Glossary of decline codes

Every decline reason covered on this site, A-Z.

• 3-D Secure / Strong Customer Authentication FailedThis decline happens when 3-D Secure or Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) fails or isn't completed during checkout — increasingly required under regulations like PSD2 in Europe. There's no distinct network code for this scenario; the issuer typically declines the underlying authorization with a generic response such as "05 Do Not Honor."
• Address Verification (AVS) MismatchAn AVS mismatch occurs when the billing address or ZIP code entered at checkout doesn't match the address on file with the card issuer. This is not itself a network decline code — the issuer typically still authorizes the transaction but returns a mismatch flag, and it's the merchant's payment gateway or acquirer risk rules that decide whether to decline it.
• Cannot Verify PINA "Cannot Verify PIN" decline means a technical failure prevented the issuer from validating the PIN entered, such as encryption key mismatches or a system outage — it is distinct from an incorrect PIN entry. The cardholder's PIN may be entirely correct; the issue lies in the verification process itself rather than the credential.
• Do Not HonorA "Do Not Honor" decline is a catch-all response from the card issuer meaning it chose not to approve the transaction, without specifying the exact reason. It can stem from risk rules, account restrictions, or discretionary fraud checks the issuer does not disclose to the merchant.
• Duplicate TransactionA "Duplicate Transaction" decline means the card network or issuer detected that this transaction matches another one already processed for the same card, amount, and time window, and is blocking it to prevent an accidental double charge. It is a protective control, not a fraud or funding issue.
• Error / Transaction ErrorAn "Error" or "Transaction Error" decline is a generic processing failure code the network returns when a request can't be completed due to a malformed message, an intermediate system glitch, or an unclassified problem. It doesn't indicate fraud or insufficient funds — it signals something went wrong in transmission or processing rather than a specific cardholder-related reason.
• Exceeds Withdrawal FrequencyThis decline means the issuer has capped the number of transactions allowed on the account within a given period, and that limit has been reached — regardless of the dollar amount involved. It's distinct from a dollar-amount withdrawal limit, since even small transactions will be declined once the count threshold is hit.
• Exceeds Withdrawal/Activity LimitThis decline means the transaction amount, or the cumulative amount of recent transactions, exceeds a limit the card issuer has set on the account — separate from whether the account has enough total funds or credit available.
• Expired CardAn "Expired Card" decline means the card's expiration date has already passed, or the expiration date submitted with the transaction doesn't match the issuer's records. The customer needs to use a current, valid card — this decline carries no fraud implication on its own.
• Financial Institution Not FoundThis decline means the routing information attached to the transaction couldn't be matched to a valid financial institution, often due to a BIN (bank identification number) table issue or a routing configuration error. It is a technical failure, not an indication of fraud or account problems.
• Format ErrorA "Format Error" decline means the transaction message sent to the network was malformed — missing a required field, containing an invalid value, or structured incorrectly. It is almost always caused by a bug or misconfiguration in the merchant's payment gateway, POS, or integration rather than anything related to the cardholder.
• Incorrect PINAn "Incorrect PIN" decline means the cardholder entered a PIN that doesn't match the issuer's record for this card. It's distinct from a cannot-verify-PIN technical failure and from PIN-tries-exceeded lockouts — it simply signals a mismatched entry that the cardholder can usually correct on the next attempt.
• Insufficient FundsAn "Insufficient Funds" decline means the cardholder's account doesn't have enough available balance or credit to cover the transaction amount. It is not fraud and does not require the merchant to take any security action — the customer typically needs to use a different card or payment method.
• Invalid AmountAn "Invalid Amount" decline means the transaction amount field failed validation — for example it was zero, negative, exceeded a formatting limit, or contained a currency mismatch. This is a technical or processing issue rather than a funds or fraud problem, and it typically requires the merchant or their gateway to correct how the amount is submitted.
• Invalid Card NumberThis decline means the card number entered doesn't match any real, active account — often due to a typo, an outdated saved card, or a card number that was never issued. It's usually a data-entry or stored-data problem rather than fraud or funds availability.
• Invalid CVV/CVCAn "Invalid CVV/CVC" decline means the security code submitted with the transaction doesn't match the issuer's record for that card. Because the CVV/CVC is printed only on the physical card and not stored in magnetic stripe or chip data, a mismatch is a strong signal that the card details were guessed, scraped, or entered from memory rather than read directly off a genuine card.
• Invalid MerchantAn "Invalid Merchant" decline means the merchant ID (MID) submitted with the transaction is not recognized, is inactive, or is misconfigured with the card networks. It is a technical/setup issue on the merchant or acquirer side, not a cardholder problem, and typically requires the merchant's payment processor to investigate and correct the account configuration.
• Invalid TransactionAn "Invalid Transaction" decline means the transaction type, format, or combination of details submitted isn't supported for this card, terminal, or account type. It's typically a technical or configuration mismatch — such as attempting a transaction type the card doesn't support — rather than a fraud or funds issue, and often requires a corrected resubmission.
• Issuer or Switch InoperativeThis decline means the card issuer's system, or the network switch routing the transaction to it, was temporarily unreachable or down when the authorization request was sent. It is not a reflection of the cardholder's account status and typically resolves once the issuer's systems come back online.
• Merchant Category Restricted by IssuerThis 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.
