This article is for members. If a recurring charge fails – for example due to insufficient funds or an expired card – your membership does not end immediately. We automatically retry the payment several times, and your membership stays active in the meantime.
When we retry
How often and when we retry depends on your payment method:
Credit card and Apple Pay: on day 3, 7 and 14 after the first failure (up to three retries)
PayPal: on day 3 and 7 (up to two retries)
SEPA direct debit: once on day 5
These retries run in the background – there is nothing you need to do. If one succeeds, your membership simply continues and you receive your invoice as usual.
The email “Please update your payment method”
Before the last retry, we send you an email titled “[Action required] Please update your payment method”, naming the publication, your plan and the outstanding amount. That is the moment to act – no further retry follows after it.
How to fix it
Add a new payment method: log in to Steady and open Account → Payment method. As soon as you save the new method, we retry the outstanding payment immediately – you don’t have to wait for the next scheduled attempt. If the retry schedule was already used up, changing the method even grants one extra attempt.
What happens if all retries fail
The outstanding invoice is voided and your membership ends – you lose access to the exclusive content and will see it as ended under My Memberships. You can start a new membership at any time; if your payment method was declined permanently, you need to add a new one first.
Good to know
While a payment is being retried, an immediate plan change and a cancellation with refund are not possible. A regular cancellation at the end of the term still works.
If a payment fails during checkout (rather than at a renewal), there are no automatic retries – you can simply try again right away.
Questions about a specific charge? Write to us at support@steadyhq.com with the date and amount.