diff --git a/src/aleph/vm/orchestrator/tasks.py b/src/aleph/vm/orchestrator/tasks.py
index fc627e29..006de6e6 100644
--- a/src/aleph/vm/orchestrator/tasks.py
+++ b/src/aleph/vm/orchestrator/tasks.py
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ async def monitor_payments(app: web.Application):
                 required_balance = await compute_required_balance(executions)
                 logger.debug(f"Required balance for Sender {sender} executions: {required_balance}")
                 # Stop executions until the required balance is reached
-                while balance < (required_balance + settings.PAYMENT_BUFFER):
+                while executions and balance < (required_balance + settings.PAYMENT_BUFFER):
                     last_execution = executions.pop(-1)
                     logger.debug(f"Stopping {last_execution} due to insufficient balance")
                     await pool.stop_vm(last_execution.vm_hash)