Credit card processing is blazingly fast, with most transactions taking only a few seconds from the moment a user swipes, taps or keys in their payment details. Behind the scenes, however, there exists a vast network of approvals and rejections being sent back-and-forth among the customer’s bank, your businesses’ payment processor and your credit card terminal (or payment gateway).
These approvals and rejections are normally 2-digit credit card authorization response codes, with each code indicating the reason a particular sale was accepted or declined.
As a merchant, it’s important that you become familiar with these credit card transaction codes. Doing so allows you to troubleshoot the issue and potentially save the sale. Carefully monitoring these codes is also important given thatcredit card fraud is on the rise— especially in the United States. The better equipped you are to navigate these codes, the easier it becomes to prevent payment abuse from negatively impacting your growing business.
The Most Common Credit Card Response Codes
It would be impossible to memorize all of the codes out there. Fortunately, you only need to focus on the most popular ones:
- 00 – Approved:The transaction has gone through, and the sale is officially complete. All the other codes on this list deal with credit card declined codes (complete with tips on how to troubleshoot them).
- 01– Refer to issuer:The transaction was rejected with no reason provided. The fix requires contacting the card-issuing bank for an explanation.
- 02 – Refer to issuer (special condition):The user’s bank rejected the transaction. You must contact the bank for the explanation and fix.
- 03 – Invalid merchant:This code arises if the payment information is entered incorrectly or if your merchant account or credit card terminal isn’t configured properly. Try running the sale again — or contacting your payment processor directly.
- 04 – Pick up card:The transaction was rejected, and you (the merchant) are instructed to hold onto the card until you have a chance to contact the customer’s bank.
- 05 – Do not honor:The user’s bank instructs you not to accept payment — until you (the merchant) contact the bank directly.
- 06 – Error:The card-issuing bank detected an error but can’t specify what it is. You can try the card again or call the bank directly for further instructions.
- 07 – Pick up card (special condition):The card-issuing bank has detected fraud. Both parties should contact the bank before using the card again.
- 10 – Partial Amount Approval:The card-issuing bank only accepted a portion of the payment — normally due to insufficient funds or credit limits.
- 12 – Invalid Transaction:The sale was rejected due to any number of issues (like when trying to reverse a charge). You can try the transaction again or call the card-issuing bank directly.
- 13 – Invalid Amount:The transaction was declined — often because of invalid characters or symbols (e.g., # or &). Try inputting the amount again and see if the sale goes through.
- 14 – Invalid Card Number:This is similar to the above, but instead of an incorrect amount, the card account number is wrong. Try initiating the sale again. If that fails, contact the bank directly.
- 15 – No Such Issuer:The first digit of the card number was entered incorrectly. Try running the sale again by re-entering the account number more carefully.
- 17 – Customer Cancellation:The customer has voided or reversed the transaction. The sale will not go through unless you use a different payment method.
- 19 – Re-enter Transaction:The sale was declined due to an unknown error. Try running the sale again by re-entering all the information more carefully a second time.
- 28 – No reply/File Temporarily Unavailable:The transaction was declined for an unspecified reason. Try running the sale again. If that doesn’t work, contact the card-issuing bank directly.
- 38 – Allowable PIN TriesExceeded:This code is also flagged as code 75 on some systems. The sale is rejected because the customer’s PIN has been entered incorrectly too many times. Ask for an alternate payment method.
- 41 – Lost Card, Pick up:The card has been reported stolen or lost and cannot be used to complete the sale. Try the transaction again with a different payment method.
- 43 – Stolen Card, Pick up (fraud):The card has been reported stolen or lost and cannot be used for this transaction. Try running the sale again with an alternate payment method.
- 51 – Insufficient Funds:The customer’s account doesn’t have enough funds to cover the sale. Ask for an alternate payment method or contact the user’s bank directly.
- 54 – Expired Card:The customer’s card has expired and is no longer valid. Ask for an alternate payment method.
- 57 – Transaction Not Permitted (Cardholder):The card is valid — but not for that particular sale or transaction. Ask for an alternate payment method.
- 58 - Transaction Not Permitted (terminal/merchant):Your merchant account or credit card terminal isn’t configured properly. You may need to switch to cash or check to complete the sale. You should also follow up with your payment processor to fix your merchant account setup.
- 59 –Suspected Fraud:the card-issuing bank has detected fraud. Ask for an alternate payment method (and contact the bank directly).
- 62 – Restricted Card, invalid service:This code happens in cases where your merchant account doesn’t support the customer’s card network (e.g., Discover or American Express). Invalid service codes also apply to eCommerce transactions among cards that cannot be used to shop online.
- 63 – Security Violation:The CVV, CVC or CID security code on the back of the card wasn’t entered correctly. Try running the entire transaction again with the proper security code, expiration date and account number.
- 65 – Activity Limit Exceeded:The sale would push the customer over her or his credit limit. Ask the customer for an alternative payment method.
- 85 – No reason/system unavailable:This happens whenever communication errors exist between the card-issuing bank and merchant’s payment environment. Try running the transaction again after a few minutes.
- 91 – Issuer or Switch is not available:Either the payment processor or terminal was unable to complete the transaction. Try running the sale again. If that fails, contact the bank and payment processor directly.
- 92 – Institution not found/unable to route transaction:The credit card terminal cannot reach the card-issuing bank. Try running the sale again after a few minutes — or contact the card-issuing bank directly.
- 93 – Legal Violation:The card-issuing bank has frozen the customer’s account (for any number of reasons). Call the bank directly for next steps.
- 96 – System Error/Malfunction:The payment processor has experienced an error. Try running the sale again — or contact the payment processor directly.
You Can Save the Sale
Remember that nearly every code on this list is for a rejected sale. Often, the fix involves re-running the transaction. Other times, you’ll need to contact the customer’s bank or ask for an alternate payment method. Just know that unless you take proactive steps to fix the underlying problem, the sale will not go through.
If you have additional questions about resolving common transaction error codes in your growing business,contact us today for a free consultation.
