That customer payment didn’t go through, and you’re looking at a credit card declined code. Now what? Use this list of credit card declined codes to figure out the problem so you can solve it quickly. Here are the most common credit card declined codes you may encounter:
List of common credit card declined codes
- 05 / Do not honor: The customer’s bank won’t let this payment go through. To resolve the problem, ask the customer to contact their bank and then try again.
- 14 / Invalid card number: There might be a typo somewhere. Check the credit card number carefully and enter it again.
- 41 / Lost card, pick Up: The customer’s bank is preventing this transaction because the card has been reported as lost. Decline service to the person who is attempting the transaction and request an updated payment method from your customer if this is a recurring payment.
- 43 / Stolen card, pick up: The card’s owner has reported it as stolen, and the bank is preventing the transaction from going through. Decline service to the person who is attempting the transaction and request an updated payment method from your customer if this is a recurring payment.
- 51 / Insufficient funds: The customer has exceeded the limit on their card and the payment can’t go through. Ask them to call the bank to increase their limit, or use an alternate payment method.
- R0 or R1 / Customer requested stop of specific recurring payment: If you get this error code, it means the customer has told their card issuer not to allow recurring payments from you. You should stop the recurring payment schedule immediately to avoid chargebacks. Then contact your customer to clarify whether they want to continue working with you and if they’d like to resume the recurring payment schedule.
Complete list of credit card declined codes
Although the codes above are the most common ones you’ll find, it’s helpful to have a complete list of credit card declined codes on hand for future reference. Here is the full list of credit card declined codes, by category:
Call/Decline Codes
If you get one of the following “CALL” or “DECLINE” codes, it usually indicates a problem with the customer’s bank not allowing the transaction to go through. This could be due to a variety of reasons, from insufficient funds to an expired card. Ask the customer to call their bank to resolve the problem, or ask them to provide an alternate payment method.
- 01 / Refer to issuer
- 02 / Refer to issuer, special condition
- 04 / Pick up card (no fraud)
- 05 / Do not honor
- 51 / Insufficient funds
- 54 / Expired card
- 57 / Transaction not permitted, card
- 65 / Activity limit exceeded
- 93 / Violation, cannot complete
Hold-Call Codes
A hold-call code may indicate fraudulent use of the credit card. Do not honor the transaction and do not provide services to this customer. If it’s an in-person transaction, you should take the card from the customer, call to report that the code was received, and keep the card.
- 07 / Pick up card, special condition (fraud account)
- 41 / Lost Card, Pick Up
- 43 / Stolen Card, Pick Up
Error Codes
If you get one of these error codes, it can be due to anything from a typo to a system error. Most of the time, you can resolve error codes by double-checking the account details and trying again. If you still have trouble, contact us to resolve the issue.
- 00 / Issuer system unavailable
- 12 / Invalid transaction
- 13 / Invalid amount
- 14 / Invalid card number
- 15 / No such issuer
- 19 / Re-enter
- 28 / File is temporarily unavailable
- 58 / Transaction not permitted, terminal
- 62 / Invalid service code, restricted
- 63 / Security violation
- 85 / Issuer system unavailable
- 85 / No reason to decline
- 91 / Issuer switch is unavailable
- 96 / System error
- 85 / No reason to decline
- 91 / Issuer or switch is unavailable
- 93 / Violation, cannot complete
- 96 / System error
- CV / Card type verification error
- R0 or R1 / Customer requested stop of specific recurring payment
We hope this is a helpful resource as you figure out just why a credit card transaction was declined, and how to deal with it.
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