Playbook: Investor's Payment Failed

You've received an ops alert that an investor's payment has failed and the system can't resolve it automatically. This playbook helps you diagnose the situation and take the right action.

Diagnostic Flowchart

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Check the Payment Order

1. Go to the Payment Orders section in admin
2. Find the payment order from the alert (use the investment ID)
3. Note the status, failure code, and failure detail

Step 2: Check the Retry History

1. Look at the audit trail for the investment
2. Count how many retries have been attempted
3. Check if more retries are scheduled

If retries are still scheduled, do not intervene -- the system will handle it.

Step 3: Understand the Failure

Step 4: Contact the Investor

If retries are exhausted or the failure is permanent:

1. Email or call the investor
2. Explain that their payment couldn't be processed (keep it simple)
3. Ask how they'd like to proceed:
   • Fund their bank account and try again
   • Switch to wire transfer -- this bypasses the ACH system entirely
   • Cancel the investment -- if they no longer want to proceed

Step 5: Take Action Based on Response

• Investor will fund account: Note the conversation. When the investor confirms funds are available, use the "Retry Payment" button on the investment page. This will re-evaluate the investment's readiness and dispatch a new payment attempt, recording the retry reason and failure history in the audit trail. (You can also use "Re-evaluate & Dispatch" for a more generic re-evaluation, but "Retry Payment" is preferred after failures because it captures the failure context.)
• Switch to wire: Use the "Change Funding Source" button on the investment page to switch from ACH to wire. The dialog will show you exactly what will happen -- any pending payments will be cancelled, and wire instructions will be generated for the investor. If the SPV hasn't been opened yet, the change will be recorded but payment dispatch will wait until the SPV opens.
• Cancel: Cancel the investment through the admin panel.

What NOT to Do

• Don't intervene while retries are active -- the system will handle it. The escalating delays (1 day, 3 days, 7 days for NSF) are intentional.
• Don't manually create payment orders -- let the system create them through the normal flow.
• Don't share payment failure details publicly -- failure codes and bank details are private information.