Why Did My Payment Fail?

Your payment for a Private Internet Access (PIA) subscription may fail because of an issue with your payment details, available funds, or payment provider. Follow the guidance below for the payment method you are using to troubleshoot the issue.

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Credit or Debit Card

Here are some common causes of payment failure when using a credit or debit card: 

  • Incompatible card type: PIA accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. If your card is not one of these, try an alternative payment method such as PayPal.
  • Incorrect billing information: Even a single error in your billing details will cause the transaction to fail. Double-check that everything you enter matches exactly what your bank has on file.
  • Prepaid card not registered: Prepaid cards must be registered with the issuer for at least 24 hours before use. If your card isn't registered, or the registered address doesn't match what you enter at checkout, the transaction will fail.
  • Autofilled or pasted card number: Autofill and copy-pasting can bypass the required formatting for card numbers, causing the entry to fail. Enter your card number manually instead.

If your credit or debit card payment fails:

  1. Check that your card is active and has sufficient funds.
  2. Check that you entered your billing information correctly.
  3. Try the payment again.

If your payment still fails, contact your bank or card provider to check whether it declined the payment, or try another available payment method.

PayPal

PIA does not accept payments using your PayPal balance. To pay with PayPal, you must have a card linked to your PayPal account.

Check that you have a valid card linked to your PayPal account, then try the payment again. If you continue to experience issues, try another available payment method.

Paymentwall/Qiwi

If your Paymentwall or Qiwi payment fails:

  1. Check that your payment source has sufficient funds.
  2. Check that you entered your account details correctly.
  3. Try the payment again.

If you continue to experience issues, try another available payment method.

Google, Amazon, or Apple In-App Purchase

Google, Amazon, and Apple process payments made through their respective app stores. PIA does not have access to the billing information for these purchases.

If an in-app purchase fails, contact the customer support team for the app store you used to identify and resolve the payment issue. Alternatively, try purchasing a subscription via the PIA website instead. 

Gift Card

PayGarden processes gift card payments for PIA. If you experience an issue when using a gift card to purchase a PIA subscription, contact PayGarden Support for assistance.

Cryptocurrency

PIA does not currently accept cryptocurrency payments. Please try another available payment method.

Further Troubleshooting

If your payment still fails, try using another payment method accepted by PIA.

If you were charged but did not receive your PIA account details, check your inbox and spam or junk folders for an email with the subject line “Private Internet Access Account Activated.” This email contains your PIA login credentials, which you can use to log into your account.

If you still cannot complete your purchase or locate your account details, contact the PIA Support Team for help.

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