Card decline code

expired_card: Expired card

The card on file has passed its expiry date. Retrying will never work; the customer needs to add the new card. It is also the most preventable failure, because you know the expiry date in advance.

Decline type
Hard declines: get a new payment method
Retry?
No
Who must act
The customer

What expired_card means

expired_card means the expiry date stored with the payment method is in the past. Many issuers send replacement cards automatically, and card updater services can refresh the details for you, but not every card is covered.

Because the date is known ahead of time, the best fix is to ask customers to update their card before it expires.

Should you retry the payment?

Retrying the expired card will keep failing. Get new card details from the customer, unless your processor's card updater has already refreshed them.

How to recover a subscription payment declined with expired_card

  1. Send card-expiry reminders 30, 14 and 7 days before the card expires, so most customers update before anything fails.
  2. If a payment does fail, email a one-click link to add the new card.
  3. Follow up on WhatsApp if the email is ignored.
  4. Charge the open invoice as soon as the new card is saved.

What to tell the customer

Make it simple: their card has expired, here is a link to add the new one, it takes a minute.

"Hi Sam, the card ending 4242 on your Acme account has expired, so this month's $49 payment did not go through. Add your new card here; it takes less than a minute."

More wording for every situation is in our dunning email templates.

How Revnio handles expired_card

Revnio treats expired_card as needing a new payment method: it emails the customer straight away with a secure link to update their card and pushes any further retry back by three days, so the customer has time to act first. WhatsApp (Pro plan) reminders follow if the email is not clicked. On Paddle, Paddle runs the payment retries itself and Revnio handles the customer outreach.

Decline codes are returned by the card issuer through your payment processor. Code names here follow Stripe's; Chargebee and Paddle surface the same issuer reasons with their own wording. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.

Frequently asked questions

How do I prevent expired card failures?

Send pre-dunning reminders before the card expires and turn on your processor's automatic card updater if it has one. Revnio sends expiry alerts 30, 14 and 7 days ahead.

Will the bank automatically update an expired card?

Sometimes. Network card updater services refresh many reissued cards, but coverage varies by bank and country, so you still need a way to reach the customer.

What does decline code expired_card mean?

The card on file has passed its expiry date. Retrying will never work; the customer needs to add the new card. It is also the most preventable failure, because you know the expiry date in advance.

Should I retry a payment declined with expired_card?

No. Retrying the expired card will keep failing. Get new card details from the customer, unless your processor's card updater has already refreshed them.

Recover failed payments on autopilot

Revnio retries failed payments at the right time and reaches customers by email and WhatsApp until the card is fixed. Works with Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle.

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