This article gives some more information on common transaction declined status codes and reasons, to help understand why transactions have not been successful
Some steps to understand why a payment has failed
- Look at the payment type (summary of payment types given below)
- Check the return/reason code
- View this article to see why the transaction may have failed
Click on the transaction and view the "summary" information, to find the return code.
Please note that these reasons may not always be 100% applicable. This is based on majority of cases seen, for the respective return code - Download the Full List of Available Return Codes (000.000.000 to 999.999.999) at the bottom of this article.
Return codes and typical explanation of failures
CODE | REASON | EXPLANATION | WHAT TO TELL YOUR CUSTOMER / PAYER |
800.100.152 | Transaction declined by authorization system | Insufficient funds / limit reached Risk system of issuing bank declined transaction Risk system of acquiring bank declined transaction Other technical reasons including that the card is not enabled for online transactions for reason 4 : Some quick checks you can do : Check if card enabled for use overseas Is tokenisation / Card storage allowed for card type ? The payment could be returning this code because the card is not enabled for non 3D-Secure / recurring debits (This is common for prepaid, debit cards) | Your transaction was declined for one of the following reasons: Your bank card might not be enabled for online transactions Risk systems for the merchant or customer bank, may have declined the transaction Another reason which only your bank can communicate with you Please contact your bank, as further detail onthe reason for the failed transaction can only be communicated/explained to a customer by the customer's bank. This information is privy only to customer and his/her bank. |
100.380.401 | User Authentication Failed | Incorrect OTP. This return code signifies that the bank's system was unable to authenticate the user | Your transaction failed due to the OTP details either: not entered correctly, there was a field or system error regarding the OTP Therefore your bank was unable to successfully authenticate you and process the transaction. Please try again or contact your bank to find out if there is an issue with OTP system |
100.396.103 | Previously pending transaction timed out | The registration transaction (RG) was not authenticated and timed out. The debit references the registration token and hence this may also fail. | See explanation for 800.100.152 |
100.380.501 | Risk management transaction timeout | The customer probably did not enter their OTP or possibly did not get shown the 3Dsecure page because something on the customer's browser was blocking the 3DSecure page from loading: If the card is 3D enabled, it should get an OTP during the Authentication phase of the payment. Sending out OTP is something the customers' bank 3D server handles. We can't tell if an OTP is sent out and we have no control in the 3D authentication process. It's entirely handled between the customer and their issuing bank. The customers bank also authenticate the payment if correct OTP is entered. Once completed, we then receive a successful payment response. In other cases, if the customer is enrolled for 3D, but during payment, they are not redirected to the 3D page, it could mean there is something wrong with their banks 3D server at the time. We waited for the customers' bank to present the 3D secure page so they could authenticate, it didn't happen, then the payment timed out. See here for more technical explanation. NB - We can't know upfront if the card is enabled for 3D Secure. | Possibly not entering in the OTP on time or The bank card is not enabled for online transactions or There could be an issue with the banks 3D server/transaction approval server Please try again if you know your bank card is activated for online transactions or contact your bank. |
100.390.112 | Technical Error in 3D system | This occurs when there is an error with the 3DSecure process at the bank. It could be that their 3DSecure system was down at the time. | |
100.100.101 | invalid creditcard, bank account number or bank name | See suggested response to the right | Please note that your transaction failed due to either: Credit card number entered incorrectly and/or Bank Account Number entered incorrectly and/or Bank name entered incorrectly and/or Credit card not activated for online transactions Please try again and/or contact your bank. |
100.100.700 | invalid cc number/brand combination | If this happens it usually means that your customer is entering in all the digits found on the reverse side of their card. However they only need to enter the last few digits: For Visa/Mastercard: last 3 digits For AMEX/Diners: last 4 digits (if you have AMEX transactions activated - default is AMEX is NOT ACTIVATED unless specifically requested by Merchant) Clearly specify to customers during the checkout phase how many digits they should enter in the CVV/CVC field Suggestion: Add an image of what a CVV no. is if you receive this return code frequently) | Please note that your transaction failed due to either: Credit card number entered incorrectly and/or The credit card is not activated for online transactions and/or The type of credit card is not accepted Please provide the following information for further assistance: Issuing Bank of Credit Card Country of issue of Credit card |
