Subscription Lifecycle

When you create a subscription, it will be in the INITIALIZED state. Once your customer authorises the subscription, it goes to an intermediary state called BANK_APPROVAL_PENDING. Transactions cannot be raised for a subscription in this state. After two days, all the subscriptions in a BANK_APPROVAL_PENDING will go to an ACTIVE state. The billing cycle for the subscription starts in this state.

If the payment method selected is debit/credit card, the subscription directly goes to the ACTIVE state from the INITIALIZED state. You can start charging customers after the subscription is active.

Transaction Lifecycle

Once a payment is initiated it will go to the SUCCESS or FAILURE state. The turnaround time for the transaction is dependent on the payment method. We currently support payments via Bank Accounts (eMandates) and Cards.

Bank Accounts (eMandates): Once the payment is initialized, it takes one day for the payment to go to the SUCCESS or FAILURE state. The status will be in the PENDING state till the bank processes the payment. Typically, it takes 1 bank working day for the transactions to be processed.

Cards and UPI: Payments through debit or credit cards go to the SUCCESS or FAILURE state immediately.

General Pointers

A subscription ends when one of the following conditions are satisfied.
- The maximum cycle reaches the given limit.
- The subscription reaches the expiry date set during creation.
- The subscription is cancelled from the dashboard or the API on your (merchant) request.
Once the subscription ends,
- New transactions cannot be initiated for the subscription.
- For the transactions already initiated, it will go to the end-state (Success/Failed). The completion of a transaction is independent of the subscription status.

Transaction Failure

If a transaction fails, the subscription goes to the ON_HOLD state. You can retry the failed transaction from the dashboard or the retry payment API. If the retry is successful, the subscription will be activated, else it continues to be in the ON_HOLD state. You can also activate the subscription directly without retrying the payment.

One retry attempt is allowed per day and only 3 retry attempts are allowed for the failed transactions.

927 — Subscription Details - Retry Failed Charge

The banks may impose a charge when the debit is unsuccessful due to insufficient balance in the customer's account. This would be the same as check bounce charges and customers can check the bank documentation to know about the penalty amount.

Notifications

When a subscription is created or payment gets processed, a notification via an email or text message will be sent to your customers. This is in compliance with NPCI’s regulations.‌

Cashfree sends notifications to your customers at different stages of the subscription lifecycle described below:

Event	Email Notification	Text Notification
Subscription request initiated This notification is sent when your customers initiate a checkout process through Cashfree's checkout page.	False	True
Subscription rejected for payment This notification is sent when your customers or their bank rejects the subscription.	False	True
Subscription created for payment This notification is sent when a subscription is created successfully and approved for payments through your customer's bank account.	True	True
Upcoming payment (For periodic subscriptions - 48 hours prior to debit) This notification is sent to your customers 48 hours prior to the subscription payment deduction. This will help customers ensure they have sufficient funds in their account.	False	True
Payment confirmation - Success This notification is sent to your customers when the payment for a subscription is successful.	True	True
Payment confirmation - Failure This notification is sent to your customers when the payment for a subscription has failed.	True	True
Subscription Cancelled This notification is sent to your customers when a subscription has been cancelled.	True	True
Subscription created A notification with the checkout link is sent to your customers. This is sent only if the notification is set as true during creation.	True	True