Most declines come from the customer's card issuer (their bank), not from ValPay. The bank decides whether to approve each payment, and it doesn't always say why it said no. This guide covers the most common decline messages and what to do about each one.
⚡ First Steps for Any Decline
Ask for another card or payment method. This resolves most declines on the spot.
Don't keep retrying the same card. Repeated retries on a declined card rarely work, and card networks can charge fees for excessive retries. ValPay may automatically block retries to protect you from those fees.
Suggest the customer call their bank if they believe the payment should have gone through. Only their bank can lift a block or explain a generic decline.
🧾 Common Decline Messages
Message | What it usually means | What to do |
Refused / Do Not Honor (05) | A general decline from the bank with no specific reason. Often suspected fraud, unusual spending, a temporary block, or a limit being reached. | Ask for another card, or have the customer call their bank. |
Not Enough Balance | Insufficient funds or credit available. | Ask for another card. |
Invalid Card Number / No Such Number | The number was mistyped, belongs to a replaced card, or the chip couldn't be read properly. | Re-enter the number carefully, or try tap or swipe instead of chip. |
Expired Card | The card or the expiry date entered is out of date. | Check the date, or ask for their current card. |
CVC Declined | The security code on the back of the card didn't match. | Re-enter it carefully. |
AVS Declined | The billing address or ZIP/postal code didn't match the bank's records. | Confirm the billing address with the customer. |
Invalid PIN / PIN Tries Exceeded | The PIN was wrong, or entered wrong too many times. | Ask for another card. A locked PIN can only be reset by their bank. |
Card Requires Online PIN / Contactless Fallback | The bank wants the card inserted with a PIN instead of tapped. | Have the customer insert the card and enter their PIN. |
3D Not Authenticated / Authentication Required | For online payments, the customer didn't complete their bank's security check. | Ask the customer to try again and complete the verification step. |
Restricted Card / Transaction Not Permitted | The card can't be used for this type of purchase, in this country, or with this kind of business. | Ask for another card. |
Fraud / Issuer Suspected Fraud | The payment was flagged as high risk by fraud checks or by the bank. | Ask for another payment method. Be cautious with card-not-present orders that keep getting flagged. |
Issuer Unavailable | The customer's bank couldn't be reached. | Wait a few minutes and try once more, or use another card. |
Transaction Blocked to Prevent Excessive Retry Fees | The card was declined too many times, so further attempts were stopped to protect you from network fees. | Use a different card. |
🔍 Where to See the Decline Reason
Log in to the ValPay Portal, open Payments, find the payment, and open it to see the refusal reason.
Is It a Problem With My Account?
Usually not. If one customer's card is declined, it's almost always their bank. If many different cards are suddenly declining, or every payment fails with the same message, contact your support team so they can check your account and setup. Declined payments aren't charged to the customer and aren't included in your deposits.