Some days you hit Subscribe, and everything looks fine… until the last click.
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“Payment failed”
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“Your card has been declined”
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The bank 3DS verification page never opens (blank/loops back)
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Works on phone but not on PC (or the opposite)
Most of the time it’s not “the service is down.” It’s your payment environment (browser, pop-ups, network, card type, address verification) getting in the way.
One more warning: if you retry payments repeatedly, your bank’s fraud system (FDS) may flag it as suspicious and block future attempts harder. Use this checklist once per step.
0) (30 seconds) First split: Web payment or App Store / Google Play
Your fix path depends on where you subscribed.
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Paying inside iPhone/Android app → App Store / Google Play
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Paying in a browser → Web checkout (service site / payment gateway)
Quick tells:
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Receipt/SMS says Apple or Google → Store billing (jump to Step 8)
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Checkout URL shows openai.com / stripe.com etc. → Web checkout (start at Step 1)
1) The most common cause: International payment settings + card type
If your info is correct but you still get “declined,” start here.
✅ Check:
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“International online payments” toggles (in your bank/card app)
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Any “online payments” restriction (some cards default to domestic-only)
⚠️ Warning for Gift Card / Prepaid Card Users (huge)
OpenAI and Anthropic often reject Visa/Mastercard Gift Cards (non-reloadable) or certain neobank prepaid cards due to risk checks.
If you’re using a generic gift card, this is likely the cause. Switching to a standard bank-issued credit/debit card is usually the only fix.
💡 Tip
If you can test, try a different network brand: VISA ↔ MasterCard ↔ AMEX (one attempt each).
2) #1 PC failure: 3DS pop-up never opens
At the last step, a bank/issuer verification window (3DS) must appear. Browsers often block it silently.
✅ Do this:
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Look for a pop-up blocked icon near the address bar → allow it
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Temporarily disable extensions that touch the page:
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AdBlock, privacy blockers, script blockers, “coupon” plugins
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🚫 Turn off Auto-Translate
If Chrome/Edge is auto-translating the payment page (English → your language), it can break the checkout script/buttons.
Make sure the page stays in its original language during payment.
If PC keeps failing:
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Try mobile browser (Chrome/Safari)
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Best diagnostic: mobile data (LTE/5G) instead of Wi-Fi
👉 If the 3DS window never appears and the browser keeps silently blocking things, this is basically the same pattern as “download blocked” issues. Try this checklist:
[Windows/Chrome Download Blocked — 10-Step Fix]
3) VPN / public Wi-Fi can trigger fraud rules (IP mismatch)
Payment processors compare your IP location with your card’s issuing country.
✅ Best practice:
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VPN on? Turn it off and retry once
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Café/airport Wi-Fi? Switch to mobile data and retry once
If “VPN ON = everything breaks (logins + payments),” fix VPN routing first:
[VPN Turns On and the Internet Breaks — Advanced 10-Step Troubleshooting]
4) Web fails but app works (or the reverse) — use it as a diagnosis
Web checkout and in-app billing often go through different payment rails.
Try once:
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Web fails → try in-app purchase (App Store/Play)
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App fails → try web checkout on PC/mobile browser
This isn’t a hack—just a clean way to isolate where it’s blocked.
5) White checkout page / infinite loading = browser session corruption
If you see blank screens or loops, it’s often cookies/session state.
✅ Fix order:
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Open the checkout in Incognito/Private
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If still failing, try a different browser once (Chrome → Edge/Firefox)
6) The hidden killer: AVS / Billing ZIP (postal code) mismatch
Many international merchants use AVS (Address Verification System). ZIP/postal code mismatch is a top decline reason.
✅ Check:
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Billing address and ZIP/postal code match what your issuer has on file
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Enter your postal code carefully (don’t “close enough” it)
7) “It looks approved but I’m still on Free” (avoid double-charging)
Common reasons:
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Pending / pre-authorization (e.g., $1 validation) → auto-reverses later
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You paid on the wrong account (Google login vs email login confusion)
✅ Do this:
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Confirm the exact logged-in email/account
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Check whether the charge is Approved vs Pending vs Reversed
8) If it’s App Store / Google Play, it’s often the store account
If Step 0 says store billing:
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Apple: Settings → Apple ID → Payments & Shipping / Subscriptions
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Google: Play Store → Payments & subscriptions → Payment methods
Common blockers:
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Unpaid prior subscription
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“Action needed” verification on the payment method
9) Only now: switch payment method (last bullet)
If Steps 1–8 didn’t work:
✅ Highest success order:
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Different card (different network brand if possible)
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Mobile browser + mobile data
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PayPal / Google Pay (if available)
10) When contacting support/bank, say this (copy/paste)
If you only say “it doesn’t work,” you’ll get “try again.” Bring specifics.
To your bank/card issuer
“I attempted an international online payment to (OpenAI / Anthropic / Google).
It was declined even though balance/limits are sufficient.
Please confirm if this was blocked by fraud/risk checks and provide the exact decline reason/code.
Attempt time: (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM).”
To the AI service support
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Attempt time (date/time)
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Error message + screenshot
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Environment (Web browser / App iOS/Android)
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Card network (VISA/Master/AMEX — last 4 digits only)
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Network (Home Wi-Fi / Public Wi-Fi / Mobile data / VPN ON/OFF)
👉 Still seeing weird login loops or security errors across services? A wrong system clock can break authentication and checkouts. Fix your Windows time sync here:
[Windows Time Sync Fix — 10-Minute Checklist]
Wrap-up
Most “Payment failed / Card declined” cases come from:
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3DS pop-ups being blocked
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VPN/public Wi-Fi risk flags
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Gift card/prepaid rejection
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AVS/ZIP mismatch
A single clean attempt on mobile data + mobile browser often isolates the real cause fast. Don’t spam retries—use the checklist and keep your account from getting flagged.
Prefer to read in Korean? This guide is also available in [ChatGPT·Gemini·Claude 구독 결제 실패할 때 — “카드 바꾸기” 전에 10분만 점검하는 10단계 (해외결제/3DS/앱스토어 공통)]