Card payments fail occasionally. This article covers why and what to do.
What "payment failed" means
When you click "Book now" with card via Stripe and the payment is declined:
- The booking is NOT created on our side.
- No charge appears on your card.
- Stripe shows you a reason inline ("card declined", "insufficient funds", etc).
This is the design: bookings only commit when payment captures successfully. A failed Stripe attempt does not leave a phantom booking.
Common failure reasons and fixes
Insufficient funds
The most common. Your card does not have enough available balance / credit limit.
Fix: use a different card, top up the account, or use a different payment method (cash, bank transfer, etc, if the host accepts).
Card declined by issuer
Your bank decided to reject the charge. Reasons vary:
- Fraud heuristic: the bank thinks the charge looks suspicious (foreign merchant, large amount, etc).
- Card expired.
- Card was replaced (the bank issued a new number but you are using the old one).
- Account closed.
Fix:
- Call your bank (number on the back of the card) and ask why the charge was declined.
- If it is a fraud flag, ask them to whitelist
MoveMentors(or the host's business name, since Direct Charges show the host's name on statements). - Retry the charge.
CVC failed
You entered the CVC (the 3-digit code on the back, or 4-digit on Amex front) incorrectly.
Fix: re-enter carefully.
Incorrect billing address
The card requires AVS (Address Verification System) and the address you entered does not match the bank's records.
Fix: enter the EXACT billing address as it appears on your card statement.
3D Secure / Strong Customer Authentication failed
For EU and UK cards, banks often require an extra authentication step (a popup asking you to confirm via the bank's app or SMS code). If you cancelled or it timed out, the charge fails.
Fix: retry. When the bank's authentication popup appears, complete it within the time limit.
Foreign transaction declined
Your card does not allow international transactions, and the host is in a different country.
Fix: use a different card that supports international, or pick a manual payment method.
What happens to the booking
For Stripe failures: the booking is not created. The form returns you to the booking page with the error shown. Try again.
For non-Stripe methods, "payment failed" is less of a concept. Manual methods do not have an instant payment step at booking; the booking is created in PENDING and you initiate payment separately. If your manual payment fails (e.g. bank transfer rejected by the host's bank), the booking stays PENDING indefinitely until resolved.
What if I see a pending charge on my bank statement
Sometimes Stripe authorises the charge (puts a hold on your card) but the booking does not succeed for an unrelated reason. The "pending" charge will drop off your statement in 1-5 business days as the authorisation expires.
This is normal banking behaviour, not a bug. The host did NOT receive the money; only your bank held the funds briefly.
If a pending charge appears AND a booking shows up on /my-bookings, the booking actually succeeded; the "pending" status on your statement will change to "captured" within a day.
Common questions
Can I try a different card without creating a new booking? Yes. If a payment fails, the booking form stays open. Just enter a different card and submit again.
Can I save my card for future bookings? Stripe Checkout offers a "Save for future use" checkbox. Tick it and your card is saved to your Stripe customer (under the host's account). Future bookings on the same host can re-use it. Cards are not shared across hosts (each host has their own Stripe account).
My card worked last week and fails now. Most likely: your bank's fraud heuristic flagged you. Call them. Sometimes a card that has been used at a domain repeatedly suddenly gets flagged if the bank changes their model.
I got charged but my booking is not showing. Refresh /my-bookings. If still missing, email support with the Stripe receipt or transaction ID. We can look up the charge on our side and either complete the booking or refund.
The error says "Your card is supported but the platform is not accepting payments from your country." Stripe has country-pair restrictions. A Russian-issued card cannot be charged on a US-based Stripe account, for example. Use a different card or a manual payment method.
When to email support
Email support@movementors.com if:
- A charge appears on your card but no booking is on your account.
- A booking is on your account but you do not recognise the charge.
- Repeated failures with multiple cards.
- The error message is unusual or unclear.
Include:
- The booking page URL.
- The error message you saw.
- The last 4 digits of the card you used.
- Approximate time of the attempt.
We can usually identify the issue in our logs.
Next steps
- Payment methods: what each method does.
- Booking a class: the full booking flow.