Insufficient-Funds Recovery

Insufficient-funds recovery controls what happens after an active rider’s wallet actually reaches zero and funding cannot continue. It gives each fleet a clear policy for vehicle power, free recovery time, rider notifications, parking-zone checks, and possible abandonment fees.

The Most Important Distinction

This setting does not predict how much money remains on a rider’s debit or credit card. Levy and Stripe do not know that amount in advance. A card may work for one top-up and then decline on the next attempt.

The recovery policy therefore begins at the point Levy can know with certainty:

1. The active ride consumes the remaining wallet balance.
2. The wallet reaches zero.
3. Any required attempt to continue funding cannot complete.
4. Levy starts the configured zero-balance response.

The recovery policy does not:

• charge the rider before the existing auto top-up trigger;
• change the configured auto top-up amount;
• reduce a large top-up into smaller transactions;
• estimate the balance available on the rider’s card;
• add a new pre-authorization; or
• change another subaccount’s settings.

What Always Happens When the Policy Is Enabled

Some safeguards are the same in every mode:

Choose the Zero-Balance Mode

Locked Recovery — Recommended

Locked recovery stops propulsion and gives the rider a free recovery window.

• Vehicle: Motor power is disabled.
• Billing: Time and distance stop at zero.
• Rider can: Add funds or a new card to resume the ride, or walk/push the vehicle into a parking zone and end it.
• Why choose it: It balances rider fairness with vehicle control and parking compliance.
• Recovery window: 1 to 60 minutes.

This is the recommended starting policy for most fleets.

Powered Recovery

Powered recovery leaves propulsion available for a short, free interval so the rider can reach an approved parking zone.

• Vehicle: Motor power remains available during the recovery window.
• Billing: Time and distance still stop at zero.
• Rider can: Add funds to resume normal paid riding, or use the free interval to return and end.
• Operator tradeoff: The fleet subsidizes the powered interval.
• Recovery window: 1 to 15 minutes.

Powered recovery requires an explicit acknowledgement in the dashboard because a rider could ignore the return instruction and continue moving during the free interval.

Immediate End

Immediate end gives no post-zero recovery window.

• Vehicle: Motor power is disabled and the normal stationary lock sequence begins.
• Billing: Time and distance stop at zero.
• Rider can: The rider cannot resume that ride and must settle the account before another ride.
• Operator tradeoff: The vehicle returns to the end-of-ride process quickly, but the rider receives no post-zero grace period.
• Recovery window: None; the ride ends on the next lifecycle check.

Immediate end also requires an explicit acknowledgement. If automatic fees are selected, a fee can be automatic only when qualifying warning evidence existed before the wallet reached zero.

Configure the Timing

Timing begins when the wallet reaches zero, not when the card begins running low.

Recovery Window

The recovery window is the total free time the rider has to:

• add funds;
• add or replace a payment card;
• resume the ride after successful funding; or
• return the vehicle to a valid parking zone and end.

At the deadline, Levy evaluates every unresolved vehicle separately.

Reminder Before the Deadline

This setting controls when Levy sends the group-level reminder. For example, with a 15-minute recovery window and a 5-minute reminder setting, the reminder is sent approximately 10 minutes after zero—when 5 minutes remain.

The reminder states:

• the exact deadline;
• whether the rider can still add funds and resume;
• the return-to-parking-zone option;
• the configured fee per outside-zone vehicle; and
• the maximum possible fee across the group.

Minimum Warning Time for an Automatic Fee

This setting is a fairness gate, not another rider charge. An automatic fee is allowed only if a notification provider accepted a warning at least this many minutes before the deadline.

For example:

• Recovery deadline: 8:15 PM
• Required warning time: 5 minutes
• Latest qualifying delivery acceptance: 8:10 PM

A warning accepted at 8:09 PM can qualify. A warning first accepted at 8:12 PM cannot qualify for an automatic fee at 8:15 PM.

Decide the Outside-Zone Fee Outcome

At the deadline, Levy checks each vehicle’s location against the subaccount’s parking zones.

• A vehicle in a valid parking zone ends without this insufficient-funds abandonment fee.
• A vehicle outside a parking zone follows the selected fee option.
• If Levy cannot obtain trustworthy zone evidence, the fee is not charged automatically; the case goes to review.

