Subscription FAQs

What is Subscription?

Cashfree Subscriptions lets you set up and manage recurring payments for your customers.

What are the payment methods supported by Cashfree Subscriptions?

Cashfree Subscriptions supports the following payment methods:

• Bank Account (e-Mandate + Physical Mandate)
• UPI Autopay
• Debit/Credit Card

What frequencies are supported for all payment methods?

Payment Method	Supported Frequencies
eNACH	Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, ad-hoc
UPI AutoPay	Daily, weekly, monthly, ad-hoc
Card	Weekly, monthly, yearly, ad-hoc
Physical NACH	Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, ad-hoc

What are the different subscription states?

• INITIALIZED – Subscription created, authorization pending.
• BANK APPROVAL PENDING – Authorization successful, pending bank approval.
• ACTIVE – Subscription registered across NPCI and destination bank.
• ON HOLD – A charge has failed for the subscription.
• PAUSED – Subscription is paused by the merchant.
• COMPLETED – Subscription completed its scheduled duration.
• CUSTOMER CANCELLED – Subscription cancelled by the customer.
• CUSTOMER PAUSED – Subscription paused by the customer.
• EXPIRED – In seamless subscriptions, authorization wasn’t attempted before expiry.
• LINK EXPIRED – In non-seamless subscriptions, authorization wasn’t attempted before expiry.

Can I retry a failed transaction and collect payments for that cycle?

Yes. You can retry the last failed charge via the Dashboard or API.
Refer to the retry subscription charge API for details.

Can I extend the expiry date of a subscription?

No. You can’t extend the expiry date of a subscription. You can cancel the subscription and create a new one.

Can I test a subscription model before going live?

Yes. You can test any subscription model in the test environment before going live.

How do I know if I have received payments?

You can use webhooks to receive notifications for all transactions.
Follow these steps to configure webhooks.

Can I modify an existing subscription?

Yes. You can update the recurring amount of an active subscription using the Update Recurring Amount API.

What is the difference between 'Net Banking' and 'Debit Card' under the e-Mandate payment mode?

The customer is authenticated by their bank using either net banking or debit card credentials. Debit card credentials are used only for authentication. Therefore, the mandate remains valid even if the debit card expires.

What is the maximum amount limit for each payment method?

Payment Method	Supported Networks or Banks	Maximum Subscription Amount
eNACH	NPCI-supported banks	₹1,00,00,000
UPI AutoPay	Live UPI apps and banks	₹15,000 (no AFA), ₹1,00,000 (with AFA)
Card	Visa, Mastercard	₹15,000 (no AFA), > ₹15,000 (with AFA)
Physical Mandate	Supported banks	₹1,00,00,000

Which apps are supported for UPI Subscriptions?

View the list of supported UPI apps and banks here.

What is the cut-off time to raise a transaction?

Charge Raised On	Scheduled For	NACH	UPI AutoPay	SI on Cards
00:00–06:59 (T)	null	Raised on T	Not Allowed	Not Allowed
07:00–11:59 (T)	null	Raised on T+1	Not Allowed	Not Allowed
00:00–06:59 (T)	T	Raised on T	Not Allowed	Not Allowed
07:00–11:59 (T)	T	Not Allowed	Not Allowed	Not Allowed
00:00–20:59 (T)	T+1	Raised on T+1	Raised on T+1	Not Allowed
21:00–23:59 (T)	T+1	Raised on T+1	Not Allowed	Not Allowed
00:00–23:59 (T)	T+n (2–14)	Raised on T+n	Raised on T+n	Raised on T+n
00:00–23:59 (T)	T+15	Not Allowed	Not Allowed	Not Allowed

What are the common eNACH failure reasons?

Mandate creation and transactions may fail due to operational or customer-related issues. View common failure reasons here.

Which bank accounts are supported for eNACH mandates?

Only savings accounts and individual (proprietor) current accounts are supported. Most destination banks do not support mandates for proprietor current accounts. For unsupported cases, consider using Physical NACH.

