Payments aren't working on my store

How to diagnose and respond to payment failures, checkout errors, and declined transactions on your online store.

A broken checkout means lost sales. This is urgent — let's diagnose it quickly and methodically. Don't panic; most payment issues are either a configuration problem or a temporary gateway issue, not a sign anything serious has gone wrong.

Quick summary

Test checkout yourself first. Note the exact error message and which payment method fails. Check whether your payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) has a known outage. Then contact us with the details — we'll diagnose and fix it fast.

If this is affecting live orders right now

Email us at support@chykalophia.com with "URGENT: Payment failure" in the subject line. Include your site URL and the error message. We'll prioritize it.

Step 1 — Test the checkout yourself

Go to your checkout page and add a test product to the cart.

Attempt to check out. Note every step where something goes wrong.

Note the exact error message shown on screen. Copy it or take a screenshot.

Try a different payment method if you have more than one enabled (e.g., try PayPal if Stripe fails).

Don't use a real payment method to test

Most payment gateways have a test mode (Stripe also calls it a sandbox) that simulates transactions with test card numbers instead of real ones. WooPayments and the Stripe extension for WooCommerce both do. Contact us and we can confirm whether test mode is available on your store and how to use it safely.

Step 2 — Check the payment gateway's status

Payment gateways (the services that process card transactions) occasionally have outages. This is not something on your site — it's their infrastructure.

Check your payment provider's status page:

If there's an active incident, there's nothing to fix on your end. Monitor the status page and check back when the incident is resolved.

Step 3 — Identify the type of error

Different error messages point to different causes:

Error message	Likely cause
"Your card was declined"	Customer's card or bank issue (not your site)
"Invalid API key"	Payment gateway credentials need updating
"SSL error" or "connection not secure"	SSL certificate problem on your site
"Could not connect to payment gateway"	Gateway credentials or plugin misconfiguration
Payment page won't load	Checkout plugin or page error
Payment succeeded but no order created	Webhook (a notification between systems) misconfiguration

Step 4 — Check recent changes

Did anything change around the time payments stopped working?

Was the payment gateway plugin updated?
Were WooCommerce or WordPress itself updated?
Were the Stripe or PayPal API keys changed?
Did you switch from test mode to live mode (or vice versa)?

Note what changed and when.

Step 5 — Check your payment gateway account

Log in to your Stripe, PayPal, or other gateway dashboard.

Check for any alerts, holds, or verification requirements. Payment processors sometimes place a hold on accounts that need identity verification or that triggered a risk review.

Check that the account is active and not restricted.

What to send us

Your site URL and the URL of your checkout page
The exact error message shown during checkout
Which payment method(s) fail
Whether all payment methods fail or just one
A screenshot of the error
Any recent changes (plugin updates, API key changes, etc.)
Your payment gateway provider (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)

Common questions

Customers say their card was declined but they know the card is fine.

Sometimes the payment gateway flags a transaction as suspicious based on mismatched billing information, an unusual location, or velocity rules (too many transactions in a short time). Customers should contact their bank to authorize the transaction, then try again.

Payments were working last week and broke this week.

Check for automatic plugin or WordPress updates that ran over the weekend. Also check whether your Stripe or PayPal API keys are still correctly configured — sometimes a plugin update resets credentials.

Payments go through but orders aren't appearing in WooCommerce.

This is a webhook failure — Stripe or PayPal is completing the transaction but the notification back to your site isn't arriving. This means money is being charged but orders aren't created. Contact us urgently — we'll reconcile the orders and fix the webhook.

The checkout page is just blank or shows an error message.

This is a PHP or plugin error, not a payment gateway issue. It affects the checkout page before any payment is attempted. Contact us with the error message and we'll investigate.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Payments aren't working on my store

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