There are a few common reasons why your Facebook ads payment may be declined. Let’s go through each potential issue and how to resolve it.
Insufficient Funds
The most straightforward reason your payment was declined is due to having insufficient funds in your connected payments account. Before running any ads, you’ll need to make sure the account being used has enough money in it to cover the costs.
To fix this:
- Check your current account balance and compare it to your average ad spend per day/week/month
- Add money to the account via direct deposit or external transfer to ensure you have an adequate balance
- Set up overdraft protection if available to pull from a secondary account if the primary hits zero
Keeping a buffer in your ads account is recommended to account for any unexpected additional ad costs or surges in spend on popular campaigns. Automate a monthly transfer to keep a minimum rolling balance if needed.
Account Limit Reached
Facebook ads accounts have pre-set limits on daily/monthly spending caps. If you hit the maximum limit, any additional attempted charges will be declined.
To resolve this:
- Check your account’s current spending limits under the Payments tab
- Request an increase for the limit(s) you are exceeding
- Spread ad spend over time to stay under the caps by scheduling ads and changing budgets
Planning your ad launches and budgets ahead of time can prevent unexpectedly hitting the limit too early. But you can request higher limits as you scale up spend to meet demand.
Wrong Payment Method Selected
If you have multiple forms of payment connected to your ads account, ensure you have the correct one selected as the default. The declined payment may be due to trying to charge an inactive or invalid method.
To check this:
- Go to the Payments settings
- Confirm the desired default payment source
- Delete any old/unused methods
When changing payment sources, allow 1-2 days for the new method to fully activate before ads will be charged to it. Use a secondary active method in the meantime if needed.
Temporary Hold on Account
Facebook may place a temporary hold on ad payments if they detect suspicious or policy-violating activity. This block will remain until any issues can be resolved.
If this occurs:
- Check your email for notices from Facebook on holds or account limitations
- Confirm all ads and ad accounts are following Facebook’s Ads Policies
- Submit an appeal request if you believe the hold was placed in error
To prevent holds from happening, carefully review all Facebook policies, monitor your ads activity, and remove any questionable content immediately. Consistent policy violations could lead to permanent account suspension.
Unverified Credit Card
For new payment methods you add, Facebook will often require completing a verification step before allowing ads charges. This involves confirming two micro-charges placed on the account.
To finalize verification:
- Watch for notification of verification pending
- Check your payment account’s transaction history for the micro-charges
- Enter the amounts to confirm account ownership
Leaving a card unverified can lead to payments being blocked until you complete the process. So be sure to finalize any pending verifications.
Banned or Disabled Account
If your Facebook account or ad account itself has been banned or disabled, all ad activity will be stopped and payments suspended. This ban may be temporary or permanent.
If you received a ban:
- Check notifications for details on why account was banned
- Confirm no active policy violations led to the ban
- Appeal ban if possible through Facebook Appeals
Avoiding bans comes down to maintaining your accounts in good standing. Follow all Facebook rules, avoid restricted content, and be transparent in operations.
Copyright or Trademark Violation
Using unlicensed copyrighted material or trademarked brands in ads can also trigger payment blocks until resolved. Facebook may disable accounts pending removal of the violating content.
If faced with a copyright/trademark violation:
- Remove any flagged images, text or branding from ads
- Confirm copyright ownership of all content used
- Appeal violations if the content was wrongly identified
You can avoid copyright issues by only using original content, licensed images/audio, and your own branding across all ads.
How to Prevent Facebook Ads Payment Failure
While the reasons above cover most cases of declined Facebook ads payments, you can take several proactive steps to help prevent issues before they happen:
- Maintain adequate account funding with a buffer
- Complete any pending payment verification steps
- Ensure default payment is active and method is valid
- Stay below daily/monthly maximum spending limits
- Carefully follow all Facebook ad policies and guidelines
- Only use original or licensed content in ads
- Appeal any potentially mistaken restrictions or bans
Catching problems early and having backup payment options available can help minimize disruption if an issue does come up. With the proper precautions, you can avoid almost all causes of declined Facebook ad payments.
What to Do if Your Payment is Declined
If you do encounter a declined Facebook ads payment, follow these steps:
- Check for notifications from Facebook on why the payment failed
- Confirm you have sufficient funds in your connected account
- Verify the desired default payment method is still active
- Review recent spending for limit restrictions
- Check for account holds or pending verifications
- Confirm no active ads violate Facebook policies
- Remove any flagged or questionable ad content
- Appeal declines if the reason is unclear or believed to be invalid
In most cases, the problem can be identified and resolved within a couple days. Facebook’s system may require some time to process corrections on payments restrictions. You may need to wait to re-enable declined methods.
