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Payment failed: sessions and AI stop until it is paid

You might be here because: “got a payment failed email” · “my card was declined, will I lose access” · “billing says past due” · “it says my last payment didn’t go through” · “sessions stopped after my card expired” · “how long do I have to fix my payment” · “AI paused because a payment was reversed”

Short answer

There is no grace period. The moment a renewal payment fails, the account is treated like a plan that has ended: new sessions are refused, AI is refused, and sessions already running are closed within about 2 minutes. You get a “Payment failed” email. Your profiles, proxies and settings are kept, and you can still sign in. Pay the open invoice or update your card, and everything comes back by itself the moment the payment goes through. While the card processor is still retrying the payment, your subscription is not cancelled. If the last automatic retry also fails, the subscription ends: its open invoice is cancelled, and you choose a plan again from Billing. Your profiles, proxies and settings are still kept.

Check first

  • Billing page: does the status badge say past due or unpaid?
  • Did the “Payment failed” email arrive? While retries remain, it links to the open invoice and says when the next automatic retry happens (or, when none is scheduled, that paying the open invoice restores access). Once the last attempt failed and the subscription has ended, a separate “Your subscription has ended” email says so and links to Billing instead.
  • Is the card on file expired, or is the bank blocking the charge?

Likely causes and fixes

  1. A session start says “Your last payment didn’t go through. Pay your open invoice or update your card to continue. Your profiles, proxies and settings are kept.” This is HTTP 402 with code: "payment_failed", and it links to the open invoice (or to the dashboard’s Billing page when there is no invoice link). Fix: open the link and pay the invoice, or go to Billing → Update payment method. Start the session again once the payment has gone through. AI is refused the same way until then.

  2. Status “past due”. The last renewal payment failed and the processor will try again. Sessions and AI stay stopped until a payment succeeds. Fix: update the card or pay the open invoice now; you do not have to wait for the next retry.

  3. Status “unpaid”, or a “subscription has ended” email. The last automatic retry failed, so the subscription has ended (it is cancelled, and its open invoice with it). There is nothing left to pay. Your profiles, proxies and settings are kept. Fix: choose a plan again from Billing → Choose a plan.

  4. A crypto month ran out. Crypto is paid one month at a time and does not renew by itself, so when the month ends without a new payment, sessions and AI stop within about 15 minutes, and the refusal says “Your plan has ended: its crypto-paid term ran out. Pay for a new term…” with a link to Billing (code: "plan_ended", payment_rail: "crypto"). Fix: press Pay for a new term on Billing and pay for a new month by crypto, or pay by card instead.

  5. You are a teammate in someone else’s workspace. The refusal says “This workspace’s plan is paused until its owner’s payment goes through. Ask the workspace owner.” (code: "workspace_payment_failed"), or, once the plan has ended, “This workspace’s plan has ended. Ask the workspace owner to choose a plan.” (code: "workspace_plan_ended"). Only the workspace owner can pay or choose a plan; the invoice link is shown to the owner only. Fix: ask the workspace owner.

  6. “Your plan has ended” instead. That message is for a plan that has ended: cancelled, a crypto term that ran out, or a subscription Driftstack ended after its last retry failed (code: "plan_ended"). See Free trial has ended. Fix: choose a plan from Billing.

  7. AI says “paused because a payment was reversed.” A chargeback or refund reversal puts the account in credit debt; AI spends nothing until it is repaid, and only a person can restore it.

  8. Avoiding this next time. Settings → email preferences → keep Renewal reminder on: it arrives about 7 days before each renewal so you can update the card in time.

If it still fails

Press Talk to a person in this chat (or open Help) and include: account email, the badge Billing shows, the date on the “Payment failed” email, and whether you updated the card or paid the invoice. Refunds, disputed or reversed charges, and “I paid but sessions are still refused” are handled by a person; the AI can only explain the steps above.