Decline code
Expired card: what it means and what to do
The card’s expiry date has passed. Retrying the same card can’t work, so here is what Stripe advises and how Dunity gets a new one.
- $29/month, flat
- Cancel anytime
- Restricted Stripe key only
What it means
Stripe returns expired_card when the card has expired. The next step Stripe gives is that the customer needs to use another card.
For a subscription, it can happen on any renewal after the date printed on the card.
From Stripe’s decline codes and card declines docs.
Should you retry it?
Retrying the same expired card can’t succeed unless its details are updated, either by the customer or through Stripe’s automatic card updates. Until then every attempt fails the same way.
From Stripe’s Smart Retries and card declines docs.
What to do about it
What the customer needs to do
- Add a new card, which is Stripe’s advice for this code.
What you can do
- Turn on card-expiry reminders in Settings, so customers hear from you 30 and 7 days before a card expires, before a payment fails.
- Remember that Stripe’s automatic card updates can refresh a card’s details without the customer doing anything, where they are supported.
What Dunity does
- Dunity records the decline code and emails your customer once, with a link to update their card. It then retries the charge 24 hours later, up to 5 attempts.
- Card-expiry reminders are optional and off until you turn them on. When they are on, Dunity emails the customer 30 and 7 days before the card expires, with the same update link.
- The retries keep running against the expired card and fail until the customer adds a new one, which the email and the optional payment wall ask them to do.
- The dashboard files it under “Needs new card”.
What Dunity does is read from its code, not assumed. The whole flow is on how Dunity works, and every code is on the decline codes hub.
Related decline codes
Expired card questions
What people ask about this code.
Can I stop failures from expired cards before they happen?
Partly. Turn on Dunity’s card-expiry reminders and customers get an email 30 and 7 days before their card expires. Stripe’s automatic card updates can also refresh card details on their own where they are supported.
Will Dunity’s retries fix an expired card?
No. A retry uses the card on file, so it fails until the customer adds a new card or the card’s details are updated. The update link in the email is what fixes it.