If the problem persists more than a few days or you cannot determine the cause, reach out to Facebook Ads Support for additional assistance investigating.
Managing Declined Payments to Avoid Disruptions
Having a Facebook ads payment declined can interrupt campaigns and waste time identifying fixes. Here are some tips to manage declines and minimize impact:
- Set up multiple active payment methods on your account
- Designate a secondary default if primary fails
- Add auto-recharge options and account buffering
- Use spending limits to cap overages
- Schedule ads in smaller increments vs. large upfront budgets
- Monitor account daily for notifications
- Have backup ad content and assets ready
- Document your troubleshooting steps
- Follow-up quickly if the issue reoccurs
Staying on top of your accounts, having backups ready, and planning for potential failures can keep your ads running smoothly even if payments are disrupted.
Why You Should Not Use a Personal Account for Ads
If you are consistently running Facebook ads, it’s best practice to create a dedicated business manager account and ad accounts for managing all your activity and spend.
A personal profile should not be used for advertising for several reasons:
- Personal accounts have much lower spending limits
- Harder to separate ad reporting and performance from personal usage
- No access to advanced business advertising features
- Less customer support from Facebook teams
- Increased risk of personal account suspension
- More difficult to delegate access and work with others
By starting with the proper foundation of business accounts, you can avoid many preventable issues that would disrupt an advertising campaign run from a personal profile.
How to Switch from Personal to Business Accounts
If you do find yourself needing to move your Facebook ads from a personal to business setup, follow these steps:
- Sign up for a Facebook Business Manager account
- Convert your personal profile to a business page
- Create new ad accounts under the business manager
- Export your existing ads and campaigns
- Re-build ads in the new ad accounts
- Update payment methods to business ones
- Adjust targeting and budgets
- Turn off old personal account ads
You’ll want to match your new business ads as close as possible to the originals to maintain performance. Adopting a proper business setup early can avoid the hassle of migrating later.
Troubleshooting Payment Issues
Even if all precautions are taken, you may occasionally encounter an ads payment failure that requires troubleshooting. Here is an overview of the troubleshooting process:
1. Identify the Decline Reason
Check for any notifications from Facebook in your account, email, or mobile app on why the payment was blocked. The message should provide details on the specific reason.
2. Confirm Account Funding is Sufficient
Ensure the connected payment method has enough funds to cover your ad costs. Replenish any depleted balance needed.
3. Verify Default Payment Method
Double check that the default payment is set properly to the desired account, and that the method is still active.
4. Review Spending Limits
Check your account’s spending limits have not been exceeded for the payment timeframe. Request limit increases if needed.
5. Check for Holds or Restrictions
See if your account has been placed under any holds or temporary restrictions by Facebook limiting payments.
6. Confirm Ad Content Compliance
Review all your active ads and ad accounts for any policy violations that could trigger payment blocks.
7. Appeal Erroneous Declines
If you believe the decline reason is inaccurate or invalid, submit an appeal request to Facebook for review.
8. Seek Additional Support if Needed
For persistent payment failures with an unclear fix, reach out to Facebook’s ads support team for help investigating the cause.
Thoroughly covering each of these troubleshooting steps will help identify and resolve the root issue preventing your ads payments.
Conclusion
Facebook ads payment declines or failures can happen periodically for a variety of reasons – from insufficient funds, to spending limit blocks, to account restrictions. Identifying the specific cause and quickly troubleshooting will let you resume ad activity with minimal disruption. Maintaining your accounts properly, avoiding policy violations, and planning for potential issues can prevent most payment problems outright. Reach out for additional Facebook support if you are unable to diagnose the issue on your own so advertising success is not impacted.
| Common Decline Reasons | Prevention Tips | Fixes |
|---|---|---|
| Insufficient funds | Maintain adequate balance | Add account funds |
| Spending limits reached | Watch daily/monthly amounts | Request limit increase |
| Incorrect payment method | Select correct default | Update payment source |
| Account restriction or hold | Follow all Facebook policies | Remove violations, appeal |
| Unverified payment method | Complete verification immediately | Enter micro-charges for confirmation |