800.100.153 | transaction declined (invalid CVV) | Card might not be enabled for Online Transactions or customer is using the wrong numbers/doesn’t know what a CVV number is. We can't know exactly what the issue so see suggested answer to the right | Please note that your transaction has been declined due to either: an invalid CVV number being entered or, no CVV number entered If you entered your CVV correctly and still had your transaction declined please contact your bank and inform them that you are unable to make E Commerce transactions. |
800.100.169 | transaction declined (card type is not processed by the authorization center) | See suggested response to the right. | Transaction failed due to either: The bank card is not enabled for online transactions or The bank card type is foreign registered & not VISA or Mastercard or There could be an issue with the banks 3D server/transaction approval server Please try again if you know your bank card is activated for online transactions or contact your bank for further assistance. |
800.100.155 | transaction declined (amount exceeds credit, Insufficient funds) | Likely exceeded credit limit available for the customer or the customer has set a limit on their account. An example would be Capitec gives their customers the option to limit their online spending. | Please be advised that these transactions failed due to insufficient funds on the customer's card. It is likely that they have exceeded their credit card limits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg0ZS9-G7UA&t=2s&ab_channel=CapitecBank |
100.150.203 | Registration is not valid, probably initially rejected | When this Result code occurs this would mean that when the customer tried to register their card for the payment there was either no data or incorrect data provided on Registering so this would be rejected by the issuing bank | Please be advised for this transaction that the initial phase of this transaction failed which was Registering It would either mean one of the following points occurred: The Registering of the card contained no Account holder data The Issuing bank was offline for the initial period of the transaction Did not pass 3DS and therefore the token is not valid, should try the transaction again If they do not succeed they would need to reach out their issuing bank |
800.100.170 | Transaction declined (Transaction not permitted) | This is a failure with the issuing bank and the cardholder will need to find out from their bank was caused the transaction to fail. | The transaction was declined from the issuing bank of the Customer. This means that the issuing bank could not process this transaction due to some rules applied to their system Please contact your bank, as further detail on the reason for the failed transaction can only be communicated/explained to a customer by the customer's bank. This information is privy only to the customer and his/her bank. |
800.100.162 | Transaction declined (Limit exceeded) | When this Result code occurs this would mean this is a limit set by the customer's issuing bank The customer would need to check their daily limit on their banking app and see if they are eligible to do transactions with the amount they would like to transact with | Please be advised that this transaction failed with the Result Description as the Limit exceeded. This error means that the transaction will bring the customer's bank balance below the limit set by their bank or they have exceeded their transaction limit for that day The Customer would need to check their daily limits/available funds in their account to proceed with the transaction |
100.390.107 | Transaction rejected | The transaction failed as it was rejected by their issuing bank, see below possibilities: Either cardholder or card issuing bank is not 3D enrolled or 3D card authentication was unsuccessful, for example, 3D Cardholder is not an enrolled Card or issuing bank is not 3D Secure ready The customer would need to reach out to their bank to check if they are enrolled on 3D Secure alternatively the Customer would need to check if their Card is enrolled on 3D Secure or not. | Please advise that the transaction failed due to one of the following reasons: Either cardholder or card issuing bank is not 3D enrolled or 3D card authentication was unsuccessful, for example, 3D Cardholder is not an enrolled Card or issuing bank is not 3D Secure ready The Customer would need to check with the issuing Bank if they are enrolled on 3D Secure alternatively the Customer would need to check if their Card is enrolled on 3D Secure or not. |
800.100.203 | Card has insufficient funds | When this Result code occurs this would mean the Customers card has insufficient funds when they tried to do an online transaction. They would need to check if they have sufficient funds in their account before doing online transactions. | Please be advised that the transaction failed with the following Result Description, "Insufficient Funds" Please advise the Card Holder they he/she should have sufficient funds available in order to do Online transactions. If they need any other information or assistance they would need to contact their bank. |
