ChurnNote

Stripe dunning templates

Stripe dunning emails that customers actually open.

Stripe's built-in billing emails read like billing spam. Here is a plain-text 3-email sequence you send from your own address, with copy-paste templates and the timing that recovers the most failed payments.

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Quick answer

Send three plain-text dunning emails from your own address at T+0, T+48h, and T+120h after a Stripe payment fails. Each carries a fresh hosted invoice link. Stop the moment the payment recovers. Paired with Stripe Smart Retries, this recovers 50-65% of failed payments.

The 3-email dunning sequence

Copy, paste, and swap in your product name, first name, and a fresh Stripe hosted invoice link.

1T+0 (the day the payment fails)Reminder

Subject

your [product] payment didn't go through

Body

Hey [first name], Quick heads up: the renewal payment for [product] didn't go through, probably just an expired or replaced card. You can update it here in a few seconds: [hosted invoice link] No rush, your account is still active. Let me know if anything's off. [your name]

2T+48h (two days later)Nudge

Subject

still can't process your [product] payment

Body

Hey [first name], Following up. We still haven't been able to process your payment for [product], so I wanted to make sure this didn't slip by. Here's a fresh link to update your card: [hosted invoice link] If you meant to cancel, totally fine. Just reply and I'll take care of it. [your name]

3T+120h (day five, last attempt)Last call

Subject

last reminder before your [product] access pauses

Body

Hey [first name], Last one from me. If the payment for [product] doesn't go through in the next day or two, your access will pause automatically. Update your card here and you won't lose anything: [hosted invoice link] If you'd rather leave it, no hard feelings. A one-line reply telling me why would genuinely help me improve [product]. Thanks for giving it a try either way, [your name]

FAQ

Doesn't Stripe already send dunning emails?▼
Stripe can send automatic failed-payment emails, but they're generic, Stripe-branded billing notices that customers tune out. A plain-text follow-up from your own address recovers materially more on top of Stripe Smart Retries. You'd typically disable Stripe's automatic emails so customers don't get duplicates.
When should each dunning email go out?▼
T+0 (the day the payment fails), T+48h, and T+120h. Three emails total. Start within 24 hours, because recovery rate drops the longer you wait. Stop the sequence the moment invoice.payment_succeeded fires.
What link should the email point to?▼
A fresh Stripe hosted invoice URL (or customer portal link) so the customer can update their card and pay without leaving Stripe. Generate a new link for each email rather than reusing an old one, since hosted invoice links can expire.
Should dunning emails be HTML or plain text?▼
Plain text from your real address. HTML billing templates read as payment-processor spam and get ignored. A plain-text note that looks like it came from a person gets opened and acted on, which is the entire point of dunning.
How does ChurnNote send Stripe dunning emails?▼
ChurnNote listens for invoice.payment_failed, sends the 3-email plain-text sequence from your domain with fresh hosted invoice links, and auto-stops when invoice.payment_succeeded fires. Smart Retries stays on for retry timing. Flat $12/mo.

Don't send these by hand.

ChurnNote sends the full sequence from your domain with fresh hosted invoice links and stops automatically when the payment recovers. Flat $12/mo.

Run the free Churn Leak ReportStart ChurnNote for $12/mo

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