> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.flycode.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.flycode.com/docs/introduction/how-teams-handle-failed-payments-before-flycode.md).
# How teams handle failed payments before FlyCode
Why fixed retries and email-first dunning underperform: banks and card networks score each transaction differently, so one rule for every failure loses revenue.
Teams are trying to handle it by:
(1) relying on the basic recovery of their payment provider (like Stripe basic smart recovery);
(2) brute forcing or fixed-interval retry strategies, a legacy approach that ultimately reduces retry success rates and increases customer churn;
(3) sending too many or too few emails to customers (contact your bank..).
One of the biggest challenges is that payment providers, issuing banks, and card networks classify errors into different categories and have their own risk rules, which adds complexity and leads to many errors getting bucketed together, such as ‘Do not honor’.
## Related
* [Handling Failed Payments](https://help.flycode.com/handling-failed-payments) in the Help Center
* [Dunning management 2026 guide](https://docs.flycode.com/docs/dunning-management-2026-guide)
* [Payment recovery platforms compared 2026](https://docs.flycode.com/docs/read-more/payment-recovery-platforms-compared-2026)
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