Soft Fail vs Hard Fail Explained

If a lesson payment doesn’t go through, Tutonomi will show you the exact reason why.

You’ll see a clear explanation such as:

• Insufficient funds

• Card expired

• Card declined

• Account closed

Behind the scenes, payment failures generally fall into two simple categories: temporary issues and card issues.

You will not see those labels inside Tutonomi, but understanding the difference helps you know what to expect next.

Temporary issues

These are sometimes referred to as “soft failures”.

They happen when the card is still valid, but something briefly stopped the payment.

Examples include:

• Insufficient funds

• A temporary bank decline

• A short processing interruption

In these cases, the card itself still works.

Tutonomi will automatically retry the payment over the next few days.

Most temporary issues resolve themselves without you needing to do anything.

Card issues

These are sometimes called “hard failures”.

They happen when the card can no longer be used.

Examples include:

• Card expired

• Account closed

• Card permanently blocked

In these situations, we cannot retry the payment until the pupil updates their card details.

Tutonomi will automatically email them with a secure link so they can update their card.

Once their details are updated, we retry the payment using the new card.

What do you need to do?

Usually, nothing at first.

Tutonomi handles:

• Automatic retries

• Secure card update emails

• Reminder emails if needed

If the issue still is not resolved after retries and reminders, we will clearly show on your dashboard that the payment needs your attention.

At that point, it is best to contact your pupil directly.

The bigger picture

Payment issues happen from time to time.

What matters is that they are handled calmly and clearly.

Tutonomi takes care of as much as possible for you.

And when action is needed, it will always be obvious what to do next.