Paying on the web: card and crypto
How web payments work, why your account number comes first, and what support can and cannot do about a declined card, 3-D Secure or a crypto payment.
Premium can also be bought on the web, by card or with crypto. The card processors are Stripe and CloudPayments and the crypto processor is NOWPayments. Checkout shows which methods are open. You get your account number before you pay, so save it first: the purchase is tied to that number.
Symptoms
- A card payment is declined.
- Your bank asks for 3-D Secure and the code does not arrive or the page fails.
- You see the same charge twice.
- A crypto payment was sent and Premium has not appeared.
- You paid and cannot sign in.
- You want a refund or want to stop a renewal.
Likely causes
- The issuer, the processor or the card network decided. A decline, a 3-D Secure step and a hold are decisions of your bank, the processor or the card network. ForestVPN does not control them and does not see why a payment was declined.
- Two payments. A second attempt that went through, or a purchase made on two rails, is two charges. The console shows each subscription as its own row, and two rows mean two charges.
- A crypto payment that is still confirming. ForestVPN publishes no confirmation time for a crypto payment, so none can be promised.
- A lost account number. A web purchase is tied to the account number it was made for.
Fix each cause
A declined card or a 3-D Secure problem. Ask your bank, the card issuer, what it declined or why the code did not arrive, and try again or try another method. ForestVPN cannot see the reason and cannot approve a payment for you.
A double charge. Open the console and look at the subscription rows: one row per charge. If you paid twice for the same thing, write to support. A card payment can be refunded through support, within the refund rules.
A crypto payment that has not shown up. Keep the transaction record and write to support with a support code. A crypto purchase buys a fixed term, cannot be cancelled, and cannot be refunded.
Stopping a renewal.
- A Stripe card subscription renews until you stop it in the app or console, or through Stripe's own customer portal.
- A CloudPayments purchase is a one-time term, so there is nothing to cancel.
- A crypto purchase is a fixed term and does not renew.
A refund. A card payment on the web can be refunded through support. A crypto payment cannot be refunded.
A lost account number. If you lose the account number a web purchase is tied to, ForestVPN can ask the processor to refund you but cannot restore the subscription. See lost your account number.
Still stuck
Write to support with a support code from Account → Get help. Never send your account number: support does not need it and anyone who holds it can attach a device to your subscription. Say which rail you used, card or crypto, and when. ForestVPN publishes no response time for support, so none is given here.