Resolve a declined payment in Google Ads

Keep in mind that your credit card company or bank declines your payment, not Google.

If your payments get declined, your ads might stop running until your payment goes through. To resolve a declined payment, you’ll need to contact your bank or credit card company to fix the issue. Once the issue with your payment method is resolved, you’ll have several options to pay off overdue balance and get your ads running again.

Some qualifying accounts may continue to run for a short period after a decline to give you time to fix your instrument before going offline, so your ads may not stop immediately after a decline.

On this page

Credit card decline

1. Figure out the reason for the decline

Keep in mind that your credit card company or bank declines your payment, not Google. To view declined payment information, click the Billing icon Billing Icon , and then click Summary. You'll find the date of the decline, the amount, and if your credit card company or bank shared it with us, the reason for the decline. If there's no reason listed, you'll need to contact your credit card company or bank to determine the reason.

Go to Summary now

Solutions for the most common declined payment reasons

  • The account doesn't have sufficient funds.
    Make sure there are enough funds in your account, then retry your credit card (option A below).
  • You've exceeded the card's credit limit or single transaction limit.
    Talk to your bank to increase the limit, then retry your credit card (option A below).
  • The card expired.
    Enter a new credit card (option B below).
  • You entered an incorrect card number or CVV/CVN number.
    Re-enter your credit card information carefully (option B below).
  • The issuing bank doesn't allow the use of the card for internet or international transactions.
    Talk to your bank to allow these types of transactions, then retry the credit card (option A below). Or, enter a new card that does allow internet or international transactions (option B below).
  • You exceeded the maximum number of charges the card can receive in a period.
    Talk to your bank to find a solution, then retry the credit card (option A below). Or, enter a new card (option B below).
  • Your bank may not support Strong Customer Authorization.
    Strong Customer Authorization is required to authenticate your card or payment in the European Union. Talk to your bank to find out if your bank supports Strong Customer Authentication. Otherwise, you’ll need to use another payment method.

2. Contact your credit card company or bank

If you couldn't figure out why your payment was declined or you can't solve the issue, contact the bank that issued your credit card. Google Ads support can't help you with any declines because your credit card company or bank makes those decisions. Here's how to contact your bank:

  1. Call the support phone number that's shown on the back of your credit card.
  2. Tell the representative that you were trying to pay for Google Ads online but that your payment was declined. Let them know the date and amount of the decline.
  3. The representative will give you the exact reason for the decline and help you resolve the issue.
  4. After the issue has been fixed, try your payment again using one of the options below.

3. Get your ads running again

Choose one of the options below to get your ads running again.

Option A: Retry your existing credit card

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon.
  2. Click Payment methods.
  3. Find the credit card you'd like to retry and click Fix.
  4. Check that all the card details are correct. If necessary, call your bank or credit card company to make sure that you can use the card in your Google Ads account.
  5. After you've made sure that the payment method will work, click Retry below the credit card information.
  6. Review the payment of your outstanding balance and click Pay Now.

Go to Payment Methods now

What to do next

You’ll see a confirmation message at the end of the flow. If payment is not successful, you'll see an error informing you the payment failed and instructing you to either contact your financial institution or select a different payment method to continue.

If you used a new payment method to pay off your balance, you'll still need to retry your primary payment method. Otherwise, future balances might be charged to your new payment method, or your ads could stop running again without any valid payment method.

Option B: Enter different billing information and save it as new Primary payment method

Note: Some actions are restricted to users with Admin or Billing permissions. For Google Ads accounts with the Organization account type, you’ll need Admin or Billing access to add/edit a payment method. Learn more about access levels in your Google Ads account.

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon.
  2. Click Payment methods.
  3. Find the declined credit card and click Fix.
  4. Click Use a different payment method then click Continue.
  5. Choose a new payment method from the available options or enter the card new information and click Save card.
    • Note: In the information submitted is incorrect or the card added can’t be charged you’ll see an error instructing you to correct the information or select another payment method
  6. Review your outstanding balance payment and click on Pay Now.
  7. You’ll see a confirmation message at the end of the flow. If payment is not successful, you'll see an error informing you the payment failed and instructing you to either contact your financial institution or select a different payment method to continue.

Option C: Update your card information

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon.
  2. Click Payment methods.
  3. Find the credit card you’d like to update and click Fix.
  4. Click Update then click Continue.
  5. Correct the card information and click Save updates.
  6. You’ll see a confirmation message at the end of the flow.

Go to Payment Methods

Note: If your card issuer or bank is in the European Economic Area, they may require you to go through an additional authentication process, such as a one-time code sent to your phone, to verify the ownership of your card.  Your card issuer or bank may require this extra verification when you make a payment, add a new credit or debit card, or at the card issuer or bank’s discretion. 

Google complies with the new security requirements imposed on banks and payment processors by the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) in the European Economic Area. If you have any questions, please contact your card issuer or bank directly. 


