Overview
Occasionally, a subscription order does not process on the scheduled date due to payment failures, listed in the audit log by Shopify/Payment gateways.
This is a list of frequently received payment errors and what they mean for merchants and customers.
Where can I find the payment errors?
Payment errors for the failed subscriptions can be seen in the Audit log in the subscription details section of the Skio dashboard.
Error code and their corresponding error message table
| Error code | Description |
|---|---|
AMOUNT_TOO_SMALL | Amount must convert to at least 50 cents. The order total is too low for the payment processor to accept. |
AUTHENTICATION_ERROR / Account is restricted | The store’s payment gateway is not correctly set up in Shopify. |
BUYER_CANCELED_PAYMENT_METHOD / Agreement was canceled | The customer canceled their recurring payment authorization. |
CUSTOMER_INVALID / Customer does not have email or phone | The customer is missing a valid email or phone number. |
EXPIRED_PAYMENT_METHOD / credit_card_is_expired | The customer’s credit card has expired. |
INVALID_CUSTOMER_BILLING_AGREEMENT | Billing agreement or transaction ID is invalid — often caused by a change in merchant billing setup (like PayPal). |
INVALID_PAYMENT_METHOD / credit_card_not_found | Typically appears when payment tokens are missing or broken during migration from another platform. |
INVALID_SHIPPING_ADDRESS | Mismatch or error in the shipping address (city, state, ZIP), or invalid address altogether. |
INVENTORY_ALLOCATIONS_NOT_FOUND | No inventory location is assigned for the product(s) in the subscription — order creation fails. |
INVOICE_ALREADY_PAID | The payment succeeded, but Shopify hasn’t yet reflected the update. |
OAUTH TOKEN COULD NOT BE UPDATED | There is a disconnect between the active payment gateway and Shopify. |
PAYMENT_METHOD_DECLINED | The customer’s bank declined the transaction. |
PAYMENT_METHOD_INCOMPATIBLE_WITH_GATEWAY_CONFIG | Payment method can’t be used due to the current gateway mode (e.g., test mode not accepting real payments). |
PAYMENT_METHOD_NOT_FOUND | The customer deleted their saved payment method. |
PAYMENT_PROVIDER_IS_NOT_ENABLED | The customer’s selected payment provider is not enabled in Shopify settings. |
TEST_MODE | The shop is in test mode; real payments can’t be processed. Check the requirements.disabled_reason for more detail. |
TRANSIENT_ERROR | A temporary technical issue (e.g., “Cannot Authorize at this time”) blocked the payment. |
UNEXPECTED_ERROR | General failure with the selected payment method. Recommend using a different card or payment option. |