Complete List of Credit Card Decline Codes

A credit card transaction can be declined due to a couple of reasons such as insufficient credits or funds, technical issues by the issuing bank, suspected fraud, expired card, incorrect card number, or the bank denied the transaction due to location.

A declined transaction is a scenario when payment will not go through for a particular reason. Although the most common reasons are stated above, there are also transaction requests that only the issuing bank can give specific reasons.

Below are the common credit card decline codes and explanations

Credit card declines are classified into two: soft declines and hard declines.

Soft declines are transactions that are approved by the issuer but encounter other issues with the transaction while hard declines are requests denied by the issuing bank.

• 01 Call –  a declined code that requires the card holder to call the issuing bank to find out why the transaction is denied.
• 02 Call – the credit cardholder must call the 800 number at the back of the card to find out why the payment is blocked.
• 03 Invalid Merchant Number – this error code indicates that the entered credit card information is incorrect. Another reason why you will receive this error is possibly because the merchant facility is non-functional.
• 04 Hold-call or PICK-up Card – this decline code indicates that the issuing bank is requesting for the card to be retained due to the card possibly reported lost or stolen. The cardholder must contact the bank to resolve the issue.
• 05 Do Not Honor – the issuing bank is not allowing the transaction due to a problem with the cardholder’s account. Another possible reason for the decline is that the address on file is not recognized. Although decline code 05 is a generic error, the card holder is still advised to contact the bank to know the reason as most of the time the bank is attempting to keep the reason for the error confidential.
• 06 Error – the credit card has been declined for an unknown reason. When receiving this error, merchants should not re-attempt to process the payment and must inform the customer to contact issuing back instead.
• 12 Invalid Transaction – this code refers to incorrect credit card details. If entering details manually, make sure to verify details are correct.
• 13 Invalid Amount – the payment amount is invalid or exceeds the allowable amount. Double check if the amount entered does not contain any special keys or negative symbol.
• 14 Invalid Card Number – the issuing bank denied the transaction because the credit card number does not exist or entered incorrectly. Make sure credit card details are correct.
• 15 No Issuer – the credit card account holder’s issuer does not exist.
• 22 – Malfunction – the card holder’s bank failed to respond during the transaction.
• 31 Bank Not Supported by Twitch – this means that the bank does not allow the card to be used for Internet or virtual orders.
• 41 – Lost Card – the bank declined the transaction as the card has been reported lost or stolen.
• 43 Stolen Card – rejected transaction due to card reported stolen. Avoid processing any payments from this card when you receive this error code.
• 49 Card Declined – this error pertains to a credit card not allowed for online transactions.
• 54 Expired Card – declined due to obvious reason.
• 58 Function not Permitted – this usually occurs when the merchant processing account is not properly configured.
• 61 Withdrawal Limit – the amount exceeds the customer’s credit limit.
• 92 Unable to Route Transaction – the customer’s card cannot be found for routing.

If you are having issues with your credit card processor, sign up for a high risk merchant account with First Card Payments.

Mitch Fardell( Merchant Account Specialist )

Mitchell Fardell is a highly experienced payment processor who has worked for First Card Payments since 2019. In that time, he has worked on large accounts, small accounts, and everything in between.