# Payment Failed or Card Declined

> What happens when a payment fails, the three days before Revnu pauses, how to pay or approve the payment (3DS and Indian RBI e-mandates), checkout in the Instagram or Facebook browser, prepaid cards, why a card that worked at sign-up gets declined, and whether queued emails and ads survive.

Canonical: https://revnu.com/docs/payment-problems
Last updated: 2026-10-16

When a payment fails, a banner appears at the top of every dashboard page. Pay from that banner. Revnu keeps working for three days while the payment is retried. If it's still unpaid after that, Revnu pauses until it's paid. Nothing is lost while it's paused, and it picks up where it stopped once you pay.

## How do I pay?

### 1. Open any dashboard page

The banner at the top says "Your card didn't go through", or "Your bank wants you to approve the payment". Once Revnu has paused, it says "Revnu is paused".

### 2. Press the button the banner shows

The banner shows only the button that can work for your payment:

- **Approve Payment** appears when your bank wants you to approve the charge. It opens Stripe's payment page.
- **Try My Card Again** charges the card on file now. If the bank declines, the banner shows the bank's reason.
- **Pay Another Way** opens Stripe's payment page, where you can pay with a different card.

### 3. Approve it if your bank asks

Approve the charge in your banking app or with the code your bank sends. Then switch back to the same browser tab.

### 4. Check the banner clears

The banner goes away once the payment goes through. Give it a minute and reload if it's still there.

To change the card for future charges, open **Settings > Account** and press **Update Card** (**Update Payment Method** if you don't pay by card). See [Change your card and download invoices](/docs/billing-and-invoices).

## What happens when my payment fails?

1. **Straight away** you get an email, and every dashboard page shows a banner: "Your card didn't go through". It says the date Revnu keeps working until.
2. **For three days** Revnu keeps working while our payment provider, Stripe, retries your card.
3. **After three days**, if it's still unpaid, Revnu pauses and you get a second email. The banner changes to "Revnu is paused". It lists what's waiting, like emails ready to send and approvals.
4. **The moment it's paid**, everything starts again.

## My bank wants me to approve the payment. What do I do?

Press **Approve Payment** on the banner or in the email. Stripe's payment page opens. Pay there and approve the charge when your bank asks, in your banking app or with a code. Then come back to Revnu. The banner clears once the payment goes through.

This check is called 3D Secure (3DS): your bank asks you to confirm a card payment yourself before it goes through. The email and banner then say "Your bank wants you to approve the payment". **Try My Card Again** can't pass it, because the bank needs you there to approve.

**Why does my Indian card need approving every month?**

Under RBI rules, Indian banks need an e-mandate for recurring card payments. That's a standing permission your bank sets up so a subscription can charge your card each month without asking you. Revnu bills from outside India, so the bank treats it as an international merchant. If the e-mandate isn't active, which is often what's behind this, the bank asks you to approve each renewal.

To stop the monthly approvals, ask your bank to enable recurring payments (e-mandates) for international merchants on your card, or use a card that supports them. Until then, approve each month with **Approve Payment**, or add a different card with **Update Card** in **Settings > Account**. Revnu can't change your bank's rules.

## Why was a card that worked at sign-up declined?

At sign-up a free trial charges nothing, so the card only has to pass a check. The first real charge is the first time the card actually pays. Common reasons it fails then:

- Not enough money or credit on the card.
- A prepaid, gift or virtual card that allows the sign-up check but refuses monthly charges, or has run out.
- The bank blocking a charge from abroad or a recurring charge. Revnu bills in US dollars.
- The bank wanting you to approve it, as above.

Use a regular debit or credit card, or ask your bank to allow the charge, then press **Try My Card Again**.

**On a prepaid card,** top it up with at least the amount due, then press **Try My Card Again**. Or press **Pay Another Way** to pay with a different card.

## What happens to my queued emails, LinkedIn steps and ads?

While Revnu is paused:

- Emails waiting to send are held, not deleted. LinkedIn steps wait too.
- Live ad campaigns are paused on the ad platform, so no budget is spent while nobody is watching them.
- Posts don't publish, AI visibility checks stop and daily updates stop.
- Messages to Revnu get one reply a day saying it's paused.

