failed, now what?

  • Updated

When a payment fails, no new purchases or other payment reschedules are authorized until the failed payment is corrected and fully processed. (Note that if you pay with a checking account, the processing time is up to 4 business days.) The failed payment's new due date also cannot be rescheduled, but you may pay it early. If you resolve the failed payment within 48 hours*, the fee will be waived. 

To resolve any failed payments, navigate to Orders on your dashboard and select "Pay" next to the order you'd like to pay off. To learn more about paying off orders, click here. 

Why did my payment fail?

There are a few reasons why a payment may fail - below, we have outlined two of the most common reasons:

Insufficient Funds/Bank Decline

Sometimes, when we attempt to collect a payment on the payment method attached to an installment, we receive a message from the financial institution that declines the payment method. When a payment method is declined for an installment, the payment is labeled as "Failed" in our systems. A payment method could be declined for several reasons.

  • There were not enough funds in the account at the time of the attempt to cover the installment charge
  • There are pending charges on the account that reduces the available balance
  • The financial institution 

Often, your financial institution can provide more insight into why a charge was declined.
Payment Information Incorrect or Expired

If the information associated with the payment method on the due installment is incorrect or expired, the payment will most likely fail. Be sure to confirm all of the following information is correct regarding the payment method you are attempting to use to pay an installment.

  • Bank account has not been closed, OR card has not expired
  • Account number, expiration date, CVV, and all other payment information displays as it does on your bank statement
  • Billing address is listed correctly

 

How do I prevent failed payments in the future?

You can do a few things to ensure that failed payments do not occur on your account. 

  1. Confirm that you are receiving payment reminder notifications - To be on the safe side, you'll want to check that you haven’t marked our texts or emails as “spam” or had them sent straight to your junk folder. We always send alerts before a payment is due because we don’t want to catch you by surprise, so it can’t hurt to review your notification settings here.
  2. Be sure there are always sufficient funds on your default payment methods - If the funds are available and are not in a pending status on your account, the payment should go through successfully.
  3. Ensure the payment information on your account is accurate and up to date - Sometimes, cards may expire, or account/routing numbers may change. Be sure that your payment method information is updated at all times to avoid payment failures in the future. 

*Depending on your state, this 48-hour grace period may last up to 15 calendar days. Grace periods will always reflect on your Sezzle account based on location. Please reference your state legislature for more details. Fees may not apply to shoppers in certain regions—please review our user agreement for more information. Where imposed, fee amounts are determined by individual state regulations and will reflect on your Sezzle account accordingly based on your location.

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