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. SMS has 45-50% open rates compared to 20-30% for 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 50-70% of inboxes. Multi-channel (email + SMS + WhatsApp) recovers 60-80% compared to 30-40% for single-channel.
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 highest-open-rate channel available (90%+ in most markets) for maximum reach.
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.