Creators are now required to combine profiles
As part of Patreon's Network Discovery updates, creators and members will gradually see a more unified experience across Patreon. That means some steps in this article may look different depending on whether your accounts are already combined.
If you created your Patreon account recently, you may already have a single profile. If you don't see a prompt to combine, this doesn't apply to you.
Who does this apply to
- Creators (including creators who are also members and support other creators): Combining accounts creates a single identity for both creating and membership activities. You can combine your accounts now to 30 June. Starting on 30 June, combining will be required
- Members-only (no creator page): You may notice navigation updates as these changes roll out. Once the creators you support join the network, you'll also get access to a new feed. No action is needed from your side
What may look different for creators after combining profiles
- One identity: Your name and profile image are the same everywhere, whether you're creating or interacting as a member
- One inbox: Notifications and messages are unified in a single place
- Updated navigation on desktop and mobile: You may see updated labels and entry points that reflect a single, combined experience, including fewer profile-switching steps
Learn what's changing and how to get started in our article about combining your creator and member profiles into a single identity .
We understand how frustrating it can be when a payment doesn’t go through, especially when you’re eager to join a creator’s Patreon. The good news is that most payment issues can be resolved quickly by updating your payment details. To help you get back on track, we’ve outlined simple steps below to retry your payment and ensure uninterrupted access to your membership.
Retrying a failed payment
If your payment fails, we will automatically retry your payment method. However, you can manually retry your payment at any time by following the instructions below.
- Follow these steps while on your member profile. You can check which profile you’re on by clicking your picture in the bottom left corner.
- Click the
Settings link from the left navigation
- Click Memberships in the top menu bar
- Click View details for the creator
- From here, you can choose a different payment method or click the Edit link next to the failing payment method to trigger a retry
- If your payment continues to fail, try adding a different payment method
- Click the
- Follow these steps while on your member profile. You can switch between member and creator profiles (if you have one) by tapping on your profile image in the top right corner and tapping the “Switch to” button for the profile you’d like to visit
- Scroll through the creators listed at the top of the Home screen
- Double-tap on the desired creator from the list
- Tap the three dots button in the upper-right corner of the creator’s Home screen
- Tap on Your membership
- Tap Edit membership
- Tap on Edit payment method
- You can choose to either Update your payment method by selecting an existing one from your account, or you can follow the on-screen steps to Add a new payment method
Other things to check
Should you still experience issues after retrying a payment, please check that your payment method has sufficient funds and is:
- Not expired or cancelled
- Enabled for foreign, secure online, and recurring purchases – look for these settings in your bank’s mobile app
You can also check that your bank or payment provider has your correct details (e.g. name, address, postcode, etc.). If you add a new payment method, they may need to verify your identity for security, e.g. with a password, PIN, fingerprint or code sent to your device
Turn on backup payments from your settings so that your membership isn’t interrupted if your payment fails.
Still not working?
If the payment continues to fail, there may be an authorisation issue with the card network or issuing bank. If a payment continues to fail, you can:
- Enabled for foreign, secure online, and recurring purchases from your bank’s mobile app or by calling your bank directly. There may be restrictions that exclude membership transactions
- If you’re paying with PayPal, contact PayPal’s support team. They can check your account and assist with next steps
Please note that we’re unable to process transactions with gift credit cards. Since all memberships are auto-renewing, we require a bank-issued card for payments
Add backup payments
An easy way to avoid losing access to your membership benefits due to failed payments is adding backup payments to your account. Once turned on, your backup payment method will kick in automatically if your primary payment method fails.
To turn on backup payments on a computer or mobile web
- Visit
- Click the Turn on backup payments button
- Click the Continue button to add your backup method or the Turn on button if you have another method already on file
- You can turn off backup payments at any time
More about backup payments
- Turning on backup payments applies to all your memberships, including future memberships. You’ll get an email before a backup payment method is used
- Other membership settings, including price and when you’re charged, aren’t changing – only how payments are made when a payment fails
FAQ
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A failed payment can happen when a payment is not processed successfully. Here are some common reasons that payments may fail:
- Insufficient funds
- Expired credit card information
- Incorrect payment details
- The issuing bank has blocked the transaction
- Patreon’s authorisation has been revoked (most often with PayPal)
- Card network or issuing bank authorisation issues if it is the first time the payment method is used
You can contact your bank or PayPal for more information on why a payment has failed. Asking that they authorise future payments from Patreon may fix recurring issues.
If you’ve filed a PayPal dispute for Patreon in the past, you’ll need to add a new funding source to your wallet to continue using PayPal for Patreon payments. Filing a dispute with PayPal for a charge revokes our access to process payments on that PayPal funding source.
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Patreon automatically retries failed membership payments. We’ll send members an email letting them know that the payment has failed. We don’t send the creator an email about the failed payment. However, they can see your billing status in their audience relationship manager.
Please note that after ~30 days of payment declines, you’ll be converted to free member. Members whose payments were stuck in decline since before January 2024, had their memberships cancelled as of March 2026.
If you’ve turned on backup payments, we’ll retry your payment with a different method if the original payment method fails. You’ll get an email before a backup payment is used.
We’ll send a confirmation email when a payment is processed successfully.
- Membership access relies on a successful payment. If your payment fails, you won’t have membership access until the payment goes through. After ~30 days of failed payment retries, you will be converted to free member.