It can be frustrating for both you as well as your customer when an order is rejected on your website. What made it not go through? Is something wrong in your store? Is the customer wrongly filling out a form? What next steps should you take?
We will walk you through the most common payment mistakes, their causes, and how we can fix them.
WooCommerce: How to determine why a payment has failed
How do you find out if an order has failed? You might get a call from a customer to let you know they received an error message while checking out. A red “Failed!” warning might appear in your order dashboard. Or, you may receive an email telling you that an order has failed.
The first step is to determine why the payment did not go through. To do so:
- Go to WooCommerce Orders on the WordPress dashboard (WP-admin).
- Locate the order that failed. You will see a red message indicating that the order has failed. Or you can search for customer names or order numbers. To find out more, click the order number.
- You’ll find a box called Order notes that contains a complete list of order details. You’ll find the message “Order status changed From Pending payment To Failed” and a separate note detailing the reason.
How to troubleshoot common reasons for orders that fail
Let’s look at some common errors that you might encounter in Order Notes and on your website’s front end. The exact error message you see will depend on which payment gateway you use. You may find an error code in order notes that are specific to your payment gateway. This can be used for research purposes or to contact customer support.
The customer’s credit card was declined
What error message do you see?
An error message may say, “The card has been declined.” You might also receive additional details, such as invalid CVV codes or exceeding transaction limits.
What is the cause of this error?
A card can be declined for many reasons. For example, the customer may not have enough funds in their bank account. The card could be expired. They may have exceeded their spending limit. They might have entered incorrectly.
What are the steps to fix this error?
WooCommerce Subscriptions will automatically test the card several times before changing it to On hold. This allows the customer to add funds to their bank account in ample time.
Customers will receive an error message when they purchase any product. This allows them to update their credit card information or input their details again.
A customer will receive an email if their subscription renewal is unsuccessful. This email will inform them that the payment has not been processed.
It’s unlikely that you can contact every customer and ask them to make another purchase for single-purchase products. If you already have a relationship with the customer you might be able to contact them and offer assistance. Not everyone is aware that an order did not go through despite receiving email notifications and error messages.
There is an authentication problem
What error message do you see?
An error message may appear saying “Authentication required” and “The request couldn’t be authorized.”
What is the cause of this error?
This is usually caused by a site having difficulty connecting to its payment gateway. For example, your username or password may not be correct.
WooCommerce integration options for Square’s payment gateway
What are the steps to fix this error?
Double-check the WooCommerce payment gateway settings. Verify that your API key works and that your username is correct. If that doesn’t resolve the problem, disconnect from your payment gateway and then reconnect. Reach out to the support team at your provider if necessary.
An additional transaction was submitted
What error message do you see?
You will see an error message that says “A duplicate transaction was submitted.”
What is the cause of this error?
This error is caused by multiple transactions that contain the same information (credit card number, name, address, etc.). Within a few minutes, they are all placed. This is a sign of fraud if the order is placed multiple times in a short period.
What are the steps to fix this error?
Encourage a customer to contact you if they receive an error message. They may have entered their CVV code wrongly, tried to fix it, and set off the duplicate order filter.
These errors may be coming from the same person repeatedly. It may be worth blocking their IP address and username using a firewall plugin or setting up an antifraud extension. Your payment gateway is already protecting you, which is a good thing!
Your API key has expired
What error message do you see?
You will see an error message that says “API key expired.”
What is the cause of this error?
To connect your WooCommerce payment gateway to your WooCommerce shop, API keys are required. These keys are usually entered in your WordPress dashboard’s payment gateway settings. If your API keys have been incorrectly entered or your account is disconnected, this error message may occur.
What are the steps to fix this error?
Log in to your payment gateway to obtain your API keys. Each provider should have documentation for finding them. Next, you can update them in WooCommerce.
Site issues
What error message do you see?
There will be many different error messages. The error message will vary widely.
What is the cause of this error?
Site errors are often caused by obsolete software (like WordPress core and themes, plugins, and plugins), server problems, or plugin conflicts.
What are the steps to fix this error?
These are some great steps to follow when troubleshooting. Test your checkout process between each step to determine if it has been resolved before moving on to the next.
- Start by updating WordPress along with all your themes and extensions.
- You can switch to a default theme such as Storefront, or Twenty-One.
- Temporarily disable all extensions other than WooCommerce or your payment gateway.
- For errors, check your WooCommerce system status and fix them.
- You can check your WordPress site for potential issues and then fix them.
If none of these steps solve the problem, contact one of our Happiness Engineers to get support.
How to avoid failed payments
There is no way to stop all failed payments. However, it’s best to avoid as many as possible. These are some steps that you can follow:
1. Customers should be able to easily update their credit card information
Customers should be able to update their information if their credit cards are canceled or expired. This can be done by default with an account. If guest checkout is enabled, you might also want to turn on account creation.
This can be done by visiting WooCommerce – Settings – Accounts & Privacy and ticking the box next “Allow customers to create an account during checkout.”
2. For failed payments, you can turn on email notifications
Email notifications following a failed order won’t stop it from happening but they can help you recover the sales. These can be enabled with an extension such AutomateWoo that allows you to set up email notifications when certain triggers happen, like a failed order status.
You could also create a follow-up email for subscription payments that failed using the WooCommerce Extension. You can choose a period after a failed payment, such as 30 minutes or two days. Then add any content to the email. This is a great way for customers to be notified that their subscription is suspended. If you include a coupon code to save 10% or get free shipping, customers who have canceled their subscriptions may be able to update their payment information. This will allow them to remain a subscriber for many years.
3. Check your checkout process regularly
Take the time to review your checkout process and verify that it is all working correctly. This will allow you to spot potential problems before they happen to your customers.
4. Regularly update WordPress extensions and themes
You can prevent potential conflicts and fix problems before they become a problem by updating your software as soon as it becomes available. You don’t have to remember to update your software or you can use the Jetpack plugin to automatically update everything.
5. Implement fraud prevention methods
You should implement security measures across your site if you notice a lot of duplicate payment errors or other signs that fraudsters are ordering. WooCommerce Anti-Fraudautomatically detects and prevents order fraud, so they’re blocked right away.
6. Customers can save on multiple credit cards
Customers with multiple cards can have one card on file. This allows them to quickly switch to the other card if they are having trouble with one. There’s no need to leave the sofa and search for another option.
You will need a payment gateway that supports saved cards such as WooCommerce payments. The shopper can save their payment information to their account to be used again when they check out.
Do not be discouraged by failed orders
Failed orders are a part of online shopping. However, it is possible to prevent them from happening and understand why.
