How to recover authentication_required failed payments in Stripe

Why it happens

• European cards under PSD2/SCA rules require authentication for many recurring charges.
• The bank's fraud model flagged this particular charge for verification.
• An off-session subscription charge can't complete authentication without the customer present.

What Stripe does on its own

Stripe marks the invoice as requiring action and can email a hosted link, but silent retries cannot satisfy an authentication challenge. The customer must click through and approve.

The recovery playbook

1. Send the hosted invoice link with a clear, calm explanation: their bank needs a quick confirmation, it takes under a minute, nothing is wrong with their card.
2. Treat these as time-critical. Authentication requests expire, and each re-attempt restarts the friction.
3. Avoid alarming language; 'your payment failed' reads scarier than 'your bank wants a quick confirmation' and produces worse completion rates.
4. If the same customer hits authentication_required repeatedly, suggest they re-enter the card so Stripe can request an off-session exemption going forward.

Recovery is almost entirely a function of how fast and how clearly you ask. The customer's intent to pay is nearly always intact.

The email to send

This is the exact template MRRdue's recovery assistant suggests for authentication_required cases. Copy it, swap the details, and send it from your own address.

Hi Alex,

Your bank needs a quick confirmation before your $49.00 payment can go through — it's a routine security step and usually takes under a minute.

Here's a secure link to update your payment details — it only takes a minute:
https://invoice.stripe.com/i/…

Thanks for taking care of it. Reply anytime if you run into any trouble.

Thanks so much,
Your SaaS

More variants (and retention-risk templates) in the free recovery email template gallery.