19.6.7. Common Credit Card Decline Codes and Reasons
Common Credit Card Decline Codes and What They Mean
When a credit card transaction fails, the system returns a decline code to indicate the reason. Understanding these codes helps determine whether to retry the transaction, contact the customer, or request a new payment method.
Clinic HQ is not given any additional information beyond the decline code and cannot provide insight into why the card was declined.
Card Declined (General)
Code 05: Do Not Honor - The issuing bank is declining the transaction, and the cardholder should contact their bank for more information.
Rapid Refund Activity Detected - There are refund thresholds in place to prevent fraud. The default is 50 refunds in 24 hours or 10 within 2 minutes. If you are constantly getting this message, please call MP Group at 770-818-6188 to review your account. It's possible there is a lock on your account.
Code 51: Insufficient Funds - The cardholder does not have enough available credit or funds in their account to cover the transaction.
Code 54: Expired Card - The card being used has expired, and the cardholder needs to update their card information.
Code 14: Invalid Card Number - The card number entered is not valid.
Code 55: Incorrect PIN - The PIN entered for a debit transaction is incorrect.
Code 62: Decline of Authorization - The issuing bank suspects fraudulent activity, and the cardholder should contact their bank. Card Not Activated:
Code 78: No Account - The card has not been activated by the cardholder.
Code 83: Fraudulent Card - The cardholder has reported the card as lost or stolen. Issuer Unavailable:
Code 91: Issuer Unavailable - The issuing bank is temporarily unable to authorize the transaction.
Code 93: Cannot Complete, Violation of Law - There’s a violation on the customer account, and the issuing bank has prevented the transaction.
Code 65: Exceeds Withdrawal Limit - The withdrawal amount exceeds the cardholder's daily limit.
Code 36: Restricted Card - The card may be restricted from certain types of transactions, such as online purchases.
Code 96: System Error - There was an issue with the card authorization system.
It's important to note that these codes can vary, and different card networks (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and issuing banks may use slightly different codes or messages. When a transaction is declined, the best course of action is for the cardholder to contact their issuing bank for specific information about why the transaction was declined and how to resolve the issue.
Here is a more comprehensive list of various declined reasons.
A complete list of credit card decline reasons can be quite extensive because different credit card networks and issuing banks may use unique codes and messages to indicate why a transaction was declined. However, I can provide a more comprehensive list of common decline reasons:
Do Not Honor Codes
- 05: Do Not Honor
- 41: Lost Card
- 43: Stolen Card
- 51: Insufficient Funds
- 52: No Checking Account
- 53: No Savings Account
- 54: Expired Card
- 55: Incorrect PIN
- 57: Transaction Not Permitted to Cardholder
- 61: Exceeds Withdrawal Limit
- 62: Restricted Card
- 63: Security Violation
- 65: Exceeds Withdrawal Frequency
- 78: No Account
Issuer Unavailable or System Error Codes
- 91: Issuer Unavailable
- 92: Destination Not Found
- 93: Transaction Cannot Be Completed
- 94: Duplicate Transmission
- 96: System Error
- 97: System Malfunction
Suspected Fraud or Security Concerns Codes
- 03: Invalid Merchant or Service Provider
- 12: Invalid Transaction
- 13: Invalid Amount
- 14: Invalid Card Number
- 15: No Such Issuer
- 23: Unacceptable Transaction Fee
- 24: File Update Not Supported
- 25: Unable to Locate Record
- 26: Duplicate Record
- 27: File Update Field Edit Error
- 28: File Update File Locked
- 29: File Update Failed
- 30: Format Error
- 31: Bank Not Supported by Switch
- 32: Completed Partially
- 34: Suspected Fraud
- 35: Contact Acquirer
- 36: Restricted Card
- 37: Call Card Issuer
- 38: Allowable PIN Tries Exceeded
- 39: No Credit Account
- 40: Requested Function Not Supported
- 42: No Universal Account
- 44: No Investment Account
- 45: Account Closed
- 46: No Card Record
- 47: No Savings Account
- 48: No Checking Account
- 49: Reserved for Future Use
Other Codes
- 75: PIN Tries Exceeded
- 76: Reserved for National Use
- 77: Reserved for Private Use
- 98: Reserved for Future Use
What to Do When a Card Is Declined
- Retry the transaction if the error appears to be temporary (e.g., system error or issuer unavailable).
- Ask the client to update payment details if the card is expired, invalid, or not activated.
- Have the cardholder contact their bank for fraud-related declines (e.g., Do Not Honor, Restricted Card).
- Call MP Group at 770‑818‑6188 if you are receiving rapid refund activity warnings or think there is a lock on your account.
Note on Code Variations: Card decline codes may vary slightly depending on the issuing bank and card network (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc.). Always refer to the exact message returned at the time of the decline and contact the bank for clarification if needed.
To reference a full list of codes, please see MX MERCHANT'S PAGE If you're confused about error codes or declined charges, Try using ChatGPT to help you understand what the error message means. If you receive an email saying a charge was declined, don’t worry, it means the payment didn’t go through, not that you were charged.