When a client's payment doesn't go through, Ignition shows a short message explaining why. Most of these are quick to resolve. Often your client just needs to make a small change on their side, and then you can try the payment again.
This article lists the messages you might see, what each one means, and what to do.
Pro-tip: Use your browser's search function (Cmd/Ctrl + F) to jump to the exact wording you're seeing on this page!
How to read a payment error message
When a payment doesn't succeed, you'll usually see a message that begins with "Payment collection rejected", followed by the reason.
When a payment doesn't succeed, Ignition shows the reason in four places:
Your failed payment email, under Decline reason, along with a link to your client's retry payment page
Your client's failed payment email, under What happened
The client retry payment page, as an alert at the top, so your client knows what to fix before they try again
The invoice activity log
The activity log also records when the failed payment email was sent to your client, with a timestamp, so you can confirm they've been notified before you follow up.
Note: The message sometimes uses the word "card" even when your client paid from a bank account. If your client used a bank account, just read "card" as "payment method".
How to try a payment again
For most of the fixes below, once the issue is sorted you'll retry the payment the same way:
Open the client and find the affected invoice or payment.
Select 3 Dots → Cancel payment.
Select Reschedule payment and choose a new date
Let your client know a new attempt is coming, so they can make sure their payment method is ready.
Card payment declines
Most card declines come directly from your client's bank, not from Ignition. When a bank declines a card, it sends back a reason, and we show it to you along with a code. In almost every case, the fastest fix is for your client to contact their bank or try a different card.
"Insufficient funds. Add funds to the account, then try again."
What it means: There wasn't enough money on the card or in the account when the payment ran.
What to do: Ask your client to make sure funds are available, then reschedule the payment. This is the most common reason a payment fails, and it usually succeeds on the next attempt.
"Card declined. Contact the bank for more information, or use a different payment method."
What it means: The bank declined the payment without providing a reason. This is one of the most common card declines, and unfortunately it's also the vaguest. Only the client's bank knows the specific reason.
What to do: Ask your client to contact their bank to find out why the card was declined, or to try a different card. There's nothing that can be changed in Ignition to resolve this one, and retrying the same card without a change will usually fail again.
"This card can't be used for this payment. Use a different payment method or contact your bank."
What it means: The bank won't allow this particular card to be used for this type of payment. For example, some cards are restricted from recurring or online payments, or don't support the currency being charged.
What to do: Ask your client to use a different card, or to contact their bank to allow the payment. Then reschedule the payment.
"This payment amount isn't allowed. Use a different payment method or contact your bank."
What it means: The amount, or the number of payments in a short period, goes past a limit the bank has set on the card.
What to do: Ask your client to contact their bank to lift the limit, or to use a different payment method. For larger invoices, a bank account is often a better fit than a card.
"This card isn't linked to an active account. Contact your bank or use a different payment method."
What it means: The card is no longer connected to an open account, usually because the account has been closed.
What to do: Ask your client to add a different payment method. Rescheduling the same card won't help here.
"The bank requires extra verification for this payment. Contact the bank, then try again."
What it means: The bank wants the cardholder to confirm the payment (for example, with a one-time code or banking-app approval) before it will go through.
What to do: Ask your client to complete the verification with their bank, then reschedule the payment.
One exception — Apple Pay cards: If the card was added through Apple Pay, you may see a message that 3D Secure verification is required but can't be completed. Cards added via Apple Pay can't complete this step, so your client will need to add a standard card instead.
"Payment authorization was canceled. Contact your bank or use a different payment method."
What it means: The ongoing authorisation to charge this card has been cancelled, usually by the cardholder through their bank.
What to do: Ask your client to add their payment method again so a fresh authorisation is set up, then reschedule the payment.
"We couldn't collect this payment because of a temporary issue. Try again in a few minutes."
What it means: A short-lived issue at the bank or with payment processing. Nothing is wrong with the card.
What to do: Reschedule the payment. If it keeps failing with this message across several attempts, get in touch and we'll take a look.
Bank account & Direct Debit rejections
These apply when your client pays from a bank account. Most are resolved by a small change on your client's side, after which you can try the payment again.
Not enough funds
What it means: There wasn't enough money in the account when the payment ran.
What to do: Ask your client to make sure the funds are available, then reschedule the payment.
"This bank account isn't authorized for payments. Set it up again to continue, or use a different payment method."
What it means: There's no valid Direct Debit authorisation in place. The permission your client gave to debit their account was cancelled, stopped, or never fully set up, either by your client or by their bank.
What to do: Your client will need to re-authorise the Direct Debit. Ask them to add their bank account as a payment method again so a fresh authorisation is set up, then reschedule the payment.
"Bank account details are incorrect. Check the details and try again, or use a different payment method."
What it means: The account number, or the routing, BSB, sort code or branch number entered for the account, doesn't match a valid account.
What to do: Ask your client to double-check their bank account details against a recent statement and re-enter them. See Entering bank account details correctly below for the most common slip-ups.
