My payment failed — what now?
Don't panic. Failed payments are common (expired cards, daily limits, address mismatches) and easy to fix.
Why payments fail
The most common reasons in order of frequency:
Expired card: your card expired since you last used it
Incorrect billing address: card issuer's "Address Verification Service" rejected the address you entered
Daily/transaction limit: your card has a daily limit lower than the charge
Insufficient funds: not enough in the account
Fraud-prevention hold: your bank flagged the FormationHub charge as suspicious (call your bank — usually fixable in 60 seconds)
Card not authorized for international: relevant if you're a non-US customer
Our payment processor gives us a specific decline reason code; we usually email you the human-readable explanation within minutes.
How to retry the payment
Sign in at https://www.formationhub.com/member
Go to Billing → Pending Charges
Click Retry on the failed charge
Either: - Use the same card (in case it was a temporary issue), OR - Update to a new payment method first
Each retry attempt uses fresh authorization — we don't store soft-decline state.
Updating your payment method
Sign in at https://www.formationhub.com/member
Click Billing
Click Update payment method
Enter the new card details
The next pending charge will use the new card automatically
What if I want to use a different card just for this one charge?
Currently we use your default payment method on file. We don't yet support multiple cards or per-charge selection. Workaround: update your default method to the card you want to use for this charge, retry, then update back.
How long do I have to fix it?
Depends on the charge type:
One-time service fees (formation, EIN, etc.)
The order is in
pending_paymentstatus indefinitelyNo filing happens until payment clears
Cancel anytime with no penalty
Subscription renewals (Registered Agent)
Day 0: declined → email notification
Day 1, 3, 7: automatic retries on the same card
Day 7: email asking you to update payment method
Day 14: warning email — service will pause if not fixed
Day 30: we resign as Registered Agent and notify the state (see Billing Overview for what happens next)
You can always recover by updating your method, even after the warning.
Special situations
My card works for other purchases but FormationHub fails
Two possibilities:
Fraud-prevention block: call your bank, say "I'm authorizing FormationHub charges on my account." This unblocks future attempts.
Card type restriction: some prepaid debit cards or virtual cards from privacy.com can't be used for recurring subscriptions. Use a regular credit/debit card for the Registered Agent service.
My business credit card is rejected
Some business cards have: - Lower daily transaction limits than personal cards — call the issuer to raise it - A category-spend block on "professional services" — call to remove - Restricted geography on the card — relevant if your card was issued in a different country than where you live
My card is fine but the address verification keeps failing
The billing address on the card must match what your card-issuing bank has on file — including spelling, abbreviations, and apartment numbers.
"123 Main Street" vs. "123 Main St" — sometimes matters
"Apt 4B" vs. "Unit 4B" — sometimes matters
Recently moved? Update with your bank first.
Refund a failed payment
If a payment shows as declined on your statement, that's a temporary "authorization hold" that your bank usually releases within 5-7 business days. We don't process refunds for declined payments because we never captured the funds in the first place.
If you see a charge that completed AND a failed attempt for the same item, contact us — that means we double-charged you. We'll refund within 24 hours.
When to call us vs. your bank
Our toll-free line is +1 (888) 695-5281 (M-F 9am-6pm ET).
Call your bank first if: - You don't see the charge on our side at all - The decline reason mentions fraud or security - You suspect the charge is fraudulent
Open a FormationHub chat if: - You can see the failed charge in your portal - You've already updated your payment method but the next retry didn't process - The amount looks wrong
I dispute this charge
Open a chat with us BEFORE filing a chargeback with your bank. We resolve >90% of disputes within 1 business hour and a chargeback complicates the relationship for both sides (your account may be flagged for fraud review).
Next steps
Update payment method: https://www.formationhub.com/member/billing
Retry pending charge: https://www.formationhub.com/member/billing → Pending Charges
Questions or help: open a chat with our support team (M-F 9am-6pm ET)