Plain-language questions
Ask for payment failure rate per month, customer or product in the SQL Explorer with AI. The AI writes the SQL, you see the query and run it yourself; the AI only receives metadata.
KPI · E-commerce
Payment failure rate: formula and example.
Payment failure rate is the number of failed or declined payment attempts divided by all payment attempts, as a percentage. A payment can fail because of insufficient funds, a declined card, a technical fault or a customer abandoning the payment screen. Every failed payment is an order that may be lost at the very last step.
Payment failure rate formula
Failed payment attempts ÷ all payment attempts × 100%
Worked example
In September, Acme Groothandel's customers make 12,500 payment attempts, of which 500 fail. Payment failure rate is 500 ÷ 12,500 × 100% = 4%.
Fictitious figures for Acme Groothandel, a sample wholesaler.
How to read this KPI
A higher rate means more customers get stuck at the final step; a sudden jump often points to an outage at a payment method or provider. Break it down by payment method, device and country, and compare with your own figures from previous weeks. Also check how many customers pay successfully after a failed attempt, as the real loss is then smaller than the rate suggests.
Pitfalls with payment failure rate
- Counting several attempts by the same customer for the same order as separate failures, without checking whether the order was paid in the end.
- Lumping customer-abandoned payments together with technical declines, although causes and fixes differ.
- Only looking at the total, so an outage on one payment method disappears in the average.
SQL & DAX
Calculating payment failure rate in SQL and DAX
Two examples on a fictitious data warehouse for Acme Groothandel: a PostgreSQL query and a measure for a Power BI model. Adjust table and column names to your own model.
SELECT date_trunc('month', created_at) AS month,
method,
COUNT(*) AS attempts,
COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE status = 'failed') AS failed,
ROUND(100.0 * COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE status = 'failed')
/ NULLIF(COUNT(*), 0), 2) AS failure_rate_pct
FROM payments
GROUP BY 1, 2
ORDER BY 1, 2;Payment Failure Rate =
DIVIDE(
CALCULATE(COUNTROWS(Payments), Payments[status] = "failed"),
COUNTROWS(Payments)
)In ENABLE
Tracking this KPI in ENABLE
In your Power BI dashboard
Define the KPI as a measure in your Power BI model and show it in the portal, with "Last refreshed" next to it. Access profiles and optional row-level security decide who sees which figures.
Custom dashboards (pilot)
Add the KPI as a tile to a custom dashboard, compared with last year. The Dashboard Builder is a pilot and can be switched on per client.
Monthly targets
With the built-in Targets app you set a target for the KPI per month, so you see actuals and target side by side.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate payment failure rate?
Divide the number of failed payment attempts by the total number of attempts in the same period and multiply by 100%. With 8,000 attempts and 240 failures, the rate is 3%. Calculate it per payment method as well, so outages show up quickly.
Why do online payments fail?
Common causes are insufficient funds, an expired or blocked card, a failed extra authentication step, an outage at the bank or payment provider, and customers closing the payment screen. The provider usually returns an error code or reason. Group by that code to see which causes you can influence.
How can you reduce failed payments?
Offer the payment methods your customers actually use, let customers pick another method straight after a failed attempt, and send a payment link when an order is left unpaid. Monitor the rate per method so you spot outages early. For subscriptions, automatic retries and reminders help.
Further reading
- KPI libraryE-commerce KPIs: formulas and examplesE-commerce KPIs cover visitors, orders, returns and margin per channel. The data comes from your web shop, marketplaces and payment provider, alongside purchasing and stock from your ERP.Read more
- ResourcesHow to build a KPI dashboard: steps and examplesA KPI dashboard is an overview of the key figures you use to steer towards your goals, such as revenue, margin, on-time delivery or absenteeism. A good KPI dashboard does not start with the software, but with the decisions it needs to support. You then choose a limited number of KPIs, define them, sketch the dashboard and only then build it.Read more
- SolutionPower BI dashboard portal: share dashboards securelyShare your Power BI dashboards securely in your own portal, with role-based access.Read more
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