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.
Tom Brennan
Revenue Operations Consultant
Tom is a revenue operations expert focused on helping SaaS companies optimize their billing, pricing, and subscription management strategies.
Based on our analysis of hundreds of SaaS companies, not all payment failures are equal. Understanding soft vs hard declines enables targeted recovery strategies.
Understanding Decline Types
Soft Decline Recovery
Hard Decline Recovery
Decline Code Analysis
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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