Troubleshooting: Autocharge Payment Failed

This article explains why an Autocharge payment may fail and what to do to resolve it.

For: Front office teams and Prommt account administrators managing Autocharge plans.

An Autocharge payment is a charge processed automatically against a customer's stored card — without the customer needing to take any action. When this fails, it means the charge was attempted but not approved. The payment did not go through and the customer has not been charged.

Go to Autocharge Plans in your dashboard and locate the relevant plan. Click into it to see the payment history and the status of the failed attempt.

Then open the failed payment in View Payments and check the Payment Gateway Response — this is the most important diagnostic step. The response code tells you exactly why the charge was declined.

Card expired The stored card has passed its expiry date. The customer needs to provide updated card details — see the resolution steps below.

Insufficient funds The card was declined due to lack of available funds. The customer needs to resolve this with their bank or provide an alternative card.

Card blocked or restricted The customer's bank has blocked the transaction — this can happen due to a security flag, a spending restriction, or an account issue. The customer needs to contact their bank.

Card reported lost or stolen The stored card is no longer valid. A new card capture is required.

Gateway connection issue A technical problem occurred at the point of processing. Check Settings → Card Gateway to confirm your gateway is connected and in Live Mode. If it looks correct, try creating the Autocharge payment again. If it continues to fail, contact Prommt Support.

Step 1 — Notify the customer If Failed Payment notifications are enabled in Settings → Autocharge Plans, the customer will have already been alerted automatically. If not, contact them directly to let them know the charge didn't go through.

Step 2 — Attempt a retry (if appropriate) If the failure was likely temporary — a brief network issue or a one-off bank block — you can attempt to create the Autocharge payment again from the ... menu on the plan. Only do this if you have reason to believe the issue has been resolved.

Step 3 — Capture a new card if needed If the card is expired, lost, or no longer valid, you'll need to capture updated details. Send the customer a new Zero Value

Autocharge request — they enter their new card and consent to Autocharge, creating a fresh plan. Cancel the old plan once the new one is active.

See How to create a Zero Value Autocharge plan for step-by-step instructions.

Step 4 — Cancel the old plan Once the customer has enrolled with a new card, go to Autocharge Plans, find the original plan, click the ... menu, and cancel it. This prevents any confusion between the two plans.

The new Autocharge payment processes successfully and appears as Paid in View Payments. If a new plan was created, it shows as Active under Autocharge Plans with the updated card stored against it.

The customer says their card is fine but the payment keeps failing. Ask them to check with their bank — some banks flag automated charges from unfamiliar merchants and block them silently. The customer may need to whitelist the charge or approve it via their banking app.

The Failed Payment notification wasn't sent to the customer. Go to Settings → Autocharge Plans and confirm the Failed Payment toggle is on and a valid template is selected. Also check the customer's contact details on the plan are correct.

I can't see the option to create a new Autocharge payment. Confirm the plan status is Active. If the plan has lapsed or been cancelled, the option won't be available — you'll need to create a new plan from scratch.

The gateway response code isn't clear. Contact Prommt Support via the chat button in your dashboard with the payment reference and the gateway response shown — we can help interpret it and advise on next steps.