Cascade payment methods

Overview

Zuora supports the management of multiple payment methods for a single customer account. When processing a payment, the default or a specified payment method is used for the first attempt. If the first payment fails, retries are attempted by using the same payment method until the payment method on the customer account is manually changed to another one. This approach might be ineffective if the payment failure persists because of issues such as insufficient funds or an expired payment method.

To address this issue, Zuora provides the Cascading Payment Method feature to dynamically retry the failed payment with alternative payment methods on a customer account, according to a payment method priority list. When cascading payment method consent is turned on, the first payment method in the priority list is the default payment method of the customer account. A closed payment method will not be used in retries even though it is included in the priority list.

Currently, the Cascading Payment Method feature is supported in payment runs, including:

• Manual ad-hoc payment runs
• Scheduled payment runs
• Payment runs invoked by Configurable Payment Retry, including:
  • Retry with customized retry rules 
  • Smart Retry

Note that the Cascading Payment Method feature is not supported in payment runs invoked by Advanced Payment Manager.

The following two cascading modes are available:

Mode	Condition	Description
Cascading within retry	Immediate cascading is not enabled.	If the first payment transaction fails, the payment will be automatically retried with the next available payment method in the priority list, following the manual or scheduled retry cycle until the payment is processed. A new payment will be created for each retry. For a use case example, see Example 1: Cascading within retry.
Immediate cascading	Immediate cascading is enabled.	If the first payment transaction invoked by the payment run fails, the payment is immediately retried with the next available payment method in the priority list. The process continues until either the payment is processed or all payment methods in the priority list are used once.  If all payment methods in the priority list have been used once but the payment has not been processed, immediate in-transaction retries will be invoked again during the subsequent manual or scheduled retry cycle. For a use case example, see Example 2: Immediate cascading. By using the immediate cascading mode, the same payment is used in the retries for a payment run. During the retries, the payment reference information, typically the payment number, is sent to the gateway. However, some gateways do not allow duplicate payment references, resulting in errors if the same payment number is sent multiple times. If your gateway provider restricts duplicate payment references, it is recommended to disable the immediate cascading mode. Instead, use the cascading within retry mode, which creates a new payment for each retry.

The following diagram illustrates the logic of using Cascading Payment Method:

Using Cascading Payment Method in payment runs increases the Consecutive Failed Payments value of a payment method, same as the behavior when Cascading Payment Method is not enabled. If the out-of-the-box Payment Run retry rules are enabled, these rules also apply to the payment methods used in Cascading Payment Method.

Prerequisites

• Before using the Cascading Payment Method feature, you must collect consent from your customer to pay with payment methods in the sequence agreed by the customer in case of failed payments.
• Auto-Pay is enabled in the Billing and Payment Info section on the customer account page.

Enable the feature

To enable the Cascading Payment Method feature, complete the following steps:

1. Enable Cascading Payment Method in Feature Management as this feature is in the EA phase. You must have the Manage Payments Settings permission to access the Feature Management setting. For more information about this user permission, see Enable payment features by yourself.
   1. In the Zuora UI, click your username in the upper right and navigate to Settings > Payments > Manage Features.
   2. On the Payment tab, click Enable in the Cascading Payment Method row. A dialog describing that Zuora review is required for your enablement request is shown.
   3. Click Enable Feature.
   4. Click all the EA term items, select I agree that I have read and agreed to the terms of the Early Availability Agreement, and then click Confirm to Enable. Your enablement request is submitted for approval. It will take a few days. After the review is completed, you will receive an email.
2. After you receive the confirmation email from Zuora that Cascading Payment Method has been enabled on your tenant, enable this feature in payment rules:
   1. Click your username in the upper right and navigate to Settings > Payments > Define Payment Rules.
   2. Click Edit.
   3. Select Yes for Payment Methods Cascading, and click Save.

By default, the following configurations are made for the Cascading Payment Method feature on your tenant:

• The immediate cascading mode is enabled. If you want to disable immediate cascading and switch to the cascading within retry mode, submit a request at Zuora Global Support.
• Up to three payment methods can be included in the priority list. If you want to increase this limit, submit a request at Zuora Global Support.

Edit consent and payment method priority list

You can configure the cascading consent and priority list through either the Zuora UI or API operation. If you add a payment method to a customer account after Cascading Payment Method is enabled for this account, the new payment method is not automatically included in the priority list. You must configure the list to include the payment method in cascading.

Disable the feature

• To disable the immediate cascading mode and switch to the cascading within retry mode, submit a request at Zuora Global Support.
• To disable the Cascading Payment Method feature, complete the following steps:
  1. Click your username in the upper right and navigate to Settings > Payments > Define Payment Rules.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Select No for Payment Methods Cascading, and click Save.