When payment was declined, enable to try again and don't notify freelancers immediately

[b63f083e]

Hi Upwork, Sometimes my payments fail, for example because there is not enough debit funds or the credit limit is exceeded. In those cases, I always provide funds or raise the limit, and pay the invoice within minutes after I noticed the problem. But this process is not good:

- There is no option, after I raised my card limid, to click "try again". Even when I edit the payment method details and save it again, it still does not charge. Can you please provide a button to try again / pay now, when a payment was declined (this is a usual feature on most online services). Also, after the payment went through in the second attempt, you should notify the client somehow about this, email or screen notification, so that the client knows it's now paied.

- Freelancers get notified immediately about the failed payment. This is not good, my freelancers always get worried and text me what's wrong, because they say Upwork told them to stop working in their notification. And I think they do not get notified, that I payed a few minutes after the first payment was declined. You should give the client first the chance to pay, at least a short period, befor you notify the freelancers. Also, if you notify the freelancers, you should also notify them once it's payed, so they are not worried and stopping to work for no reason.

Note: If you do not want to add a short period to let the client pay before notifying the freelancer (which I think you should), alternatively you could at least proivide the option, to notify the client 24 hours before the payment, that there will be a payment of amount X, so the client can make sure his payment method will work for that amount, to avoid scaring the freelancers.

In my case, I raised my credit card limit already, but I can not pay. I have already tried to edit the payment method in Upwork, saved it again, but it did not charge my card. Also on top (see screenshot) it says balance 0, and I can't use the "Pay now" button. But the payment was not yet done, I can not see it on my credit card statement, also the freelancers tell me, they did not get payed. But I raised my limit already – just let a happy customer pay!

Any improvement in this topic would be appreciated a lot! Please note, that the moment of payment is the maybe most important moment for the freelancers experience, and this moment should be handled without unecessary friction. Kind regards, Samuel

[AveryO]

Thank you for taking time to share your feedback and suggestions with us, Samuel. 

I will make sure to share this with the team. Do you still need help with paying your freelancer? If so, let us know and we'll be happy to assist you. 

[b63f083e]

Yes I do need help, because the credit card works now, and I have edited it in Upwork and re-saved, but it did not charge my card. And the "Pay now" button is still inactive, so I see no possibility how I could pay. The last two times this happened, I found a way, not sure what it was, maybe/probably I removed the credit card, and re-added it again. But seriously, it can't be the case that I have to remove and re-add my card all the time.

[JoanneP]

Hi Samuel,

I have requested the assistance of our team. One of our agents will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket.