About this tool

Decline Code Lookup is a free educational resource for merchants — online and offline — who accept card payments and want to understand why a transaction was declined.

Card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express each use their own decline codes, and the messages merchants see at checkout rarely explain what's actually going wrong or what to do about it. This site translates those codes into plain English, grouped by cause, with concrete next steps for merchants.

This is an independent, unaffiliated resource — it is not run or endorsed by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or any card network, processor, or bank. It is not legal, financial, or compliance advice.