With Confirm COD Orders by Code on, a shopper who chooses cash on delivery presses SEND CODE, gets a 6-digit code on their mobile number by SMS (or on WhatsApp, if they chose it and you allow it), and types it before the order can be placed. When codes do not arrive, shoppers cannot order with cash on delivery at all, so treat it as urgent. Work through the checks below in order.
Symptoms
What shoppers see at checkout:
- "We'll text a 6-digit code to +91 98290 12345 to confirm your cash on delivery order." and then no SMS.
- "Too many codes for this number; please wait 15 minutes and try again."
- "This code has expired. Please ask for a new one."
- "Wrong code, 2 tries left" or "Too many wrong tries for this code. Please ask for a new one."
- "That code was not sent for this bag; please ask for a new one."
- "This store sends codes by SMS only."
- "We could not send a code just now. Please try again."
- At PLACE ORDER: "Please confirm your mobile number with the code we sent."
What you see in the admin:
- A banner: "Notification credits are empty. Some messages are not being sent."
- COD Confirmation Code lines with Failed under Recent Messages in Settings › Notifications.
- More bags than usual in Abandoned Bags, from shoppers who stopped at the code.
First, Look at Recent Messages
- Open Settings › Notifications and scroll to Recent Messages.
- Find the COD Confirmation Code lines for the shopper's number (the channel shows SMS or WhatsApp).
- Sent means the code left Mercayo for that number: go to the shopper's side (wrong number, waiting, WhatsApp). Failed means it was not sent: go to credits, then Mercayo's side. No line at all means the shopper's request never reached Mercayo: go to the limits.
The code itself is never shown: only a secure fingerprint of it is kept, and it is wiped from the message record once sent.
Causes and Fixes
Your Notification Credits Are Empty
Each code is a message: an SMS, or a WhatsApp message. It comes from your plan's monthly bundle first, then from your notification credits. When both are used up, codes are not sent (and not charged). The free monthly allowance that keeps order emails going at a zero balance does not cover SMS or WhatsApp.
How to check: the banner "Notification credits are empty. Some messages are not being sent.", or Empty on the Notification Credits screen with "… messages were not sent this month because the balance was empty."
How to fix: the store's owner opens Notification Credits and presses TOP UP. New codes go out as soon as the balance is back; codes that failed are not sent later, so shoppers press SEND CODE again. See Notification Credits.
The Number Was Typed Wrong
The code goes to exactly the number the shopper typed, shown in the line "We'll text a 6-digit code to …". A digit swapped or a landline number gets nothing.
Fix: the shopper corrects the mobile number and presses SEND CODE again.
The Shopper Did Not Wait
A code can take a little while to reach the phone, so the link to send another, "Didn't get it? Send a new code", appears only after 30 seconds (until then it reads "Send a new code in …"). Pressing it again and again quickly runs into the limit below.
Too Many Codes for One Number
One number can ask for at most 3 codes in 15 minutes in your store: "Too many codes for this number; please wait 15 minutes and try again." One shopper's connection can also ask only so often in an hour ("Too many requests. Please wait a moment and try again."). These limits stop people from flooding a number, and from using up your credits.
Fix: the shopper waits 15 minutes and asks once. If a shopper calls you, you can also take the order another way, for example by asking them to pay online.
The Code Expired or Was Typed Wrong Too Often
A code works for 10 minutes and allows 5 tries. After that: "This code has expired. Please ask for a new one." or "Too many wrong tries for this code. Please ask for a new one." Once the number is confirmed, the order must be placed within 15 minutes, or checkout asks again: "Please confirm your mobile number with the code we sent."
Fix: press "Send a new code" and type the newest code.
The Code Belongs to Another Bag
"That code was not sent for this bag; please ask for a new one." Each code is made for one bag. A shopper who started checkout on their phone and continues on a laptop, or whose bag expired, needs a new code on the device they order from. "This bag has expired." means the bag itself must be filled again.
WhatsApp Did Not Deliver
With Codes by WhatsApp Too on, shoppers choose Send the code by SMS or WhatsApp. A code chosen for WhatsApp goes only to WhatsApp. If the number is not on WhatsApp, or WhatsApp is not delivering, the shopper should switch to SMS and send a new code.
Check your setup: turn on Codes by WhatsApp Too only once your store's WhatsApp messages are set up ("Needs a WhatsApp Business number"); see WhatsApp. With it off, a shopper who asks for WhatsApp gets "This store sends codes by SMS only."
The Store Is Not Open
While a store is suspended or closed, charged messages such as codes are not sent. The admin shows "This store is suspended. You can look, but changes are switched off." Pay what is due in Plans and Billing.
A Problem on Mercayo's Side
Codes are sent by Mercayo's SMS sender with India's approved (DLT) wording, which cannot be changed ("This SMS is fixed. It is the wording India's DLT rules approved, and a changed text would not be delivered."). If Recent Messages shows codes as Failed while your credits are fine, or shoppers see "We could not send a code just now." again and again, the problem is not in your settings. Write to support at once.
Keep Taking COD Orders Meanwhile
If codes are failing for every shopper and you cannot fix it straight away:
- Open Settings › Checkout and COD.
- In COD Confirmation Code, switch off Confirm COD Orders by Code and press SAVE. Shoppers can then order with cash on delivery without a code.
- To keep a check on fake orders meanwhile, switch on Staff Call to Confirm COD Orders in Order Clean-up and call shoppers before shipping. See Unconfirmed COD Orders.
- Switch the code back on once codes are arriving again.
Online payments never need a code, so shoppers can also pay online while you fix it.
Still Stuck?
Open Help from your account menu and write to Mercayo's team. Include your store's handle, the shopper's mobile number (or its last four digits), the time they asked for the code, whether they chose SMS or WhatsApp, and a screenshot of Recent Messages. See Contact Mercayo Support.
Questions
Do codes cost money?
Yes. Each code is an SMS or a WhatsApp message, paid from your plan's monthly bundle and then your notification credits. Your Notifications page shows the price of each.
Can I change the SMS wording?
No. SMS texts in India must match an approved (DLT) template character for character, so their wording is fixed.
Why do some shoppers stop at the code?
Some never meant to accept the parcel, which is the point of the code. If real shoppers are stopping, check the causes above, starting with your credits.
Is the code needed for online payments?
No. Only cash on delivery orders ask for the code.
Where do I switch the code on or off?
In Settings › Checkout and COD, the COD Confirmation Code card. See COD with Confirmation Codes.