"This bank account can't be used for this payment. Use a different bank account or payment method."
What it means: The account is closed or frozen, or the bank has flagged it as not usable for Direct Debit.
What to do: Ask your client to use a different bank account or payment method, then reschedule.
"The bank returned this payment. Contact the bank for more information, or use a different payment method."
What it means: The bank sent the payment back without giving a specific reason, or the account holder didn't recognise the debit.
What to do: Ask your client to contact their bank. It's also worth checking they recognise the name that appears on their statement, as an unfamiliar description is a common reason payments get returned.
A temporary error occurred while collecting the payment
What it means: A temporary hiccup happened while the payment was being collected. Nothing is wrong with the account.
What to do: Simply reschedule the payment collection. It should go through on the next attempt.
Payment blocked or not authorised by the client's bank (common with business accounts)
What it means: Many business bank accounts automatically block payments from companies they haven't pre-approved.
What to do: Your client can ask their bank to approve our third-party payment processor's IDs so future payments are allowed through.
Please note: If you are based in the US and use ACH (bank payments), see this article here for the ID's you'll need to ask your clients to share with their bank.
"You've exceeded your weekly ACH volume limit."
What it means: This is a processing limit on Ignition's side, not a problem with your client's bank account.
What to do: There's nothing your client needs to do. Contact us and we'll sort the limit out and you can try to collect the affected payments again.
Account verification not complete
What it means: Some bank accounts are verified with a small test deposit and a short code. Until that's done, payments can't be collected.
What to do: Ask your client to complete verification using the most recent deposit and enter the code exactly as shown. If it still won't verify, delete and re-add the payment method to start verification again.
When no specific reason is available
"We couldn't collect this payment. Try again, use a different payment method, or contact the bank if the problem continues."
What it means: The payment didn't go through, but the bank didn't return a reason specific enough to act on. This can appear for either card or bank account payments.
What to do: Reschedule the payment. If it fails again, ask your client to try a different payment method or to contact their bank.
Entering bank account details correctly
A surprising number of bank payment failures come down to a small typo when the account is added. A few things to check:
The routing number and account number must be digits only — no spaces, letters or symbols.
For New Zealand accounts,
If you've written a 15 digit number, you're generally fine.
If you've written a 16 digit number, make sure the third-to-last digit is zero (e.g.XX-XXXX-XXXXXXX-0XX). If there is not a zero there, then the number was likely entered incorrectly.
For a full walkthrough of the NZ format, see our New Zealand Direct Debit article.
If the details look correct but the payment still won't go through, ask your client to confirm the numbers against their bank statement, then re-enter them.
Messages about your Ignition Payments setup
A few messages point to your own Ignition Payments setup rather than your client's account:
"Unable to collect payment. Finish setting up payments then try again."
What it means: Your Ignition Payments setup isn't fully complete, so payments can't be collected yet.
What to do: Finish your payments onboarding in Settings → Payments, then reschedule the payment. If you're not sure what's outstanding, contact us and we'll point you to the remaining step.
Quick reference
The message you see | What it usually means | What to do |
Insufficient funds | Not enough money in the account | Ask client to add funds, then reschedule |
Card declined | Bank declined without a reason | Client contacts their bank or tries another card |
Card details are incorrect | Card details are wrong or out of date | Re-enter details or add a current card |
This card can't be used for this payment | Card not allowed for this payment | Use a different card or ask the bank to allow it |
This payment amount isn't allowed | Amount goes past a bank limit on the card | Client asks their bank to lift the limit, or uses another method |
This card isn't linked to an active account | The account behind the card is closed | Add a different payment method |
The bank requires extra verification | Bank needs the cardholder to verify | Client completes verification, then reschedule |
Payment authorization was canceled | Permission to charge the card was cancelled | Client re-adds their payment method, then reschedule |
We couldn't collect this payment because of a temporary issue | A temporary processing hiccup | Reschedule the payment |
This bank account isn't authorized for payments | Direct Debit authorisation isn't in place | Client re-adds their bank account, then reschedule |
Bank account details are incorrect | Account or routing details couldn't be accepted | Re-check and re-enter the details |
This bank account can't be used for this payment | Account closed, frozen or unusable for Direct Debit | Use a different bank account or method |
The bank returned this payment | Bank sent the payment back without a reason | Client contacts their bank |
Blocked by the client's bank (ACH) | Business bank blocks unapproved payments | See the ACH block article for the IDs to share |
Weekly ACH volume limit | A limit on Ignition's side | No client action. Contact us and we can help resolve. |
"Finish setting up payments" | Your payments setup is incomplete | Complete setup in Settings → Payments |
We couldn't collect this payment | No specific reason was returned | Reschedule, or try a different payment method |
Still need a hand?
If you've followed the steps above and the payment still won't go through, email us at help@ignitionapp.com with the client's name, the invoice, and the exact message you're seeing. That message tells us what's going on and we can provide more specific assistance.