When you pay, held emails and LinkedIn steps go out and Revnu carries on. The campaigns Revnu paused for the payment are turned back on, usually within the hour. A campaign you paused yourself stays paused.

> **Warning:** Pay within a week of the pause. About seven days after Revnu pauses, which is about 10 days after the first failed payment, we cancel the sending inboxes Revnu bought for you, which deletes their mail for good. We also disconnect your Gmail, Outlook and LinkedIn from Revnu. After that you set sending up again when you pay, and any new sending inboxes warm up from the start.

## I want to leave instead of paying

If your first payment after the trial failed and you've never paid, open **Settings > Account** and press **Cancel Plan**. It ends the plan now and clears the failed payment, so you're not charged for it. No "paused" email follows. See [Cancel your trial or plan](/docs/cancel).

## Checkout in the Instagram or Facebook browser

If you tapped a Revnu ad in Instagram or Facebook, the page opened in that app's built-in browser. Google sign-in can't finish there. Revnu shows a screen that opens the page in your phone's own browser, Safari or Chrome. Use it to sign up and pay. See [Signing up from Facebook or Instagram](/docs/get-started#signing-up-from-facebook-or-instagram-on-your-phone).

### How do I finish adding my card on a phone?

If your bank asks you to approve the payment:

1. Switch to your banking app and approve it.
2. Switch back to the same browser tab. Don't open the link again.
3. Wait a few seconds for Stripe to confirm. Revnu moves on by itself.

If the tab was lost, sign in at revnu.com again and press the button on the payment screen once more. If checkout wasn't finished, nothing was charged, and the screen says so: "No charge was made. Pick up here."

Stripe's page may also offer Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link, which save you typing the card.

## If it doesn't work

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The banner is still there after you paid | Give it a minute and reload. Payments confirm on our side shortly after Stripe takes them |
| **Try My Card Again** does nothing | Your bank wants you to approve the payment. Use **Approve Payment** if the banner shows it |
| Every card you try is declined | Call your bank and ask them to allow the charge from Revnu, then press **Try My Card Again** |
| Anything else | Reply to the payment email, or write to support@revnu.com. A person answers |

## Next step

[Change your card and download invoices](/docs/billing-and-invoices).

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is Revnu paused?

A payment didn't go through for three days, so Revnu paused until it's paid. Press Approve Payment if the banner shows it, otherwise Try My Card Again or Pay Another Way. Everything picks up when the payment goes through.

### Will I lose my queued emails if my payment fails?

No. Emails waiting to send are held, not deleted, and go out once you pay. Pay within about a week of the pause, because after that the inboxes Revnu bought are cancelled and your Gmail, Outlook and LinkedIn are disconnected.

### Why does Try My Card Again do nothing?

Your bank wants you to approve the payment (3D Secure), and that can only happen on Stripe's payment page. Press Approve Payment instead and approve it when your bank asks.

### What is an e-mandate?

A standing permission your bank sets up so a subscription can charge your card each month without asking you. Indian banks need one for recurring card payments. If yours isn't active, each renewal needs your approval through Approve Payment.

### My card worked when I signed up. Why was it declined?

The free trial only checked the card. The first real charge can fail for lack of funds, a prepaid or virtual card that refuses monthly charges, a bank block on foreign or recurring charges, or a bank approval request. Try a regular debit or credit card.

### Does Revnu stop my ads when a payment fails?

After three days unpaid, yes. Revnu pauses live campaigns on the ad platform and turns the same ones back on when you pay.

### Can I pay inside the Instagram or Facebook app?

Pay in Safari or Chrome for the smoothest checkout. Open the page there with the screen Revnu shows, approve in your banking app if asked, then switch back to the same tab.

### How do I stop my Indian bank asking me to approve every month?

Ask your bank to enable recurring payments (e-mandates) for international merchants on your card. That's the RBI rule behind the monthly approvals. Until it's on, press Approve Payment each month.

### My prepaid card was declined. What now?

Top it up with at least the amount due, then press Try My Card Again on the banner. Or press Pay Another Way to use a different card.
