Unbelievably high rate of "customer's card was declined" on subscription API
We have an android app that is billed as a monthly recurrent subscription with a 7 days trial. The problem that I am seeing is that at the end of the trial, when the order is processed for billing, more than HALF of the attempts end up in failure due to payment declined. On google-wallet orders I see:
Aug 3 6:52 AM Payment declined The customer's card was declined. Google has sent an email instructing the customer to update their card. If they fail to provide a valid card in a timely manner, this order will be automatically cancelled by Google. Aug 3 6:52 AM Payment declined The authorization to the payment instrument the customer provided failed. The order has been automatically cancelled by Google. Aug 3 6:52 AM Pending You received a new order. Google has sent the customer an order confirmation email.
Does anyone have similar experience? how does the credit check and fraud control work? aren't these orders checked at the beginning of the trial? ~60% of failure seems unbelievably high for credit cards.
Answer
Google play is committing fraud by faulty transactions and will not listen to any complaints, so I assume there will be a class action lawsuit by developers one day to regain their losses. I had sudden cancellations within seconds of apps being purchased. One buyer was in the same building and told me he got my app for free because his purchase was credited back to him after he downloaded it and he never cancelled. I then tried to purchase my own app. Google play has a tech error and gives apps out for free. You just need to change a last digit or CVC code and you get the app for free because the payment is never cleared until AFTER you download the app.