Sudden increase in Link “Generic Declines” – November 2025

  • Resolved clickingclients

    (@clickingclients)


    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    We do like your plugin! We’re reaching out regarding a noticeable spike in failed payments using the Link feature via your plugin – serving on the U.S. market.

    Context:

    • Over the past 2 years of using your plugin with Link enabled, we’ve recorded only 13 Link declines in total.
    • Of these, 6 occurred in November 2025 alone.
    • In the same 2-year period, we’ve had only 2 standard card declines and 0 in November 2025.

    It’s possible some Link payment attempts are declined due to expired cards linked to the customer’s email, which customers only discover when trying to complete the order. However, the practical effect is lost orders and potential revenue, which is concerning with increased traffic leading up to the holiday season.

    We’ve already checked with Stripe, and they’ve advised that they simply pass on what the bank reports.

    Our questions:

    1. Has there been any recent change in your plugin, Stripe, or Link technology that could account for this increase in “Generic Declines”?
    2. Have you noticed similar trends or spikes among other merchants using your plugin?
    3. Are there any recommended troubleshooting steps or settings we should review to reduce failed Link payments?

    We’re keen to resolve this quickly, as it could have a significant impact on order completion during the busy season.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Thread Starter clickingclients

    (@clickingclients)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    NOTE: We’ve disabled Link until we can get a solid answer and solution.

    Plugin Author Clayton R

    (@mrclayton)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @clickingclients

    Thank you for contacting Payment Plugins.

    1. I can’t speak for what Stripe might be doing internally with Link but we haven’t made any changes to how Link works. If you look at the Stripe logs for those payments, you will see payment intent is passing the customer’s billing and shipping info and other parameters as it always has.
    2. We’ve observed a few merchants getting elevated Link declines. We’ve reached out to Stripe internally to let them know. We performed a thorough review on our end and there isn’t any indication it’s related to the plugin.
    3. Do you use any custom radar rules? In the logs we have reviewed, the decline is coming from the bank and Stripe is passing that decline along.

    Kind Regards

    Thread Starter clickingclients

    (@clickingclients)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    Thanks for your response and for looking into this.

    We do not use any custom Radar rules, so that isn’t a factor here.

    Given the recent spike and the statement that “a few merchants are getting elevated Link declines,” we believe this is worth further investigation with Stripe. Even if the plugin hasn’t changed, the volume you process and your position in the ecosystem could allow for deeper insight into why these declines are increasing, especially since it represents a growing risk of lost orders for merchants like us.

    Any efforts you can make to identify patterns or confirm whether this is a wider issue would be highly valuable, and we would greatly appreciate any findings or guidance you can share.

    Thanks again for your time and support.

    Plugin Author Clayton R

    (@mrclayton)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @clickingclients

    We’ve shared this thread with Stripe. Given that most of their engineers are on PST time zone, I don’t expect a response until tomorrow.

    Kind Regards

    Thread Starter clickingclients

    (@clickingclients)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    I appreciate this – looking forward to hearing any update.

    Plugin Author Clayton R

    (@mrclayton)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @clickingclients

    Can you share your Stripe account ID? This will allow Stripe to take a look at your specific logs.

    Kind Regards

    Thread Starter clickingclients

    (@clickingclients)

    8 months, 3 weeks ago

    I’ve emailed it to you. Note, we’ve turned off link on 18th after the last failed order – until this gets resolved or there is transparency from Stripe.

    Thank you

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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