The fee amount comes from the subaccount’s existing abandonment-fee setting. This recovery setting controls when and how that fee may be applied; it does not create a separate fee amount.

Automatic Only After a Timely Warning

This option may charge the configured fee automatically for each outside-zone vehicle, but only when all required evidence exists:

1. The vehicle is outside a valid parking zone.
2. The configured abandonment fee is greater than zero.
3. A warning was accepted by an available notification channel.
4. The warning was accepted early enough to satisfy the minimum warning time.

If warning delivery cannot be confirmed in time, Levy extends the deadline once and tells the rider. If qualifying evidence is still unavailable after the extension, Levy ends the unresolved ride but sends the fee to manual review instead of charging automatically.

Manual Review

This option never charges the insufficient-funds abandonment fee automatically.

At the deadline:

1. Levy ends the unresolved outside-zone ride.
2. The fee remains uncharged.
3. Levy creates one review case per vehicle.
4. An authorized operator reviews the parking and notification evidence.
5. The operator applies or waives the fee and records a decision note.

Open Dashboard → Rides → Fee reviews to process the queue.

No Fee for This Event

This option ends outside-zone vehicles without an insufficient-funds abandonment fee. The rider still owes the ordinary ride fare calculated through the zero-balance cutoff.

What the Rider Receives

At Zero Balance

The rider receives one operational group alert explaining:

• that the wallet is empty;
• whether payment failed;
• the current balance;
• whether motor power is available;
• that time billing is frozen;
• the exact recovery deadline;
• how to add or replace a card and resume;
• how to return and end instead; and
• the possible fee per vehicle and maximum group exposure.

The notification opens the add-funds-and-resume flow. The mobile wallet and recovery sheet show the exact top-up amount, trigger, and currency before the rider confirms payment.

Before the Deadline

The rider receives one group-level reminder at the configured time. The system avoids repeating the same warning once per vehicle.

When Delivery Evidence Is Missing

If the automatic-fee policy lacks timely accepted delivery evidence, the rider receives a one-time extension notice with the new deadline.

At Resolution

The rider receives a consolidated result showing each vehicle’s outcome:

• funded and resumed;
• ended in a parking zone with no fee;
• ended outside a parking zone with a fee;
• fee waived; or
• fee pending manual review.

These are operational notifications. They are not marketing messages and do not depend on marketing consent. In-app and push delivery are used where available; existing critical-notification routing can use configured fallback channels.

Example: Recommended 15-Minute Policy

Assume the subaccount chooses:

The timeline is:

1. 7:00 PM: Wallet reaches zero. Billing stops, motor power is disabled, and the group alert is sent.
2. 7:10 PM: The rider receives the five-minutes-remaining reminder.
3. 7:15 PM: Levy checks each unresolved vehicle.
4. If warning evidence qualifies: Vehicles in parking zones end without the fee; outside-zone vehicles may receive the configured fee.
5. If warning evidence does not qualify: Levy extends the deadline to approximately 7:25 PM and sends an extension notice.
6. At the extended deadline: If evidence is still insufficient, any possible fee goes to manual review rather than being charged automatically.

At any time before resolution, successful funding can resume eligible vehicles. A rider may instead return the vehicles and end the ride without funding.

Configure the Policy

Recommended Rollout

1. Begin with one internal or low-volume test subaccount.
2. Use locked recovery, a 15-minute window, a 5-minute reminder, and manual review for the first live incidents.
3. Confirm that billing cutoffs, notifications, parking evidence, and operator review cases look correct.
4. Decide whether that subaccount should move to automatic-only-after-warning.
5. Enable other subaccounts individually only after their operators understand the policy.

Do not test by intentionally charging a real rider. Use controlled test data and review the dashboard evidence before broad rollout.

Troubleshooting

Related Settings

• Auto Top-Up Configuration explains the funding trigger and reload amount that remain unchanged by recovery.
• Wallet & Payments explains wallet debits, payment methods, and funding.
• Ride Abandonment Fee explains how abandonment fees appear in dashboard and exports.
• Ride Pausing explains manual and system pause behavior outside this zero-balance policy.