Merchant Category Restricted by Issuer
This decline occurs when a cardholder's issuer or card program blocks entire categories of merchants — such as gambling, cryptocurrency, adult content, or cannabis — at the account level. It shares the same underlying network code as a general "transaction not permitted to cardholder" decline, but merchants in these verticals encounter it often enough that it deserves its own explanation.
Decline code by card network
| Card network | Code | Network's wording |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | 57 | Transaction Not Permitted — Merchant Category |
| Mastercard | 57 | Transaction Not Permitted — Merchant Category |
Common causes
- The issuer blocks specific merchant category codes (MCCs) by default for certain card products, such as prepaid or student cards excluding gambling.
- The cardholder has opted into a spending-control feature that blocks categories like gambling, adult content, or cryptocurrency.
- Regulatory or corporate card policies restrict purchases in the merchant's specific vertical (e.g. a corporate card blocking cannabis purchases even where locally legal).
What merchants should do
- Advise the customer that their issuer has blocked this category and that only the issuer can lift or adjust the restriction.
- Offer alternative payment options common in your vertical, such as ACH, digital wallets, or crypto-native payment rails, which may not route through the same restriction.
- Avoid repeatedly retrying the same card, since the block is category-wide and will not clear on retry.
How to prevent this
- Set expectations at checkout that some card issuers restrict purchases in your industry, and surface alternative payment methods proactively.
- Work with a payment processor experienced in high-risk or restricted verticals, since routing and approval rates vary significantly by acquirer.
- Track decline rates by issuer and BIN to identify which card programs most frequently block your merchant category.
Because this restriction is applied by the issuer to entire categories rather than individual merchants, even a well-established business with a clean processing history will see it consistently from certain card programs.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my gambling or crypto business see this decline so often?
Many issuers proactively block entire merchant categories they consider higher-risk, including gambling, adult content, cannabis, and cryptocurrency, regardless of whether the specific transaction is legitimate.
Can I get my business reclassified to avoid this?
Your merchant category code (MCC) should accurately reflect your actual business activity — misclassifying it to dodge restrictions can violate your merchant agreement. Instead, focus on offering alternative payment methods for customers whose issuers block your category.