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Soft vs Hard Declines 2025: Targeted Payment Recovery

Soft decline vs hard decline recovery strategies: retry logic for temporary vs permanent failures. Route declines to appropriate recovery flows.

September 10, 2025By Lisa Wang

Not all payment failures are equal. Understanding soft vs hard declines enables targeted recovery strategies.

Understanding Decline Types

Soft declines are temporary (insufficient funds, network issues) and retryable. Hard declines are permanent (invalid card, fraud block) and require customer action.

Soft Decline Recovery

Retry soft declines after waiting periods. Insufficient funds may clear in days. Network issues may resolve in hours. Multiple retries are appropriate.

Hard Decline Recovery

Hard declines require customer intervention. Contact immediately with clear instructions for updating payment method. Do not retry hard declines repeatedly.

Decline Code Analysis

Use decline codes to categorize failures and route to appropriate recovery flows. Track patterns to identify systemic issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I identify soft vs hard declines?

Your payment processor provides decline codes that indicate the type. Map these codes to your recovery flows for appropriate handling.

Should I ever retry hard declines?

One retry after 7+ days may catch reissued cards, but generally focus resources on soft declines which have higher recovery potential.

Key Takeaways

Targeted recovery strategies based on decline type improve success rates and customer experience. Do not treat all failures the same.

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