Why was a payment declined?
Short answer
The customer’s own bank decides, and often gives no reason. Their card or their bank is usually the one to fix it, so they can call their bank or try another card.Verified 1 November 2026
In this article
Find the reason
Open the payment under Payments. If it was refused, the page says The last attempt was refused, with the message below it. Your customer sees the same message on the page after they try.
What each message means
| The message | What your customer can do |
|---|---|
| The card was declined. | The bank gave no reason, or we keep it general. Call their bank, or try another card. |
| The card was declined. Contact the card issuer for more information. | Call their bank. |
| The card has insufficient funds. | Use another card, or add funds and try again. |
| The card has expired. | Use another card. |
| The security code is incorrect. | Check the three digits and try again. |
| The card number is incorrect. | Check the number and try again. |
| The expiry date is invalid. | Check the date and try again. |
| This card is not supported. | Use another card. |
| This card does not support this currency. | Use another card. |
| The card has exceeded its transaction limit. | Ask their bank about the limit, or use another card. |
| The card cannot be used for this payment. | Use another card. |
| This transaction is not permitted on this card. | Ask their bank, or use another card. Some cards are not allowed online. |
| This looks like a duplicate of a payment already taken. | Check whether the first payment went through before trying again. |
| The payment could not be processed. Try again. | Try again. This is not about their card. |
| The card issuer could not be reached. Try again shortly. | Wait a little, then try again. |
| The card requires authentication to complete this payment. | Try again and finish the 3-D Secure step. |
| Card authentication failed. | Try again, or ask their bank about 3-D Secure. |
Why the message can be vague
A bank often says no without saying why, and we will not guess. Some reasons are kept general on purpose, so that nobody testing a stolen card learns anything from the answer.
We cannot overrule a decline, and neither can you. The decision belongs to the customer’s bank.
"The last attempt did not complete"
This one is different. Nothing refused the card: the bank’s page may have timed out, or the customer may have left. They can try again.
Blocked payments
If your customer sees "This payment can’t be completed", one of your own risk rules stopped it before it reached the bank. Look under Risk.