How can ZenVideo OTT sellers assist viewers with common payment issues?

This guide is meant to help you (the seller) with common transaction issues we see for web-based purchases by your customers (the viewers) on the ZenVideo OTT platform.

⚠️ Note: For app payment issues (iOS, Android, Roku, etc.), refer your customers to the relevant app store support, as these cannot be managed through your tools or our support team.

In this article

• Payment authorizations and rejections
• Bank issues
• Fraud prevention
• My customer is still experiencing issues after calling their bank, what can I do?
• My customer is having trouble adding promos, what can I do?
• Retrying failed charges
• Issuing refunds for web purchases

Payment authorizations and rejections

Payments can result in failure for a variety of reasons and we understand that they can result in a loss of revenue. Aside from user error or bank declines, payment rejections may occur when the payment is flagged as potentially fraudulent.

When your customer initiates a transaction, Stripe (our payment processor) sends a request to the issuing bank for a $1 authorization to verify that the card is valid and the bank will allow a charge. Once the hold is authorized by the bank, the uncaptured $1 hold will drop within 3-5 business days.

The bank may decline the authorization step, without providing a specific reason, so it can be difficult to pinpoint the reason for the decline.

First, review the supported payment methods on the OTT platform outlined in this guide. Ensure that the user is attempting to purchase with an authorized card brand before moving forward with the purchase.

If they are using a supported card, the customer should double-check that the information is entered correctly, including the card number, CVC, and zip code.

After confirming the details are correct, it is possible they are running into a bank issue (detailed below).  

Bank issues

As the payment provider, we’re not always able to see the decline reason since there are many factors such as insufficient funds/credit, security holds, etc. For these reasons, we refer the cardholder to their financial institution to provide more information. 

Some banks may also have restrictions and may not allow purchases from certain countries or currencies. The customer should check with their bank about the bank’s transaction processing rules.

For credit/debit cards approaching their expiration date, our system will email the account holder to update the card prior to renewal. Updating the card after the subscription expires will not automatically charge the card; the user will need to re-purchase.

Fraud prevention

We utilize Stripe’s machine-learning technology to optimize acceptance rates for transactions. A small number of these assessments may result in false flagging, which ultimately ends with the user being blocked from paying via the payment system. 

While this accounts for a small number of users on OTT, our viewer support team can assist the user if they submit a ticket request from your site’s branded help center. 

You can review additional support options in this guide.

My customer is still experiencing issues after calling their bank, what can I do?

We understand that these declines can be frustrating and difficult to cope with. Of course, we’re happy to work directly with the customer to resolve these issues!

Please contact our support team for additional help.

My customer is having trouble adding promos, what can I do?

If your customers are having trouble adding promos for themselves, you can help them by applying a promo to your customer's account.

Retrying failed charges

If a charge fails to process for any reason, the viewer is alerted via email so they can update their credit card before we retry charging them again. The second attempt to charge the card will be after 3 days or the first Friday after the failed charge, and then, if applicable, on Saturday and Sunday. Retrying failed charges only happens on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

We initiate two charge attempts for free trials. We initiate seven attempts for non-trial subscriptions before they will expire. The customer's subscription will expire and be disabled immediately if the charge attempts fail. At that point, the viewer will be notified by email that they can resubscribe directly if they wish to continue.

Issuing refunds for failed purchases

If a customer reaches out to you directly to request a refund for a purchase they made on your OTT website, you can issue them a refund directly from your OTT admin. This functionality is only available for purchases made via your website and not via your apps and refunds can only be issued for purchases made in the last 30 days. If you want to issue a refund for purchases made more than 30 days prior, please reach out to our Support Team. You can read step-by-step instructions for issuing refunds in this article.