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Dunning by decline family

How to run thisSubscriptions5 steps
GuideRetry calendar by decline family · Calculator lives in the articleOpen

Dunning is the retry calendar after a rebill fails. It is not “try every card again.” The family of the decline decides the days. The merchant account stays the same one.

Pair: Dunning by decline family on Subscriptions. Soft vs hard on a live auth is a different job: Soft vs hard decline: next action. First-try vs net on a cascade is a different job: run first-try, net, and unique billing.

Three families that get mixed

Card expired. Do not run the NSF day list. Account updater is for this. It can return a new expiry or a new PAN. Bill once after that update. Spraying the old expiry for two weeks just burns auths.

NSF / insufficient funds. The PAN is fine. The bank said no money. Days 1, 3, 7, then a last try on day 14, on this same MID. Stop there unless this CRM proves a later save without extra chargebacks. Updater does not help. There is nothing to update.

Do not honor. Issuers use this as a catch-all. One retry on day 3 on this MID. Then stop unless this issuer’s file looks like NSF. Updater does not fix the text “do not honor.” A healthier MID is routing, not dunning.

What never gets a calendar

Pick-up, lost, stolen, invalid. Kill the token the same day. Updater may later bring a replacement card. Wait for that. Do not send the dead PAN to another merchant account.

Stop or cancelled recurring. Cancel the MIT token. Do not retry a cancel.

Same MID

Retries live on the continuity account that took the bill. Dumping fails onto a new MID is not dunning. It is how you pollute a second account.

We do not fill a save percent. Type nothing. Read the family. Copy the row.

Related: The rebill has to point at the original sale (the chain before you pick days), Payment orchestration (routing a live auth), MIDs (the account the retry still sits on), update-card email vs auth.

Procedure

  1. Read the decline family, not a blended retry report.
  2. Expired: wait for updater, then one bill.
  3. NSF: day 1, 3, 7, 14 on this MID. Stop unless this CRM proves a later save.
  4. Do-not-honor: one retry on day 3 here. Then stop.
  5. Hard fails: kill the token. Do not open a new MID.

Failure modes

  • Running expired cards on the NSF day list.
  • Expecting updater to recover insufficient funds.
  • Dumping do-not-honor onto a new merchant account.
  • Retrying pick-up-card or a cancelled token.

Worked example

None on this page yet. When one lands it will be a real case: what broke, the number, and what changed. Not a composite.

Glossary

Dunning
Retry calendar after a failed rebill, chosen by decline family, on the same merchant account. Not a dump onto a new MID.
Account updater
Network file that can return a new PAN or a new expiry. It does not fix NSF. NSF is a money problem, not a card-number problem.

Work with us — We run this job on your accounts. Services

FAQ

Does account updater fix insufficient funds?
No. Updater returns a new PAN or a new expiry. NSF means the bank said no money. The card did not change.
Should I send expired and NSF cards down the same day list?
No. NSF can retry on days 1, 3, 7, and 14. Expired waits for updater, then one bill.
Can I dump a do-not-honor onto a healthier merchant account?
That is a routing job, not dunning. Dunning stays on this MID. Opening a new account for a dead card is how you trash two MIDs.