---
description: Recover declined payments for high-risk merchants without raising your risk profile. SmartRetry retries only recoverable declines and never retries hard...
title: Payment Retry for High-Risk Merchants | Recover Declines Safely | SmartRetry
image: https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,height=630,quality=85,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fog-image.0z0q4_5kazzzo.jpeg
---

For high-risk merchants

# Recover more declines without raising your risk

High-risk merchants face stricter issuer rules and closer scrutiny. SmartRetry recovers recoverable payments while keeping retries clean and compliant.

[Get your custom quote](/pricing#pricing-form)[Calculate your losses](/failed-payment-calculator)

The problem

## Why high-risk payments fail more often

* Issuers apply stricter fraud rules to high-risk categories, so more legitimate payments are declined.
* Acquirers and card networks watch decline and retry behavior closely. Careless retries can put your merchant account at risk.
* Blind retry schedules repeat hard declines that will never pass, adding risk without adding revenue.
* Every lost payment costs more when acquiring margins are already tight.

## The Numbers Don't Lie:

* $443 Billion  
in legitimate online revenue was projected to be lost to false declines in 2021, much of it from real customers who could have been recovered through **payment recovery solutions.**
* 1.5%  
fraud and dispute ratio now marks a merchant as "Excessive" in Visa's monitoring program, down from 2.2%.
* 2.1%  
of revenue is lost by US businesses to poor payment performance.
* 42%  
of shoppers say they would never return to a site or app after one false decline.

Find the source of the numbers and more statistics [in our payment declines cost analysis](/blog/cost-of-payment-declines-recovery) →

How SmartRetry helps

## Recover revenue and protect your merchant account

### Retry only recoverable declines

Each decline code and issuer signal is analyzed, so only payments that can realistically pass are retried.

### Never retry hard declines

Stolen, lost and closed cards are stopped immediately, keeping your retry behavior clean.

### Retries that respect network rules

Retry timing and limits follow card network rules, to protect your standing with acquirers.

### Performance-based

You only pay on payments we recover, so there is no cost to finding out what you're missing.

## How it works

1. 1  
### Connect  
SmartRetry plugs into your existing payment setup. You keep your payment provider and your checkout.
2. 2  
### Analyze  
Every declined payment is read for its decline code and issuer signals, to tell recoverable declines from final ones.
3. 3  
### Retry at the right moment  
Recoverable payments are retried when they are most likely to be approved. Hard declines are never retried.
4. 4  
### Recover  
Recovered revenue lands in your account. You only pay on payments we successfully recover.

## Works with the payment provider you already use

SmartRetry sits on top of your current payment setup. You keep your provider and your checkout.

* ![Stripe](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fstripe.svg)
* ![Adyen](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fadyen.svg)
* ![PayPal](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fpaypal.svg)
* ![Braintree](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fbraintree.svg)
* ![Checkout.com](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fcheckout-com.svg)
* ![Square](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fsquare.svg)
* ![Authorize.Net](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fauthorize-net.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fstripe.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fadyen.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fpaypal.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fbraintree.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fcheckout-com.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fsquare.svg)
* ![](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fauthorize-net.svg)

[See all supported payment providers ›](/payment-providers)

### Frequently asked questions

What makes a merchant high-risk?

Industries with higher chargeback, fraud or regulatory exposure are classed as high-risk by acquirers. They usually face stricter issuer rules and more monitoring.

Can retrying payments hurt my merchant account?

Excessive or blind retries can. SmartRetry avoids this by never retrying hard declines and by following card network retry rules.

Which declines can be recovered?

Soft declines, such as insufficient funds or a temporary issuer block, can often be recovered. Hard declines, such as a stolen or closed card, cannot.

Do I need a new payment provider?

No. SmartRetry works with your existing payment provider and acquirer.

## No ROI math needed. You profit from the very first recovered payment.

SmartRetry is performance-based: no setup fees, no platform fees. You only pay when we recover a declined payment.

[Get your custom quote →](/pricing#pricing-form)

---

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