Template
An SMS version of the day 3-5 dunning email, used as a multi-channel push alongside email. Goal: reach customers who are not reading email.
Hey {{first_name}}, this is {{sender_first_name}} from {{product_name}}. Your card was declined for your ${{amount}} subscription. Quick fix here: {{short_update_link}} - reply STOP to opt out.Variables in {{like_this}} should be replaced with your merge fields.
Fits in a single SMS (160 chars). Starts with a personal "this is X from Y" framing that differentiates from spam. One link, tokenized. Opt-out language meets US FCC/TCPA requirements.
Get explicit opt-in at signup (checkbox), honor STOP and HELP keywords, do not send outside 8 AM - 9 PM local time, and keep records of consent. Using Twilio with their TCPA-compliant setup handles most of this automatically.
Yes. SMS-only dunning annoys customers. Email-only dunning misses customers who do not read their inbox. Multi-channel (email + SMS + WhatsApp) reaches more of them.
Automate this with Rebounce
Rebounce detects payment failures via Stripe Connect, classifies them by decline code, and runs the optimal dunning sequence across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and in-app banners. The templates above are the exact patterns Rebounce uses out of the box - you can adapt the copy to your brand voice and Rebounce handles delivery, timing, and sequence cancellation when a retry succeeds.
Start free trialWhatsApp message sent on day 3-5 for customers with a WhatsApp-linked phone number. Goal: use the channel customers read most, in our data about 7 in 10 messages that reached the phone were read.
Sent on day 3 after the friendly heads-up did not recover the payment. The customer has ignored the first email. Goal: be direct without being aggressive, and preempt silent churn.
Last-chance SMS sent at day 7 or day 14, paired with the final email. Goal: catch customers who are not reading email before the account suspends.