Why does Patreon Charge Patrons $0 (Zero Dollars)

If you are a creator on Patreon and one of your patrons has been charged $0 (zero USD), then you are not alone. This happens because of various reasons that we will explain below.

Why Patreon charges Patrons $0

When a fan subscribes to your Patreon membership level (under upfront billing), he will be automatically charged the same day and then incur recurring payments on the 1st of each month. 

For example, if a patron subscribes on the 21st of this month, he will be charged on that very day and on the 1st of every month.  However, sometimes a patron can make a payment but it will reflect as $0 processed for any of the following reasons;

• Use of VPNs or TOR: If your patron used a VPN or TOR to access Patreon, then Patreon’s fraud detection system might consider the payment as fraud. People use VPNs for privacy reasons but also criminals use them to hide their identity. Patreon can hold your account for investigation if it detects the use of VPNs.
• Use of same IP address: If your patron made payment using the same IP address as yours, then the payment may be considered fraudulent. This can happen if you are sharing the same WIFI with the patron. This is considered fraud because the fraud detection system thinks you are using stolen credit cards with an intention of transferring money to your account in what is called washing or placement in money laundering.
• Fraud Patterns: Some of the fraud patterns that Patreon’s fraud detection system considers include but are not limited to device sharing,  device and IP time zone matching, suspicious browsers, emails involved in data breaches, name matching, email domain reputation, payment amount, phone risk,  etc.
• Credit Card Issues: Sometimes a credit payment does not go through and therefore it is reversed to Patrons after being given access to the membership. In this situation, creators are the losers.
• Payment processing time: Patreon takes between 24 to 48 hours to process payment.  If it is past 48 hours and there are no funds in your account, then you might want to contact Patreon.
• Billing Type: If you selected non-charge upfront billing, then your Patrons will join and access your membership but will not be charged until the 1st of the next month.  

Read more about billing types.