00
Approved
Transaction authorised successfully and funds reserved.
Recommended action: Proceed with settlement and fulfilment.
Reference
Payment response codes. Decode every decline.
ISO 8583 authorisation response codes used by Visa, Mastercard and issuing banks. Search by code, name or meaning to understand why a transaction was approved, declined or referred.
Showing 30 of 30 codes
Approvals
1 codesApprovals
Soft declines
4 codes05
Do Not Honour
Generic issuer decline, often triggered by risk rules.
Recommended action: Retry once through an alternative acquirer or after 3-D Secure authentication.
51
Insufficient Funds
The available balance or credit limit is too low.
Recommended action: Retry after a short delay or prompt the customer to use another card.
61
Exceeds Withdrawal Limit
The transaction exceeds the cardholder's daily or per-transaction limit.
Recommended action: Retry with a lower amount or prompt the customer for a different card.
91
Issuer Unavailable
The issuer or scheme switch could not be reached.
Recommended action: Retry through a backup acquirer or after a short delay.
Hard declines
12 codes04
Pick-up Card
Issuer suspects the card is lost, stolen or compromised.
Recommended action: Do not retry; void the order and ask for a different payment method.
14
Invalid Card Number
The card number failed the Luhn check or does not exist.
Recommended action: Ask the customer to re-enter their card details; do not retry the same number.
41
Lost Card
The cardholder has reported the card as lost.
Recommended action: Do not retry; void the order and request a new payment method.
43
Stolen Card
The cardholder has reported the card as stolen.
Recommended action: Do not retry; flag the transaction and request a new payment method.
54
Expired Card
The card has passed its expiry date.
Recommended action: Ask the customer to update their expiry date or use a different card.
57
Transaction Not Permitted to Cardholder
The card product does not allow this transaction type.
Recommended action: Do not retry; ask for an alternative payment method.
59
Suspected Fraud
The issuer's fraud system has flagged the transaction.
Recommended action: Do not retry; request an alternative payment method and review the order.
62
Restricted Card
The card has restrictions that block the transaction.
Recommended action: Do not retry; ask the customer to use another card.
78
Non-activated Account
The account has not been activated or is not yet usable.
Recommended action: Do not retry; ask the customer to activate their account or use another card.
N7
Incorrect CVV
The card verification value does not match issuer records.
Recommended action: Ask the customer to re-enter the CVV; do not retry if repeated.
R0
Stop Payment Order
The cardholder has requested that recurring payments be stopped.
Recommended action: Cancel the subscription or recurring agreement; do not retry.
T1
Invalid CVV
The CVV is invalid or missing for a card-not-present transaction.
Recommended action: Ask the customer to provide the correct CVV and retry once.
SCA / authentication
1 codes65
Strong Customer Authentication Required
PSD2 requires the transaction to be authenticated.
Recommended action: Restart the flow with 3-D Secure step-up authentication.
Referrals
2 codes01
Refer to Card Issuer
Issuer wants additional verification before approving.
Recommended action: Ask the customer to contact their issuer, or retry with voice authorisation if available.
02
Refer to Card Issuer (Special Conditions)
Issuer requires special conditions to be met.
Recommended action: Contact the issuer for guidance before reattempting.
Errors
10 codes03
Invalid Merchant or Service
The merchant ID, terminal ID or service is not recognised.
Recommended action: Check acquiring configuration and retry; do not retry if the MID is suspended.
06
Error
Technical error at the issuer or scheme level.
Recommended action: Retry after a short delay; escalate if the error persists.
12
Invalid Transaction
The transaction type or data format is not valid.
Recommended action: Check request fields and retry with corrected data.
13
Invalid Amount
The amount is malformed, zero, or outside allowed limits.
Recommended action: Verify the amount, currency and decimals, then retry.
19
Re-enter Transaction
The issuer did not receive the transaction cleanly.
Recommended action: Retry the transaction without changing the data.
58
Transaction Not Permitted to Terminal
The merchant terminal or MID is not configured for this transaction.
Recommended action: Check MID configuration and routing rules before retrying.
63
Security Violation
A security check on the transaction data failed.
Recommended action: Review authentication data and retry with corrected security fields.
82
Timeout / Reversal Needed
The issuer did not respond within the allowed time.
Recommended action: Perform a reversal check, then retry the transaction.
92
Routing Error
The transaction could not be routed to the correct destination.
Recommended action: Check routing configuration and retry.
96
System Malfunction
A system error occurred at the issuer, acquirer or scheme.
Recommended action: Retry after a short delay; contact support if the error persists.
How Cardflo handles response codes
Cardflo's orchestration layer inspects the raw response code from every processor, applies scheme-specific mapping, and feeds the outcome into intelligent routing and retry logic. Soft declines are retried through alternative acquirers or after customer prompts, while hard declines are suppressed so merchants avoid excessive-authorisation fees and protect their MID standing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a payment response code?
A payment response code is a standardised value returned by the issuing bank after an authorisation attempt. It tells the merchant whether the transaction was approved, declined, or referred, and gives the reason for the outcome.
What should a merchant do when they receive response code 04, Pick-up Card?
Response code 04 means the issuer considers the card compromised, lost, or stolen. For in-person transactions, the merchant should retain the card if safe to do so. For online transactions, the order should be voided, the same card must not be retried, and the customer should be asked for a different payment method.
How does Cardflo use response codes in routing and retry logic?
Cardflo maps every issuer, acquirer and scheme response code into a canonical category. Soft declines are retried through an alternative acquirer route or after a short delay, while hard declines are suppressed to avoid excessive-authorisation fees. Code-aware orchestration typically recovers 5 to 15 per cent of otherwise-lost authorisations.
Which payment response codes are considered soft declines?
Soft declines include codes such as 05 (Do Not Honour) for transient risk rules, 51 (Insufficient Funds), 61 (Exceeds Withdrawal Limit), 91 (Issuer Unavailable), and PSD2 codes like 65 (SCA Required). These can generally be retried through a different acquirer, with 3-D Secure, or after a short delay.
What is the difference between a hard decline and a soft decline?
A hard decline indicates a permanent reason the transaction cannot proceed, such as an invalid card number, lost or stolen card, or expired card. A soft decline indicates a temporary issue, such as insufficient funds or a timeout, where a retry may succeed under different conditions.
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