Which intent apps are supported by Subscriptions?

App	Android Intent	iOS Intent
Paytm	✔️	✔️
GPay (@okhdfc, @okicici, @oksbi)	✔️	✔️
PhonePe	✔️	✔️
AmazonPay	✔️	✔️

Can my customer pause or cancel a mandate from their end?

Yes. Customers can pause or cancel a mandate from their UPI app (Mandates > Active Mandates > Pause/Cancel > Submit).

Can I resume a mandate if my customer has paused it?

No. Only the customer can resume a paused mandate from their UPI app.

What is the maximum expiry period for eNACH mandates?

The expiry period for an eNACH mandate can be set up to a maximum of 30 years.

What happens if the card used for a subscription expires?

If the card expires, the subscription is marked as card_expired.

Can the merchant receive advance notice of a card expiry?

Yes. The subscription_card_expiry_reminder webhook is triggered 6 days before the card expiry.

What happens to an active subscription after the card expires?

Once the card expires, the subscription moves to card_expired status. Further charges cannot be processed.

What should the merchant do if a subscription is marked as card_expired?

The merchant must create a new mandate using the updated card details. The customer must then authorise the new mandate.

What are the different ways that I can use Cashfree to collect recurring payments or payments for subscriptions from my customers?

Cashfree offers four different payment methods, each with specific limits on the allowed subscription amounts, as outlined below.

• UPI AutoPay
• Cards
• eNach
• Physical Mandate

Read more about these payment modes.

Is the Cashfree Subscriptions solution compliant with the new Digital Lending Guidelines by RBI?

Yes, it is fully compliant with the new Digital Lending Guidelines by RBI. NBFCs and Fintechs can use Cashfree Payments to collect repayments, disburse credit, and co-lend without a hassle.

Who can benefit from using Cashfree Subscriptions?

Cashfree Subscriptions caters to various industries with diverse use cases. Some of the top ones include:

NBFCs and Digital Lending Apps OTT Platforms Ed-Tech Platforms E-commerce Companies Investment Firms Insurance Providers

How to create a subscriptions plan on Cashfree Payments dashboard?

1. Go to Subscription Dashboard > All subscriptions > Create Subscriptions

2. Enter details – Add customer info, subscription ID, recurring amount, due date, and max debits.

How to create a UPI AutoPay plan?

To create a new subscription from the dashboard, Go to Subscriptions Dashboard > All Subscriptions > Create Subscription.

You can also create multiple subscriptions at once using the dashboard. Go to Subscriptions Dashboard > Batch Subscriptions > Upload File to upload a file that contains all the information required for multiple subscriptions.

Learn more

What is the Bulk Payments tab on the Subscriptions dashboard?

For On-Demand subscriptions, when you want to initiate a large number of payments for multiple subscriptions, you can use the Bulk Payments feature.

Can I migrate my mandate data from another payment aggregator to Cashfree?

Cashfree supports importing of mandate information for a subscription. You can move any historical mandate data to Cashfree and continue the transactions in Cashfree. Steps to initiate the porting process- Cashfree Payments ensures a smooth mandate porting experience.

1. Contact Cashfree Support – Initiate the porting process by nominating Cashfree as your payment processing partner for your Utility Code or mandates.

2. Partner Bank Coordination – Share the mandate list with your partner bank to update their systems. Our team will guide you through the process.

3. Import Mandates – Upload the updated mandate list into Cashfree’s system.

4. Start Processing Payments – Once imported, you can begin processing payments seamlessly through Cashfree. Read more

What are the various eNACH transaction failure reasons?

