Failed Payment Recovery and Dunning
When a member’s recurring payment fails, Rivo automatically works to recover the payment through a configurable retry schedule. This process, known as dunning, helps you recover revenue that would otherwise be lost to expired cards, insufficient funds, or other payment issues.
How It Works
When a membership payment fails, Rivo follows a multi-step process:
Payment failure is detected — Rivo identifies that a billing attempt was unsuccessful
Member is notified — A payment failure email is sent to the member (if enabled), prompting them to update their payment method
Automatic retries begin — Rivo retries the payment according to your configured retry schedule
Tags are applied — The member is tagged in Shopify so you can identify and segment members with payment issues
Each retry happens automatically at the daily processing time you set. Between retries, the member’s membership remains active, giving them time to resolve the payment issue.
The Retry Schedule
The retry schedule controls how many times Rivo attempts to collect a failed payment and the spacing between each attempt.
Default Schedule
Out of the box, Rivo uses a 7-attempt schedule spread across 26 days:
Attempt | Days After Last Attempt | Cumulative Days |
1st retry | 1 day | Day 1 |
2nd retry | 2 days | Day 3 |
3rd retry | 3 days | Day 6 |
4th retry | 5 days | Day 11 |
5th retry | 5 days | Day 16 |
6th retry | 5 days | Day 21 |
7th retry | 5 days | Day 26 |
This schedule starts with frequent attempts (in case the issue is temporary) and then spaces them out to give the member time to update their payment information.
Customizing the Schedule
You can fully customize the retry schedule to match your business needs:
Navigate to Memberships in the Rivo dashboard
Find the Failed Payments Retry Schedule card
Click Edit
Adjust the number of days between each retry attempt
Add or remove retry attempts as needed using the Add Retry Attempt button
Click Update to save
Each row in the schedule represents one retry attempt. The number you enter is the number of days to wait after the previous attempt before trying again.
Tips for your retry schedule:
Start with shorter intervals — The first retry or two should happen within 1-2 days, as many payment failures are temporary (e.g., bank holds)
Space out later retries — Give members time to update their payment method before the final attempts
Don’t make it too short — A schedule that’s too aggressive may frustrate members
Don’t make it too long — Extended dunning periods delay revenue recovery and can confuse members
Processing Time
Retry attempts are processed once daily at a specific time. You can choose the processing hour from the Processing Time dropdown in the Failed Payments Retry Schedule settings. The time is displayed in your store’s timezone for convenience.
Payment Failure Notifications
When a payment fails, Rivo can automatically send the member an email notifying them of the issue and prompting them to update their payment method.
Enabling the Email
The payment failure email can be enabled or disabled from your email notification settings. When enabled, it sends automatically each time a payment attempt fails.
What the Email Contains
The payment failure email includes a link that directs the member to your storefront, where they can update their payment method directly. This makes it easy for members to resolve the issue without needing to contact your support team.
Frequency Limits
To avoid overwhelming members with emails, Rivo limits how many payment failure notifications a single member can receive. A member will not receive more notifications than the total number of retry attempts in your schedule, plus one for the initial failure.
Shopify Tags
When a payment fails, Rivo automatically adds a rivo-membership-payment-failure tag to the customer in Shopify. This tag lets you:
Create Shopify customer segments for members with failed payments
Set up Shopify Flow automations triggered by the tag
Identify at-risk members in your Shopify admin
When the payment issue is resolved (either through a successful retry or the member updating their payment method), the tag is removed during the next tag sync.
What Happens When All Retries Are Exhausted
If every retry attempt in your schedule fails and the member has not updated their payment method, Rivo stops attempting to collect payment. At that point:
No further automatic retries will occur for that billing cycle
The membership remains in its current state — it is not automatically cancelled
The payment failure tag remains on the customer in Shopify
This gives you the opportunity to reach out to the member directly or take action through your preferred workflow (e.g., a Shopify Flow, Klaviyo campaign, or manual outreach).
If you want members to be automatically cancelled after failed payments, you can set up a workflow using the rivo-membership-payment-failure Shopify tag as a trigger, combined with a time delay matching your retry schedule length.
Integration Events
Rivo sends payment-related events to your connected integrations (such as Klaviyo, Attentive, Braze, and others) so you can build automated workflows:
Payment Failure — Triggered each time a payment attempt fails. Includes details like the member’s tier, price, and the error that occurred.
Payment Success — Triggered when a previously failed payment is successfully recovered through a retry.
Successful Rebill — Triggered when any billing attempt succeeds, including recovered payments.
You can use these events in your marketing tools to create targeted dunning campaigns, win-back flows, or celebration messages when payment is recovered.
Rebill Reminders (Pre-Billing Notifications)
Separate from the failed payment recovery process, Rivo also sends rebill reminders before a member’s next billing date. These are proactive notifications that let members know their payment is coming up.
How Reminders Work
There are two types of rebill reminders:
Rebill Reminder — Sent a configurable number of days before the next billing date (default: 5 days)
Final Reminder — Sent closer to the billing date as a last notice (default: 3 days before)
Configuring Reminders
Navigate to Memberships in the Rivo dashboard
Find the Rebill Reminders card
Click Edit
Set the number of days before billing for each reminder type
Click Update to save
Important: A warning banner recommends a minimum of 15 days for the rebill reminder to help comply with automatic renewal laws in your customers’ jurisdictions. You are responsible for complying with these laws.
FAQ
Q: Does a member lose their benefits while payments are being retried?
No. The member’s membership remains active during the retry period. They keep all their tier benefits while Rivo works to recover the payment.
Q: Can I manually retry a failed payment?
The retry schedule runs automatically. If you need to trigger a payment attempt outside the schedule, you can do so by creating a new billing attempt from the member’s subscription details.
Q: Will the member receive an email for every retry attempt?
A payment failure notification is sent when a failure is detected, but Rivo enforces limits to prevent excessive emails. A member won’t receive more failure notifications than the number of retries in your schedule plus one.
Q: What if the member updates their payment method during the retry period?
If the member updates their payment method, the next scheduled retry will use the updated payment information. If successful, the payment failure tag is removed and normal billing resumes.
Q: Can I set up different retry schedules for different tiers?
The retry schedule applies to your entire membership program. All tiers share the same retry settings.
Q: How do I know which members have failed payments?
You can find members with failed payments by filtering for the rivo-membership-payment-failure tag in Shopify, or by checking the billing attempts in the Rivo dashboard.