Direct debit or bank account decline

If your bank account payment appears as "declined" in your account, your bank didn't allow us to charge your bank account. Here's how to keep your ads running:

1. Figure out the reason for the decline

Keep in mind that your bank declines your payment, not Google. You can view declined payment information on the Billing Summary page. You'll find the date of the decline, the amount and, if your bank shared it with us, the reason for the decline. If there's no reason listed you'll need to contact your bank to determine the reason.

Go to Summary now

2. Contact your bank

If you couldn't figure out why your payment was declined, or if you can't solve the issue, contact your bank. They'll be able to tell you what the problem is and help you fix it. Google Ads support can't help you with any declines. This is because your bank, not Google, is the one that declines your payment.

Here's how to contact your bank:

  1. Call the support phone number for your bank. You can usually find this on their website.
  2. Tell the representative that you were trying to pay for Google Ads online but that your payment was declined. Let them know the date and amount of the decline.
  3. The representative will give you the exact reason for the decline and help you resolve the issue.
  4. After the issue has been fixed, try your payment again using one of the options below.

Solutions for the most common declined payment reasons

  • The account doesn't have sufficient funds.
    Check your bank account to make sure it has enough funds, then choose one of the solutions in the following section to start running your ads again.
  • The name of the account owner doesn't match the information you provided.
    Update your billing information with the correct details.
  • The issuing bank doesn't allow using the bank account for online or international transactions.
    Contact your bank to allow these types of transactions, then choose one of the solutions in the following section to start serving your ads again.
  • The bank account doesn't exist anymore.
    Update your billing information with a different bank account or a credit card.

3. Get your ads running

After finding the reason for the decline and contacting your bank to fix it, choose one of the options below to get your ads running again.

Option A: Make a payment by credit card or real-time bank transfer

The fastest way to get your ads running again is to make a payment by credit card. In some countries, specifically Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, real-time bank transfer is also available. We don't recommend using normal bank transfer in this situation, since it takes much longer.

Payments by credit card or real-time bank transfer normally process within one business day, and your ads will be able to run within 24 hours afterwards. To pay off your outstanding balance, you'll need to make a payment.

Learn how to Make a payment.

If you still want to use direct debit as your primary payment method, you'll need to re-enable it in your account, as described in Option B below, after your one-time payment goes through.

Option B: Re-enable your bank account

If you resolved the issue with your bank account, and you'd like us to try charging it again for your outstanding balance, follow these steps:

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon from the left hand side navigation panel.
  2. Click Payment methods.
  3. Find your bank account with the "Fix it" link.
  4. Check that all the bank account details are correct. Call your bank or credit institution to ensure that you can use it in your Google Ads account, if necessary.
  5. After you've made sure that your bank account will work, click the Fix it link.
  6. After you re-enable the bank account, your payment will normally process within 4 business days, and your ads will be able to run within 24 hours afterwards. Because paying by credit card will typically get your ads running again faster, we recommend Option A first.

Go to Payment Methods now

In some cases, an error message might appear when trying to re-enable your account, asking you to make a payment or set a different primary payment method instead. When that happens, follow the instructions for option A or C to get your ads running again.

Option C: Add a new bank account

If you'd like to use a different bank account for this payment and for your future direct debit payments, then you'll need to change your primary payment method. You'll also need to either send us a new direct debit authorization or verify a test deposit in the new bank account. It typically takes about 5 business days after you complete the process for us to charge the outstanding balance to your new bank account.

Note: Some actions are restricted to users with Admin or Billing permissions. For Google Ads accounts with the Organization account type, you’ll need Admin or Billing access to add/edit a payment method. Learn more about access levels in your Google Ads account.

Here's how to change your primary payment method to a new bank account:

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon from the left hand side navigation panel.
  2. Click Payment methods.
  3. Find the appropriate payment method, and click Edit.
  4. Enter your updated information. You'll need to send a new debit authorization or verify the new bank account before your ads can run. If this applies to you, you'll be given instructions in your account on what to do.
  5. Click Save when you're done. Once you've entered your billing information, and we receive your bank account verification or authorization, we'll initiate a charge of the outstanding balance.

Go to Payment Methods now


A decline payment if you're on monthly invoicing

If you recently changed payment settings from automatic payments to monthly invoicing and have an outstanding balance left over, follow these steps to pay off your account:

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon Billing Icon from the left hand side navigation panel.
  2. Click Billing transfers.
  3. Click the invoice setup for which you'd like to make a payment.
  4. Click Summary from the menu on the left.
  5. Click the Make a payment button to make a payment for your outstanding balance.

Go to Billing transfers now


Additional advice

Add a backup payment method

You can keep your ads running smoothly if you have a backup payment method. Your backup payment method will only be charged if your primary payment method is declined. Ads may continue to run for a brief period after your credit card is declined. You can pause your campaign until the issue is resolved.

Learn how to Set up a backup payment method in Google Ads.

Canceled accounts with declined payments

If you're trying to cancel your account, and you have a declined payment, keep a few things in mind:

  • If your last payment was declined, you'll need to pay your overdue balance before being able to cancel the account.
  • If you cancel your account, the balance due at the time of cancellation will be charged to your payment method within the next 60 days.

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