Failed pledges are quite common, and we have a couple of suggestions in case this happens.
A failed pledge means the transaction was not complete (once the campaign owner chooses to charge all supporters). This can be due to several reasons, including (but not limited to):
- credit card expiring between the pledge and the transaction triggering;
- not having enough credit/funds in the account charged;
- bank declined payment
When this happens… #
The platform notes the failed pledge in the specific supporter’s Payment details. The system will retry two additional times over a few days to give the supporter time to fix the issue or update their payment details.
Can failed pledges be prevented? #
It’s difficult for campaign owners to prevent this. One way the platforms mitigate failed pledges is by limiting the time allotted for all-or-nothing campaigns to a maximum of 60 days. Any longer, and the risk of failed transactions rises significantly.
We also suggest campaign owners build a 10% buffer in their final goal to account for the possibility of failed transactions. For example, if your goal is $5000, consider a goal of $5500, as the trend shows that 10% of pledges will likely fail.
