There are numerous reasons why a transaction can be unsuccessful or declined, but both are there to ensure a secure and successful transaction for both you and your client.
The most common reasons for a failed transaction 
- Do not Honour: The cardholder’s bank is unwilling to accept the transaction.
- Insufficient Funds: The account did not have sufficient funds to cover the transaction amount at the time of the transaction.
- Limit Exceeded: The attempted transaction exceeds the withdrawal limit of the customers account.
- Expired Card: Card is expired. The customer will need to use a different card.
- Invalid Credit Card Number: The customer entered an invalid payment method or made a typo in their credit card information.
- Invalid PIN: The customer entered an invalid PIN or made a typo.
- Invalid Expiration Date: The customer entered an invalid payment method or made a typo in their card expiration date. Ask your customer to correct their payment information and attempt the transaction again – if the decline persists, advise them to contact their bank.
- Card Issuer Declined CVV: The customer entered in an invalid security code or made a typo in their card information. Ask your customer to attempt the transaction again – if the decline persists, advise them to contact their bank.
- Based on Location: The bank declined based on location, for example when a cardholder is traveling to a different country.
- Bank’s Fraud Rules: The bank's fraud rules blocked the transaction.
What should I do?
Trust the terminal's receipt! In most cases, the terminal receipt will show correct information. What is actually being shown on the display or on the terminal receipt is the only instruction you should follow, and the only information that is legally binding.
Unsuccessful or Declined? 
Your might be confused between these two or even think that something is wrong with your device; that's usually not the case!
- An unsuccessful transaction has been authorised in the system but has not been charged for any number of reasons. However, your client might still see the amount was reserved if they check their banking app. Learn more about it in the article What does "amount reserved" mean?
- A declined transaction was not authorised and therefore cannot be manually charged in the system.
Please reach out to us if you have any queries – We’re here to help!