800.100.100 | Transaction Rejected by Issuing bank | This would mean that when the customer tried to do a transaction where there was either no data or incorrect data provided on Registering so this would be rejected by the issuing bank | Please be advised that the transaction declined for an unknown reason (800.100.100) - This is an error message from the Issuing/Customer Bank. Please advise the customer to reach out to their bank for more information regarding this failure. |
100.100.303 | Card expired | This would mean that the card might not be enabled for Online Transactions or the customer is using the wrong numbers/doesn’t know what a CVV number is. We can't know exactly what the issue so see the suggested answer to the right | Please note that this transaction failed with the Result Description, "Card expired". Please advise the Customer that they tried to transact when their Card was picked up as an Expired Card. |
800.140.112 | Maximum number of registrations of email per credit card number exceeded | When risk setting is enabled it only allows one email per card number. This occurs when trying to register a card and email that was already used. Please advise the customer that they should either use their registered email or use a new email when registering with an email. | Please be advised that we picked up that the Cardholder perhaps tried to register or transact with a different email on the same card number. This is usually a setting that is enabled on the Merchant's Website/Business. Please advise the customer that they should use one email per card number. |
800.100.165 | Transaction declined (card lost) | Transaction declines occur when the customer's card issuer or bank does not authorize the transaction, for reasons such as possible fraud, invalid account information, or a lost or stolen card. In such instances, the customer will have to contact their bank or card issuer immediately to take corrective measures | Please be advised that we have checked the transaction and the Result Description we received from the Issuing Bank was "Transaction Declined. In this case, the customer will need to reach out to their bank to find out why the transaction was declined. |
800.100.157 | Wrong expiry date entered | The transaction failed due to the customer entering the wrong expiry date which is on the customer's bank card. Please advise the customer should double-check their card details before doing online transactions. Please refer to this article explaining the different card numbers, https://peachpayments.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/47001211101 | Your transaction was declined for one of the following reasons: One of the following numbers has been entered incorrectly: - Card Number - Expiry date - CVV Please double-check the numbers above when doing online transactions" |
800.100.151 | Transaction declined (invalid card) | This could mean one of the following reasons from the issuing bank, See below examples: - The customer's card might be expired - The card is not registered to do online transactions Please advise the customer that they should check with their bank on why the failed the transaction as this is an issue between the customer and their issuing bank | Please be advised that this transaction failed due to a response from the Issuing Bank with a description of ""Invalid Card"" This could mean one of many things from the issuing bank, See below examples: The customer's card might be expired The card is not registered to do online transactions In conclusion, please advise the customer that they should check with their bank on why the failed the transaction as this is an issue between the customer and their issuing bank. |
800.100.174 | Transaction declined (Invalid Amount) | This means that the customer is trying to do online payments but exceeding the amount they are allowed to transact with. The customer would need to check their Daily limits for online transactions before they want to do an online transaction | Upon further investigation, I could see that the transaction failed with the Result description, Invalid amount. Please note that the transaction is failing because the Customer exceeded their daily limit. Please advise the customer that they should check their daily limit for Online transactions before transacting with their bank or on their banking app settings. |
800.100.171 | Transaction declined (pick up card) | This transaction was rejected by the customer bank because the card has been flagged as a pick up card, in this case, the customer will need to reach out to their card issuer (customer bank) and the customer's bank will have to provide the customer with the reason why this card has been flagged as pick up card | Upon further investigation, we could see that this transaction failed with the result description, Transaction declined (Pick up card). This could mean one of the following:
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