# Cancel with Payment Stop
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/experience-design-guide/smart-subscriptions/use-cases/cancel/cancel-with-payment-stop/index.md
**When customers cancel their subscription through automated processes (either through merchant outreach or API-direct connection), a payment stop is applied in the background without it being made evident to the customer. This is to act as a fail-safe if the cancellation request fails.**
### How it works {#how-it-works}
When a customer using an automated process begins to change a subscription, a payment stop is added in the background, invisible to the customer. There are no visible options to the customer at this time to stop a service or merchant; this is done solely as a fall-back method in the case an unsuccessful cancellation response is returned by the merchant. If an unsuccessful response is returned, the customer will then be made aware that a payment stop has been applied. The customer will then have an opportunity to remove the stop, restoring the subscription to its active state, or not (and maintain the stop.)
### Experience prototype {#experience-prototype}
### Things to know {#things-to-know}
When a payment stop is applied in the absence of a successful cancellation, the payment stop will prevent payment continuing to go to the merchant, but the subscription itself is still considered active.
Although Smart Subscriptions can identify a single subscription and stop payments solely to that service, in some circumstances, the payment stop will apply to the merchants' total services that the customer subscribes to or purchases from. The customer must be made aware of this possibility in messaging around if the payment stop is maintained after an unsuccessful cancellation request is returned.
### Unsuccessful states {#unsuccessful-states}
Cancellation requests can result in the unsuccessful outcome states. There are seven common unsuccessful messages, each with unique wording to help customers understand what happened and what their best next steps are. In some cases, the customer can attempt the action again; in others, they cannot. Some scenarios require the customer to contact the merchant directly to complete their request.
Tip: Read more about [Unsuccessful and Successful States](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/experience-design-guide/smart-subscriptions/use-cases/unsuccessful-successful-states/index.md) for understanding other outcomes and how to message about them.
### Best practices {#best-practices}
**These are suggestions specific to cancellation with payment stop.**
**Notifications:** Because the payment stop is automatically applied, notifications need to be clear with regard to payment stops' status changes. Those moments include:
* Payment stops put in place when a cancellation request comes back as unsuccessful, which will stop payments to the merchant on an active subscription
* Payment stop is removed by a customer, and payment schedules to the merchant are restored for the subscription
**Messaging and copy:** The customer should be made aware upon unsuccessful cancellation that a payment stop has been made for them. It should also be clear if the payment stop is just for the specific subscription or affects all transactions with the merchant.
The payment stop should be noted in the different locations they may see the subscription referenced, such as transaction list, subscription management hubs, and subscription detail screens. The customer should also have a clear understanding and CTA regarding the removal of a payment stop for a given subscription.
**Accessibility:** When integrating any of these cancel designs, be sure to maintain proper accessibility in their treatments to ensure comprehensive usage by all customers.
### High fidelity flows and assets {#high-fidelity-flows-and-assets}
For the best viewing experience of the flow, click the **full screen mode** option or **zoom** using the controls located on the right.
Next: [Cancel with Retention Offer](https://developer.mastercard.com/consumer-clarity/documentation/experience-design-guide/smart-subscriptions/use-cases/cancel/cancel-with-retention-offer/index.md)