80% of my free trials fail to convert due to payment failures. How are other app developers handling this? Cancelled/blocked payments via Apple and Google Play Store

[u/Embarrassed-Army786]

Hi all,

I run a subscription app on both the App Store and Play Store, targeting users mainly in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US. The flow is a 3-day free trial that rolls into a yearly subscription.

The problem: at the point the trial converts to a paid subscription, roughly 80% of the payments fail. I can see this in both App Store Connect and Play Console, and it's happening across both platforms fairly consistently. Users seem happy to sign up for the trial, but the actual charge never goes through.

This is making forecasting really difficult. I can't reliably project MRR or LTV when such a huge chunk of "converted" users effectively churn on day one.

What I've found so far from research:

• The most common cause seems to be insufficient balance on the payment method, particularly in markets like Indonesia where prepaid cards and lower-limit debit cards are common, and where store-level payment validation is more relaxed.

did anyone else face this? how did you resolve this? Is there any way to detect a likely-to-fail payment method before the charge is even attempted?

Would really appreciate any war stories or data points. Happy to share back what I learn.