Once the eMandate is successfully created, the corresponding transactions can get declined due to the reasons listed below:

Transaction Failure Reason	Detailed Description	Resolution
Balance Insufficient	This error is displayed when the end-customer does not have sufficient balance in their account. In this case, due to payment failure, the end-customer will be asked to pay a fine of amount equivalent to the cheque bounce charges by the destination bank.	The merchant can present the transaction again. It is recommended to contact the end-customer before retrying the failed transaction. A total of 3 retries are allowed before the start of the next cycle.
Not Arranged For or Exceeds arrangement	This error is displayed when the end-customer does not have sufficient balance in their overdraft account.	The merchant can present the transaction again. It is recommended to contact the end-customer before retrying the failed transaction. A total of 3 retries are allowed before the start of the next cycle.
Customer to refer to the branch	This error is displayed when the reason for the decline is unclear and the destination bank is expecting the end-customer to contact them for further clarification.	Merchant can contact the end-customer and recommend the end-customer to contact the bank and provide further clarification.
Account Closed	This error is displayed when the account has been closed and thus all the associated mandates were deactivated.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant can create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
Invalid UMRN or Inactive Mandate	This error is displayed when the mandate has been de-activated by the NPCI’s system. Usually when the mandate has not been debited over a prolonged period of time.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant can create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
Mandate Cancelled	This error is displayed when the mandate has been cancelled. This can be merchant initiated or end-customer initiated.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant would have to create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
No Such Account	This error is displayed when the account has been closed or no longer available. Thus all the associated mandates were deactivated.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant would have to create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
A/c Blocked or Frozen	This error is displayed when all the withdrawals, purchases or transfers have been halted for this account. Hence, the presentation is not successful.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to resolve this issue.
Payment Stopped by Drawer	This error is displayed when the presentation has been stopped at the request of the end-customer.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to resolve this issue.
Payment Stopped under Court Order/Account Under Litigation	This error is displayed when the presentation has been stopped at a Court order.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to resolve this issue.
Customer name mismatch	This error is displayed when the account holder’s name provided during mandate creation does not match the account holder’s name at the time of presentation.	Since the mandate cannot be edited, the merchant must create a new mandate with the end-customer.
Network Failure (CBS)	This error is displayed when the Core Banking System(CBS) of the destination bank has a network failure. Generally, all the presentations for the affected bank would fail for the day.	The merchant can try to present the transaction again. The transaction is expected to go through once the system is up.
Returned as per customer request	This error is displayed when the presentation has been stopped at the request of the customer.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to resolve this issue.
KYC Documents Pending	Typically end-customer is expected to do a KYC for the bank account at least once in 3 years. On such cases, the presentation could be stopped by the bank, and this error message is displayed.	The end-customer must complete the KYC post which the merchant can try to present the transaction.
Documents Pending for Account Holder turning Major	This error is displayed when the documentation is pending.	End customer must complete the documentation process at the bank.
Account Inoperative	This error is displayed when there are no transactions in an account for the last 3 months. All the associated mandates are deactivated.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant would have to create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
Dormant Account	This error is displayed when there are no transactions in an account for the last 6 months. Account is dormant and all the associated mandates are deactivated.	Further action cannot be taken in this scenario. The merchant would have to create another mandate for the end-customer to continue with the debit.
Small account, First Transaction to be from Base Branch	For a bank account type - small account, the first transaction must happen at the home branch.
Account reached maximum Debit limit set on account by Bank	This error is displayed when the end-customer has sufficient balance in their account but the account has already reached the maximum limitation set for security reasons.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to increase the limit and then they try to do another presentation.
Account Holder Expired	This error message is displayed when the account holder has expired.	-
Account under litigation	This error is displayed when an account is currently under legal action.	Further debits are not possible for this bank account. A new mandate must be created with a different bank account to take this forward.
Aadhaar number not mapped to the account number	This error is displayed when the end customer Aadhaar number is not linked to the bank account.	The end-customer must link the Aadhaar number with the bank account post which the merchant can try to do another presentation.
Customer Insolvent / Insane	-	Further action cannot be taken for this error message. The merchant would have to create another mandate with a different bank account.
Item cancelled	This error is displayed when the end-customer has cancelled the presentation.	The merchant must contact the end-customer to get this resolved post which the merchant can try to do another presentation.

Multiple authorisations will be present if the customer has attempted the transaction multiple times?

Multiple auths will appear if the customer attempts the transaction more than once.