Are all decline codes retryable?

No. Some codes are hard declines and should not be retried. Others are temporary or context-driven and may be recoverable.

Why do different processors show different decline messages?

Processors often normalize issuer and network responses into their own labels, so the same underlying issue can appear under different wording.

How can decline code data improve approvals?

Decline code data helps teams identify recoverable failures and choose the right retry timing, routing, and transaction adjustments.

Decline Code Lookup

Search decline codes to understand why transactions fail.

2566 Codes10 Soft declines24 Hard declines

Browse decline codes

Every decline code with a full guide, grouped by card network and code type. Open a code to see what causes it, whether to retry, and how to resolve it.

Mastercard Issuer Response Codes

Code	Meaning	Type
10	Partial Approval
12	Invalid transaction	hard decline
13	Invalid amount	hard decline
14	Invalid card number	hard decline
15	Invalid issuer	hard decline
30	Format error	hard decline
41	Lost card	hard decline
43	Stolen card	hard decline
51	Insufficient funds/over credit limit	soft decline
54	Expired card	hard decline
55	Invalid PIN	hard decline
57	Transaction not permitted to issuer/cardholder	hard decline
58	Transaction not permitted to acquirer/terminal	hard decline
61	Exceeds withdrawal amount limit	soft decline

Visa Issuer Response Codes

Code	Meaning	Type
10	Approved, partial	soft decline
11	Approved, VIP
12	Invalid transaction	hard decline
15	No such issuer	hard decline
19	Re-enter transaction	soft decline
21	No action taken	hard decline
25	Unable to locate record on file	hard decline
28	File update file locked out	soft decline
39	No credit account	hard decline
41	Lost card	hard decline
46	Closed account	hard decline
51	Not sufficient funds	soft decline
52	No checking account	hard decline
53	No savings account	hard decline
54	Expired card	soft decline
55	Incorrect personal identification number	soft decline
57	Transaction not permitted to cardholder	soft decline

Mastercard ECI Codes

Code	Meaning	Type
00	Authentication failed or not attempted (e.g. card not enrolled, technical issue)	soft decline
01	Authentication was attempted but not completed (e.g. timeout, user abandon)
02	Authentication successful (liability shift applies)
04	Data share only, not authenticated, improves approval rate (EMV 3DS only)	hard decline
06	Acquirer exemption applied (EMV 3DS only)
07	Recurring payment: liability shift for initial, but not subsequent transactions	hard decline

Visa ECI Codes

Code	Meaning	Type
05	Cardholder authentication is successful (step-up or frictionless)
06	Authentication was attempted but not completed (e.g. frictionless or passive)	hard decline
07	Non-authenticated e-commerce transaction	hard decline

Learn More

Decline Code Lookup Tool

Use the decline code lookup to decode payment response codes and understand what a failed transaction may mean. Clear decline code interpretation helps teams separate hard declines from recoverable failures.

What is a decline code?

A decline code is a response from the issuer, network, processor, or gateway that explains why a payment was not approved.

Learn more about Decline Code in our glossary →

Some codes indicate final declines, while others point to temporary conditions, missing information, authentication issues, or retryable processing errors.

The same code can be labeled differently across processors, so teams should read it together with gateway, issuer, and transaction context.

SmartRetry focuses on identifying recoverable failures and rebuilding the transaction with the right timing, routing, and payment data.

How to use the decline code lookup

Enter the code or message
Search by numeric response code or by a short decline description from your processor.
Read the likely meaning
Review whether the code points to insufficient funds, suspected fraud, authentication failure, card restrictions, or a technical issue.
Decide the next action
Use the result to determine whether to retry, request customer action, enrich the transaction, or stop attempting the payment.

Decline response types

Type	Typical next step
Soft decline	Retry later or rebuild the payment with better context.
Hard decline	Stop retrying and ask the customer for another payment method.
Authentication issue	Review 3DS, exemption, or customer verification flow.
Technical error	Retry after confirming gateway, network, or processor status.

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SmartRetry reads every decline reason and applies the right retry strategy for each one. Your recovery rate goes up without any changes to your payment provider.