This article will cover how to troubleshoot when you payment to a creator declines or fails to go through. If your membership does not process successfully and you need help updating your payment method so you can retry your charge, this is the article for you.
While your membership payment is declining, access to your creator’s patron-only posts and benefits will be locked until the payment is resolved. We’re here to help you regain access and keep supporting this creator whose work you value.
In this guide, we'll walk you through retrying your payment in these ways:
Updating your credit card on Patreon
Step 1: While logged in to your account hover over the icon in the upper right corner of the page and select Manage memberships from the menu.
Step 2: Click Payment Methods from the menu bar near the top of the page. Find your declining payment method and click Update and Retry.
Step 3: Enter your new card details and confirm by clicking the Update and Retry button. We'll automatically retry your declining payment. If your credit card continues to decline, contact your bank and ask that they authorize future payments from Patreon*Membership.
How do I switch to a new payment method?
Step 1: While logged in to your account hover over the icon in the upper right corner of the page and select Manage memberships from the menu. Click Payment Methods from the menu near the top of the page.
Step 2: Click Add Card or Add PayPal button depending on which payment method you'd like to transfer your memberships over to.
Step 3: A window will appear where you can enter your new card details, or PayPal information. Follow the prompts and confirm.
Step 4: IMPORTANT - Transfer existing memberships from your old payment method to your new payment method using the Transfer Memberships option next to your old payment method. Unless you transfer your memberships to your new payment method, payments will continue to be retried on your old payment method.
Step 5: Once you've added your new payment method, head on over to your Billing History from the upper menu.
Step 6: Click the red Retry option to the right of your failed payment. If the payment continues to declined, contact your bank or PayPal directly to ensure nothing is blocking our retry. Ask that they process future authorizations and charges from Patreon*Membership.
Once you’ve resolved your declined payment with the creator, patron only perks will be unlocked.
Important: You cannot delete a payment method with existing memberships tied to it. To remove a payment method with memberships, you'll first need to either transfer your membership(s) to a different payment method, or cancel your membership(s).
FAQ
Q: Why did my payment decline?
A: The most common reasons are expired payment information, mis-entered payment details, insufficient funds, or in some cases, the issuing bank has blocked the charge. You'll want to reach out to your bank or PayPal directly to make sure everything is accurate and nothing is blocking the charge.
If your payment is declining, you'll want to reach out to your bank and ask that they accept all future charges from Patreon*Membership moving forward.
Q: Will you retry my payment?
A: We automatically retry declined membership payments, so if your payment method is in good standing, you will receive another email notifying you of a successful charge within a day or two. If you'd like to speed up the process, you also have the option of clicking retry from your billing history once you update your payment details.
Q: What if PayPal declines?
A: If your membership payment declines via PayPal, reach out to PayPal to ensure nothing is blocking payments to your creator(s).
If you've filed PayPal dispute with Patreon in the past, you'll need to update your PayPal wallet to use a different funding source for future Patreon payments. Filing a dispute with PayPal for a charge revokes our access to process payments on that PayPal funding source.
Note: It’s important to note that while you have a declined payment for a creator, you will not have access to their patron-only content until you resolve that payment.
