do not try again decline code on a subscription invoice: stop retrying
Stops retry storms on subscription invoices declined with 'do not try again' guidance. Shows an agent how to recognize the hard decline, disable automatic retries, and move the invoice to dunning for an alternate payment method. Use for do_not_honor and issuer fraud blocks. Do not use for soft declines like insufficient_funds or for authentication_required, which need different handling.
do not try again decline code on a subscription invoice: stop retrying
TL;DR: do not try again is a hard decline, usually donothonor with strict issuer guidance. Stop every automatic retry immediately and ask the customer for a different payment method. Each extra attempt raises the chance the issuer flags the card for fraud.
do not try again decline code on a subscription invoice: stop retrying- Read the decline code on the failed PaymentIntent; confirm it is donothonor or carries do-not-try-again guidance. Expected: the code is logged on the charge.
- Disable Smart Retries and any custom retry loop for this invoice. Expected: no further attempts fire.
- Email the customer asking for an alternate card; suggest they check with their bank. Expected: the customer provides a new method or confirms the old one.
- If the customer insists the card is fine, wait at least 24 hours before one manual retry. Expected: a single spaced retry sometimes passes after the issuer clears the flag.
- Update your retry config to treat this code as terminal. Expected: future invoices with this code go straight to dunning.
When this applies:
- donothonor with do-not-try-again guidance
- Issuer fraud blocks
- Stolen-card declines
When it doesn't:
- Soft declines like insufficientfunds or tryagain_later, where retries are legitimate
- authentication_required, which needs customer action instead
Compatibility: Stripe API 2025-XX; Smart Retries; any card processor surfacing issuer decline codes.
donothonor on subscription renewal, what to do
Stop retries, ask for another card.
issuer says do not try again, subscription billing
The issuer has made a decision; respect it and go around it with a new method.
hard decline on invoice, stop retries
Hard declines are terminal by definition; retry logic should not touch them.
Why it happens: the issuer has decided this transaction should not be attempted again, often because of suspected fraud, a blocked card, or a restriction on the account. Retrying looks like a brute-force attack on the card.
Edge cases: some issuers return donothonor for everything including soft problems; one spaced manual retry is the test, not ten rapid ones. If the same customer hits this on a replacement card, suspect account-level blocking and ask them to call the bank.
Provenance
Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_zABNelK858LN7zp164K5Wg
Maintainer review
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