Declined payment
When a payment by card (physical, contactless mobile payment or virtual card) is declined the customer receives a push notification or an email giving some explanation on the situation.
So why the transaction declined? There can be several reasons.
Card is blocked
The customer might have blocked temporarily the card. If so, they need to unblock it to make new purchases with it.
How to block or unblock a card
Insufficient funds
This is the most common reason. The card takes money directly from the account linked to the card. So if there are insufficient funds on this account, the payment will be declined.
From the 5th rejected card payment due to insufficient funds in a month, a €0.50 fee applies to each rejected card payment during the current month. Click here for more information on pricing and limits.
Card is unactivated
After delivery the card must be activated manually in-app by the customer.
Card is expired
All bank cards have an expiry date. So Make sure the expiration date on the front of the card has not passed. If the card has expired, it's possible to order a new one.
Card limits reached
The customer may have set daily or weekly payment and withdrawal limits. Going over these limits will block the card. The customer may also have exceeded the maximum limits of the card.
Card deleted
The customer can delete a card at any time in-app. For new purchase it's necessary to create or order a new card.
The merchant does not support systematic authorizations
The card works with a systematic authorization. Before each transaction, this system checks that the account used as source of payment has sufficient funds.
Systematic authorization requires good network coverage for the retailer’s payment terminal to call the bank. Cards with systematic authorizations may be declined in places with poor signal: Airplanes, trains.
Places where your payment could be declined can also include:
- Motorway tolls;
- Automatic petrol pumps;
- Street vendors.
