Dunning

When a renewal fails, a dunning process combines two actions: automatic payment retries on a schedule, and messages to the customer (email, in-app notice, sometimes SMS) with a link to update the payment method. Billing platforms such as Stripe, Chargebee and Recurly include basic dunning settings.

A dunning policy also decides what happens if nothing works: cancel the subscription, mark it unpaid, or keep it open. During the process the business chooses whether the customer keeps access, gets a warning, or is blocked.

Good dunning matters because most failed payments come from customers who did not mean to leave: an expired card, a bank block or a temporary lack of funds. Clear, polite messages sent at the right moment, with a one-click way to fix the card, recover revenue that would otherwise turn into involuntary churn.