After a failed SEPA Direct Debit, classify the failure, decide whether a retry is useful, and tell the customer exactly what happens next. Do not retry an invalid IBAN, closed account, blocked debit or missing mandate as if it were temporary insufficient funds.
Reason-to-Action Matrix
| Failure | Example | Action | Message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorrect or closed account | AC01 / AC04 | Stop; request corrected details and consent | Account on file could not be used |
| Debit blocked | AC06 | Stop; suggest bank contact or another method | Explain without blame |
| Missing mandate | MD01 | Establish a valid mandate first | Send secure setup link |
| Customer return or refusal | MD06 / MS02 | Pause and resolve intent | Ask whether charge is recognized |
| Temporary or unspecified | Provider-specific | Review scheduled retry | State whether and when retry occurs |
Mollie's recurring documentation lists reasons that can cancel a subscription immediately or after repetition. Provider behavior and codes can vary; the current objects are the source of truth.
Check Before Retrying
Confirm that payment, customer and invoice match; the status is final; the mandate remains valid; the amount is correct; and neither Mollie nor staff already scheduled a retry. Mollie says eligible failures may be retried up to five times, generally once daily. Hard failures can cancel the subscription or mandate.
If fresh consent is needed, never request bank data by email. Send an authenticated hosted route. If the customer pays another way, stop or reconcile the original attempt so later automation cannot collect twice.
Customer Email Sequence
Failure: “We could not collect [amount] for [period] on [date]. [A retry is planned for date / no retry is planned.] Update securely at [portal]. Your service status is [grace rule].”
Before retry: “We plan to retry [amount] on [date] using your authorized method. To resolve it another way first, visit [portal].”
New mandate required: “No further automatic attempt is scheduled. Establish a new payment method at [secure link] by [deadline]. Under our policy, [specific consequence] follows.”
Keep messages factual and private. Do not speculate about finances or expose raw bank data.
When recovery succeeds, restore the service state and send one confirmation. Keep the failure, decision and settlement in the audit trail. PayRequest's dunning guide, billing portal and SEPA guide provide the surrounding workflow.
Test a temporary failure, invalid mandate, alternative payment, recovery and exhausted retry. No path may debit twice.