WooCommerce payments not working

PlatformWooCommerce Doing it yourself20 to 60 minutes Checked

The short answer

A gateway hides itself when it does not support the currency, country or order total, and payments fail or stay pending when the gateway cannot tell your site the result. Check the gateway limits, test mode, keys and webhook delivery in the gateway dashboard.

Is this your problem?

  • A payment method is missing at checkout
  • Orders stay on Pending payment
  • Customers are charged but orders say Failed or Pending
  • Payments worked yesterday and stopped today

What usually causes it

1
The gateway does not support your currency or country

How to tell: The method is enabled but never shows. Some gateways do not support every currency.

2
Test mode, or old keys

How to tell: Only test cards work, or everything fails after renewing keys.

3
Webhooks cannot reach your site

How to tell: The gateway dashboard shows failed webhook deliveries. A firewall or security plugin may block them.

4
Your gateway account needs attention

How to tell: The gateway dashboard shows a verification request or a hold.

Before you touch anything

  • Write down the order numbers affected and the times.

How to fix it, step by step

  1. 1

    Open the gateway dashboard first

    Look for alerts, account holds and failed webhook deliveries. It usually shows the reason in plain words.

  2. 2

    Check the gateway settings in WooCommerce

    Confirm live mode, the current keys, and any limits on countries, currencies or minimum amounts.

  3. 3

    Check webhooks reach you

    Copy the webhook address from the gateway settings in WooCommerce into the gateway dashboard, and resend a failed event. If it fails, check your firewall or security plugin logs for blocked requests.

  4. 4

    Read the gateway log

    WooCommerce, Status, Logs, then the log named after your gateway. Turn on debug logging in the gateway settings if it is empty.

  5. 5

    Understand Pending payment

    Pending means the customer did not finish, or the gateway result never arrived. Match those orders against the gateway before cancelling any.

Stop and get help if

  • Money is in the gateway but orders are missing or wrong.
  • Many small failed payments in a row: card testing. Turn on the protection your gateway offers and add a check at checkout.
Fix it for me

Stop it happening again

  • Check the gateway dashboard weekly.
  • Place a real low-value test order after each update.

Questions people ask

Why does PayPal not show for my currency?

PayPal supports a set list of currencies. If yours is not on it, it will not show. A local gateway may be needed.

Can I just cancel old pending orders?

Only after checking the gateway. Some may be paid.

Still broken? We can fix it.