• No Checking AccountA "No Checking Account" decline means the transaction was routed against a checking or demand deposit account, but the card presented isn't linked to a checking account on the issuer's system. It's a routing mismatch, not a sign of fraud, and is usually resolved by selecting a different account type or card.
• No Credit AccountA "No Credit Account" decline means the transaction was submitted as a credit-account charge, but the card presented isn't linked to a credit account on the issuer's system — for example, a debit-only card run in credit mode. The customer needs to use the correct account type or a different card.
• No Savings AccountA "No Savings Account" decline means the transaction was routed against a savings account, but the card presented isn't linked to one. It's most common at ATMs and PIN-based terminals that ask the cardholder to choose an account type, and is resolved by selecting checking or credit instead.
• No Such IssuerA "No Such Issuer" decline means the card number's issuer identification number (the first six-to-eight digits, or BIN/IIN) doesn't match any recognized financial institution in the routing network. It usually results from a mistyped or mis-keyed card number rather than fraud, and the transaction cannot succeed until the correct card number is entered.
• Pick Up Card (No Reason Given)This decline instructs the merchant to retain the physical card if presented in person, without the issuer disclosing a specific reason. It differs from explicit lost-or-stolen pickup instructions in that the cause is undisclosed, but it should still be treated as a meaningful risk signal and handled per your processor's card-retention guidance.
• PIN Tries ExceededA "PIN Tries Exceeded" decline means the cardholder has entered an incorrect PIN too many times, and the issuer has temporarily locked PIN-based transactions on the card as a security precaution. It can reflect genuine cardholder forgetfulness or an attempted unauthorized use of the card, so it should be treated as a moderate risk signal.
• Re-enter TransactionA "Re-enter Transaction" decline is a request from the issuer to resubmit the transaction after a transient error, such as a brief communication glitch, prevented normal processing the first time. It is not a true decline of the sale — most re-entered transactions succeed on the next attempt with no changes needed.
• Refer to Card Issuer"Refer to Card Issuer" is a generic response instructing the merchant that only the cardholder's bank can explain or resolve the decline. It's one of the most common catch-all decline codes merchants encounter, alongside "Do Not Honor," and gives no specific reason for the refusal.
• Requested Function Not SupportedA "Requested Function Not Supported" decline means the specific transaction type or feature requested — such as a particular refund method, cash advance, or account inquiry — isn't supported by the cardholder's issuer for that card. It reflects a capability mismatch rather than a funds or fraud issue and usually requires a different transaction approach.
• Response Received Too Late (Timeout)A "Response Received Too Late" (timeout) decline occurs when the issuer's authorization response didn't arrive within the card network's required timeframe, so the transaction was automatically declined. It usually reflects a temporary network, connectivity, or system performance issue rather than any problem with the cardholder's account, and often succeeds on retry.
• Restricted CardA Restricted Card decline means the issuer has placed a specific limitation on this card — such as a geographic usage restriction, sanctions screening flag, or card-program limitation — unrelated to available funds or general fraud suspicion. Some variants instruct the merchant to retain the physical card.
• Security ViolationA Security Violation decline means the issuer detected a security-related problem with the transaction, such as a failed cryptographic check or a violation of a required security protocol, rather than a general suspicion of fraud. It typically points to a technical integrity issue in how the transaction was submitted.
• Suspected Fraud (No Pickup)This decline means the card issuer's fraud-detection system flagged the transaction as likely fraudulent and blocked it outright, without asking the merchant to retain the physical card. It differs from a pickup-card fraud response, which is reserved for cases where the issuer believes the card itself is lost, stolen, or counterfeit.
• Suspected Fraud / Pick Up CardThis decline means the card issuer believes the card may be lost, stolen, or used fraudulently, and in some cases is instructing the merchant to physically retain the card if presented in person. It is a strong fraud signal and should be treated with caution.
• System MalfunctionA "System Malfunction" decline is a generic technical failure somewhere in the payment processing chain — hardware, software, or network — that prevented the transaction from being completed. It is unrelated to the cardholder's account status and usually clears up once the underlying system issue is resolved.
• Transaction Not Permitted to CardholderThis decline means the issuer does not allow this specific cardholder's card to be used for the type of transaction attempted — for example, a debit card blocked from card-not-present purchases, or a card restricted from certain merchant categories such as gambling. The restriction is set by the issuer on the cardholder's account, not by the merchant.
• Transaction Not Permitted to Terminal/MerchantThis decline means the merchant's terminal or merchant category is not permitted to accept this type of transaction under network or issuer rules. Unlike a cardholder-side restriction, the limitation sits on the merchant or terminal configuration itself, such as a terminal not provisioned for a certain card product or transaction type.
• Transaction Violates LawThis decline means the issuer or card network determined that completing the transaction would violate a law or regulation, such as sanctions or OFAC screening, or restrictions on goods and services in the cardholder's or merchant's jurisdiction. It is a compliance-driven block rather than a fraud or funds-related decline.
• Unable to Locate RecordAn "Unable to Locate Record" decline occurs when the issuer can't find the original transaction a follow-up message refers to, such as a capture, void, or reversal. It typically results from a timing mismatch, an expired authorization, or a reference number error rather than any issue with the cardholder's account.
• Unsupported CurrencyAn "Unsupported Currency" decline happens when the transaction currency isn't accepted for the cardholder's account, card product, or cross-border corridor, and is returned to merchants as an Invalid Amount response. It's most relevant to merchants processing multi-currency or international transactions and typically requires charging in a supported currency instead.