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Card Decline Codes
Look up any ISO 8583 decline response code — what it means, whether you can safely retry it, and how to resolve it. Every code is tagged as a soft decline (temporary, worth another attempt) or a hard decline (permanent for that card).
34 codes
Invalid Merchant
Merchant & terminal
hardDo not retryThe merchant account or merchant category is not valid or not recognised by the issuer for this transaction.
How to resolve
The merchant must contact their acquirer or payment processor to fix the account setup. The card itself is fine.
Pick Up Card
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryThe issuer has flagged the card and is instructing the terminal to retain it. The card is compromised, blocked, or reported.
How to resolve
Do not retry. The cardholder must contact their bank; a replacement card will be needed. In a card-present setting the terminal is told to keep the card.
Do Not Honor
Issuer decline
softRetry with cautionThe issuing bank refused the transaction without giving a specific reason. It is the most common and most generic decline — a catch-all the issuer returns when it does not want to reveal why.
How to resolve
The cardholder should contact their bank to find out why; the bank can often approve it on a second attempt. Retrying immediately rarely helps and repeated tries can look like card testing.
Error
Issuer decline
softSafe to retryA non-specific error was returned by the issuer, usually after a malformed or partial authorization request.
How to resolve
Retry the transaction. If it persists, check the data being sent to the processor for a formatting problem.
Pick Up Card, Special Condition
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryA pick-up instruction driven by a fraud condition. The issuer suspects the card is being used fraudulently.
How to resolve
Do not retry and do not attempt the sale on the same card. The cardholder must call their bank; the card is blocked for fraud.
Invalid Transaction
Merchant & terminal
hardDo not retryThe issuer cannot process this transaction as sent — often an unsupported transaction type, a wrong field, or a disallowed combination.
How to resolve
This usually points to a configuration or integration problem. Do not simply retry; review the transaction setup with your processor.
Invalid Amount
Technical
softSafe to retryThe amount field is not valid — commonly a negative value, a zero where one is not allowed, or too many decimal places for the currency.
How to resolve
Correct the amount and resubmit. This is a formatting problem in the request, not a problem with the card.
Invalid Card Number
Card status
hardDo not retryThe card number does not exist or fails validation — there is no account matching it. Often a typo or a number that fails the Luhn check.
How to resolve
Re-check the number was entered correctly. If it is right and still fails, the card number is genuinely invalid and a different card is required.
No Such Issuer
Card status
hardDo not retryThe first digits of the card number do not correspond to any real card issuer, so the transaction cannot be routed to a bank.
How to resolve
Verify the card number; a valid card always maps to an issuer. If it is correct and still fails, the card cannot be used here.
Re-enter Transaction
Technical
softSafe to retryThe transaction did not complete cleanly and the issuer is asking for it to be submitted again from scratch.
How to resolve
Simply re-run the transaction. It is explicitly safe to retry — that is what the code is asking you to do.
Format Error
Technical
softSafe to retryThe issuer could not read the authorization message because a field was missing, malformed, or in the wrong format.
How to resolve
This is an integration issue, not a card issue. Fix the message structure being sent and resubmit; contact your processor if unsure which field is wrong.
Lost Card, Pick Up
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryThe card has been reported lost by the cardholder and is blocked from all use.
How to resolve
Do not retry. The cardholder needs a replacement card from their bank before any transaction can succeed.
Stolen Card, Pick Up
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryThe card has been reported stolen and is blocked. Any attempt to use it is treated as potentially fraudulent.
How to resolve
Do not retry. In a card-present setting, follow your fraud procedures. The cardholder must obtain a new card from their bank.
Closed Account
Card status
hardDo not retryThe account behind the card has been closed. There is no live account to charge.
How to resolve
Do not retry. The cardholder must use a different card tied to an open account.
Insufficient Funds
Funds & limits
softRetry with cautionThe account does not have enough available balance or credit to cover the transaction amount, including any hold already placed on it.
How to resolve
The cardholder needs to add funds or use another card. A retry can succeed later once the balance is topped up — retrying with the same balance will not.
Expired Card
Card status
hardDo not retryThe card's expiry date has passed, or the expiry date submitted does not match the card. The card can no longer authorize.
How to resolve
Do not retry the same card. The cardholder should use a valid, in-date card or the reissued replacement from their bank.
Incorrect PIN
Authentication
softSafe to retryThe PIN entered does not match the one on file for the card. The card and account are otherwise fine.
How to resolve
The cardholder should re-enter the correct PIN. After too many wrong tries the card locks (see code 75).
Transaction Not Permitted to Cardholder
Card status
hardDo not retryThe card is valid but is not allowed to make this type of transaction — for example an online, international, or gambling purchase the account blocks.
How to resolve
The cardholder must ask their bank to enable this transaction type, or use a different card. Retrying as-is will not work.
Transaction Not Permitted to Terminal
Merchant & terminal
hardDo not retryThe merchant or terminal is not set up to accept this card type or transaction. The problem is on the acceptance side, not the card.
How to resolve
The merchant must contact their acquirer to enable the card type or transaction on their account. The cardholder can do nothing here.
Suspected Fraud
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryThe issuer's fraud systems flagged the transaction as suspicious and blocked it, even though the card details are correct.
How to resolve
Do not retry. The cardholder should verify the purchase with their bank; repeated attempts can escalate the fraud flag.
Exceeds Withdrawal Amount Limit
Funds & limits
softRetry with cautionThe transaction is larger than the per-transaction or daily spending limit the issuer has set on the card.
