Payment issues

Fix a failed or declined payment.

When a subscription charge fails, your organization drops to the Free plan, and rendering, publishing, sharing, downloading, and distribution pause until you fix payment. A warning banner shows on every page, and payment emails go to the team’s Admins. Other billing guides cover invoices, plans, and top-ups.

Why did my payment fail?

Stripe couldn’t charge the card on file, usually because the card was declined or expired, funds were short, or the bank required 3D Secure. Your bank can tell you the exact reason. The subscription is then in one of two states:

• Paused: a renewal payment failed, and Stripe keeps retrying on its own schedule. Update your payment method to restore access.
• Canceled: a free trial’s first paid charge failed, or a renewal stayed unpaid until Stripe’s retries ran out. Restart the subscription.

Card declined when starting a trial or subscribing

Prepaid, virtual prepaid, and gift cards aren’t accepted. If a standard credit or debit card is declined, check that the number, expiry, CVC, and billing ZIP or postcode match your bank’s records, that the card allows online and international payments, and that you approved any 3D Secure prompt. Otherwise, try a different card.

An upgrade is waiting for payment

If a plan-change payment fails or needs bank approval, your current plan stays active, the upgrade adds no credits yet, and Settings → Billing shows Your plan change is waiting for payment.

Click Finish upgrade payment to approve the pending invoice in Stripe or use another card. Choosing a plan again opens the same recovery, not a second charge. If the pending change has expired, choose the plan again for a fresh quote.

Update payment method

Click Update payment in the Studio banner, Update Payment Method in the payment-failed email, or Update payment method on the Your payment didn’t go through notice in Billing & invoices. Stripe opens the unpaid invoice, or a card form if there isn’t one. Once you pay or add a card, full access resumes right away.

Restart subscription

When Stripe has canceled the subscription, the banner no longer appears. Billing & invoices shows Your subscription was cancelled instead, and the “Your subscription has ended” email’s Restart My Subscription button opens the same page.

1. Click Restart subscription. Checkout opens on your last plan, or the plan picker if that plan is no longer sold. To pick another plan, click Choose a different plan.
2. Complete checkout. Your card is charged immediately, and no new free trial starts if you’ve already used one.

Your Podcasts, Episodes, settings, and top-up credits are kept. Unused plan credits expire, and RSS feeds stay disabled until you restart. If you canceled on purpose, see Resubscribe.

Will I lose my podcasts?

No. While the subscription is paused, your Podcasts and Episodes stay online and unused plan credits are held. If it’s canceled, your content is kept but feeds are disabled until you restart.

Can I cancel when a payment failed?

Yes, while the subscription is paused. On the Your payment didn’t go through notice, click Cancel subscription, then choose Cancel subscription in the Keep your subscription? dialog. The option disappears once Stripe has canceled the subscription.