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Response Codes for Card Payments

Overview of common Visa, Mastercard, and American Express response codes for both in-store (Card Present) and online (Card Not Present) payments. Includes an explanation per error code and practical merchant actions for correctly handling declines, authentication errors, and technical failures.

Card Payment Response Codes

This documentation is split into:

  1. Card Present payments (in-store / physical terminal)
  2. Card Not Present payments (online / e-commerce)

All response codes are shown in tables, including:

  • Meaning
  • Possible cause
  • Recommended merchant action

Card Present payments (in-store)

Card Present transactions are payments in which the physical card is present at a payment terminal.

Examples:

  • Paying via a PIN terminal
  • Contactless payments
  • Chip & PIN transactions
  • Tap to Pay

Visa — Card Present Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
00 Approved No action needed. Process order.
05 Do Not Honor Ask for another payment method. Avoid retries.
14 Invalid Card Number Have customer card checked.
41 Lost Card Do not try again. Ask for another card.
43 Stolen Card Possible fraud. Do not try again.
51 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
54 Expired Card Request new card details.
57 Transaction Not Permitted Card does not support transaction.
61 Exceeds Withdrawal Limit Ask for a lower amount or another card.
65 Activity Limit Exceeded Let the customer try again later.
91 Issuer or Switch Inoperative Temporary issuer outage. Please try again later.
96 System Error Temporary technical error.
9G Issuer of Cardholder Blocked Do not try again. Request another card. The cardholder must contact the bank; the card has probably not been enabled for the country or the MCC code.

Mastercard — Card Present Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
00 Approved No action needed.
01 Refer to Card Issuer The customer must contact the bank.
05 Do Not Honor Request another payment method.
12 Invalid Transaction Check terminal/configuration.
14 Invalid Card Number Have customer card checked.
30 Format Error Check integration or terminal.
41 Lost Card Do not try again.
43 Stolen Card Possible fraud.
51 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
54 Expired Card Request new card details.
63 Security Violation Security check failed.
91 Issuer Unavailable Try again later.

American Express — Card Present Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
000 Approved No action needed.
100 Denied by Issuer Request another payment method.
101 Expired Card Request new card details.
106 Invalid PIN Let the customer try again.
109 Invalid Merchant Check merchant configuration.
110 Invalid Amount Check amount and currency.
111 Invalid Card Number Have customer card checked.
116 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
181 Card Blocked Do not try again.
182 Card Restricted The customer must contact the issuer.
191 Issuer Unavailable Try again later.

Retry policy — Card PresentRetry allowed

Retries are usually allowed for:

  • Timeout notifications
  • Issuer unavailable
  • Temporary network outages
  • Technical errors
Retry not recommended

Retries are not recommended for:

  • Lost card
  • Stolen card
  • Security violations
  • Expired cards

Online payments (Card Not Present)

Card Not Present transactions are online payments in which the physical card is not present.

Examples:

  • Webshop payments
  • In-app payments
  • Subscription transactions
  • Mail order / telephone order

For online payments, 3D Secure and fraud prevention play a bigger role.

Visa — Online Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
00 Approved No action needed.
05 Do Not Honor Ask for another payment method. Avoid retries.
14 Invalid Card Number Have customer details verified.
51 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
54 Expired Card Request new card details.
57 Transaction Not Permitted The card does not support online payments.
65 Activity Limit Exceeded Let the customer try again later.
91 Issuer or Switch Inoperative Temporary issuer outage.
96 System Error Temporary technical malfunction.

Mastercard — Online Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
00 Approved No action needed.
01 Refer to Card Issuer The customer must contact the bank.
05 Do Not Honor Request another payment method.
12 Invalid Transaction Check integration.
14 Invalid Card Number Have the customer verify card details.
30 Format Error Check API request or integration.
51 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
54 Expired Card Request new card details.
63 Security Violation 3DS or security check failed.
91 Issuer Unavailable Temporary issuer outage.

American Express — Online Response Codes

Code Meaning Merchant promotion
000 Approved No action needed.
100 Denied by Issuer Request another payment method.
101 Expired Card Request new card details.
109 Invalid Merchant Check merchant configuration.
110 Invalid Amount Check amount and currency.
111 Invalid Card Number Have customer card checked.
116 Insufficient Funds Request another payment method.
181 Card Blocked Do not try again.
182 Card Restricted The customer must contact the issuer.
183 Security Violation 3DS authentication failed.
191 Issuer Unavailable Try again later.

Retry policy — Online paymentsRetry allowed

Retries are allowed for:

  • Temporary issuer outages
  • Timeouts
  • Network issues
  • Technical errors
Retry not recommended

Retries are not recommended for:

  • Suspected fraud
  • Stolen/lost cards
  • Security violations
  • 3DS failures without new authentication
  • Expired cards

Too many retries can lead to:

  • Higher fraud scores
  • Extra issuer declines
  • Chargeback risks
  • Higher costs

When to contact PAY.

Contact PAY. when:

  • Large numbers of declines suddenly occur
  • Many transactions return error code 91 or 96 (for PIN > 5%, for CNP >15%)
  • 3DS authentication structurally fails
  • You suspect there is an integration issue
  • A merchant unexpectedly receives many fraud codes

Disclaimer

Response codes may differ per issuer, region, and card type. This documentation serves as a practical guideline for merchants and developers.