How to resolve
Split the purchase into smaller amounts, wait for the daily limit to reset, or have the cardholder ask their bank to raise the limit.
Restricted Card
Card status
hardDo not retryThe card carries a restriction — commonly a geographic block, a country embargo, or a scheme rule that bars this transaction.
How to resolve
The cardholder should contact their bank to understand the restriction. A retry will keep failing while the restriction stands.
Security Violation
Fraud & security
hardDo not retryThe transaction failed a security check — for example a failed 3-D Secure step, a CVV rule, or a scheme security requirement.
How to resolve
Do not retry blindly. The cardholder may need to complete bank authentication; the merchant should confirm their security setup is correct.
Exceeds Withdrawal Frequency Limit
Funds & limits
softRetry with cautionThe card has been used more times than the issuer allows in the current period, even if each amount was within limits. Often paired with a step-up to 3-D Secure.
How to resolve
Wait for the frequency window to reset, or have the cardholder authenticate the transaction with their bank before trying again.
Response Received Too Late
Technical
softSafe to retryThe issuer did answer, but after the transaction had already timed out, so the response was discarded.
How to resolve
Retry the transaction. The card is fine; the round trip just took longer than the timeout allowed.
PIN Tries Exceeded
Authentication
softRetry with cautionThe allowable number of incorrect PIN entries has been reached and the issuer has temporarily blocked PIN use on the card.
How to resolve
The cardholder must contact their bank to reset the PIN or unlock the card. Further attempts at the terminal will keep failing until then.
Inactive / Unactivated Account
Card status
hardDo not retryThe card or account has never been activated, or a new card is being used before the cardholder has switched it on.
How to resolve
The cardholder must activate the card with their bank before it can be used. Retrying before activation will keep failing.
Issuer or Switch Inoperative
Technical
softSafe to retryThe issuing bank's authorization system could not be reached — it is down, unreachable, or timed out on the network switch.
How to resolve
This is temporary and not the card's fault. Wait a short while and retry; the transaction will usually go through once the issuer is back online.
Unable to Route Transaction
Technical
softSafe to retryThe network could not find a path to the correct issuer for this card number, often a temporary routing fault.
How to resolve
Retry after a moment. If it continues, verify the card number is complete and correct and contact your processor.
Duplicate Transmission
Technical
softRetry with cautionThe issuer has already seen a transaction with the same reference and treated this one as a duplicate to avoid double-charging.
How to resolve
Do not blindly retry — the original may have gone through. Check whether the first transaction succeeded before sending a new one with a fresh reference.
System Malfunction
Technical
softSafe to retryA general processing error occurred somewhere in the authorization chain — the acquirer, network, or issuer hit an internal fault.
How to resolve
Retry the transaction. If it keeps failing, the problem is upstream; contact your payment processor rather than blaming the card.
Exceeds Cash Limit
Funds & limits
softRetry with cautionThe cash-advance or cash-back portion of the transaction is over the limit the issuer permits, even if the purchase amount is fine.
How to resolve
Reduce or remove the cash-back amount, or have the cardholder ask their bank about their cash limit before retrying.
CVV2 / Security Code Failure
Authentication
softRetry with cautionThe 3- or 4-digit security code (CVV2/CVC2/CID) entered does not match the one the issuer holds for the card.
How to resolve
The cardholder should re-check and re-enter the code from the card. Repeated CVV failures look like card testing, so limit retries.
Stop Payment Order
Card status
hardDo not retryThe cardholder has instructed their bank to stop a specific recurring payment to this merchant. The bank is enforcing that order.
How to resolve
Do not retry the recurring charge. Contact the customer to resolve the underlying billing issue; a new mandate or card is needed.
34 ISO 8583 response codes — 17 soft (temporary, a later attempt or small fix can succeed) and 17 hard (permanent for this card, needs a new card or a call to the bank). Guidance is general; the issuer's own message always takes precedence. Press / to search.
Frequently asked questions
What is a card decline code?
A decline code is the value an issuing bank returns in ISO 8583 field 39 when it refuses a transaction. It tells the merchant and processor why the payment failed — for example insufficient funds, an expired card, or suspected fraud.
What is the difference between a soft decline and a hard decline?
A soft decline is temporary: a later attempt or a small fix — adding funds, re-entering a PIN, waiting for a limit to reset — can succeed. A hard decline is permanent for that card, such as a stolen, expired, or closed-account card, and needs a new card or a call to the bank.
Should I retry a declined payment?
Only for soft declines, and even then with care. Retrying a hard decline will keep failing, and hammering fraud or 'do not honor' codes with repeated attempts can look like card testing and get a merchant flagged. Each code here is labelled safe to retry, retry with caution, or do not retry.
What does decline code 05 (Do Not Honor) mean?
05 is the most common decline. The issuer refused the transaction without giving a specific reason. The cardholder usually needs to contact their bank; a blind retry rarely helps.
Are these codes the same across Visa and Mastercard?
The networks each have their own reason codes, but they map onto the same underlying ISO 8583 response-code set shown here. Your processor typically normalises them to these two-character values, so 51 means insufficient funds regardless of network.
Why was my card declined when I have money in the account?
Plenty of declines are unrelated to your balance: an expired or restricted card (54, 62), a transaction type your bank blocks (57), a security or fraud flag (59, 63), or the issuer simply being unreachable (91). Search the exact code your bank or the merchant gave you to see which applies.