Transaction Decline Codes

When a transaction fails, our payment gateway or the card-issuing bank provides a specific decline code. This document offers a categorized reference of the most common decline codes, their descriptions, and actionable insights to assist with effective troubleshooting.

Customer/Cardholder Related Issues

These errors indicate problems directly associated with the cardholder's card or account.

Code	Description	What It Means
01	Refer to Card Issuer	The cardholder must contact their bank for authorization.
04	Pick-Up Card	The card has been reported lost or stolen; the merchant should retain it if possible.
05	Do Not Honor	The issuing bank declined the transaction for an unspecified reason.
41	Lost Card	The card has been reported lost; reject the transaction and retain the card if possible.
43	Stolen Card	The card has been reported stolen; reject the transaction and retain the card if possible.
51	Insufficient Funds	The customer's account has an inadequate balance for the transaction.
54	Expired Card	The card is no longer valid due to its expiration date.
55	Incorrect PIN	The Personal Identification Number (PIN) entered is incorrect.
75	PIN Tries Exceeded	The maximum number of incorrect PIN attempts has been exceeded.

Bank-Side or Issuer Restrictions

These errors are a result of limits, rules, or security measures imposed by the card-issuing bank or payment scheme.

Code	Description	What It Means
57	Transaction Not Permitted to Cardholder	The cardholder is not authorized to perform this type of transaction.
61	Exceeds Withdrawal Amount Limit	The transaction amount exceeds the maximum allowed by the card.
62	Restricted Card	The card is blocked or restricted for this specific type of transaction.
65	Exceeds Withdrawal Frequency Limit	The card has exceeded its allowed transaction frequency within a short period.
87	No Cashback Allowed	Only purchase transactions are permitted; cashback is not allowed.

Gateway / System Errors

These issues stem from internal system problems or technical faults encountered during transaction processing.

Code	Description	What It Means
06	Error	A general processing error occurred.
12	Invalid Transaction	The transaction type or associated data is incorrect.
13	Invalid Amount	The transaction amount is invalid or not allowed.
14	Invalid Card Number	The card number format is incorrect or invalid.
80	System Not Available	The payment gateway is temporarily unavailable.
91	Issuer System Inoperative	The card-issuing bank's system is currently down.
92	Unable to Route Transaction	The gateway cannot establish a connection to the appropriate payment processor.
94	Duplicate Transaction	The same transaction has already been submitted and processed.
96	System Error	An unspecified technical failure occurred within the system.

Merchant or Terminal Issues

These codes indicate problems related to the merchant's account, configuration, or the processing terminal.

Code	Description	What It Means
03	Invalid Merchant	The merchant credentials are invalid or the account is not active.
58	Transaction Not Allowed to Terminal	The merchant's account or terminal is not configured to process this type of transaction.

3D Secure (3DS) Authentication Issues

These responses pertain to the 3D Secure authentication step, which requires the customer to verify their identity (e.g., via OTP or bank app). A failed or incomplete authentication can lead to a payment decline, even if the card is otherwise valid.

Status	What It Means
Authentication Pending	The customer did not complete the 3DS verification; the payment is awaiting completion or will time out.
Authentication Failed	The customer failed the 3DS verification (e.g., incorrect OTP, or authentication rejected by the issuer).
Authentication Rejected	The card issuer rejected the authentication attempt.

Reference Documentation

This document serves as a comprehensive reference for ISO 8583 decline response codes, detailing their descriptions and explanations. It is designed to assist in understanding why a transaction may be declined by a card issuer or the payment system.

📄 View Full Decline Response Codes PDF