--- description: Learn how to resolve Mastercard decline code 57 (Transaction not permitted to issuer/cardholder). Discover common causes and retry guidance for merchants. title: Mastercard Decline Code 57: Transaction Not Permitted image: https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,height=630,quality=85,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fog-image.0z0q4_5kazzzo.jpeg --- [Skip to main content](#main-content) ![Mastercard](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=96,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fmastercard.svg) Mastercard # Mastercard Issuer Response Code 57: Transaction Not Permitted to Issuer/Cardholder hard decline Last updated: September 25, 2026 ## Still letting failed transactions slip through? SmartRetry turns declines into approvals - automatically, intelligently, and without changing your payment provider. Email address Let’s talk Table of Contents ## About 57 \- "Transaction not permitted to issuer/cardholder" ## Key details Brand ![Mastercard](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fmastercard.svg) Code 57 Category Issuer Response Codes Response 57 Detailed Response Transaction not permitted to issuer/cardholder hard decline ## What it means Mastercard response code 57 indicates that the issuing bank or the cardholder's account configuration does not allow the specific transaction being attempted. This is a policy-based hard decline triggered by issuer product rules, geographic restrictions, or unsupported transaction types, such as attempting to load a prepaid card across borders or process refunds on non-reloadable cards. ## Classification & retryability hardRetryable: no Do not automatically retry this authorization attempt. A later retry is only viable if a material change has occurred, such as the customer successfully lifting an account restriction with their issuer or activating a restricted card. ## Why does code 57 occur? * The merchant attempted to process a refund to a non-reloadable prepaid Mastercard, which the issuer explicitly blocks. * A prepaid card activation or funding attempt failed because the merchant, acquirer BIN, and issuer BIN are not all strictly domestic. * The issuer's policy prohibits the specific transaction type being attempted, such as restricted China Domestic transaction categories (e.g., funds-transfer, ATM, or POS). * The cardholder's account has strict geographic, channel, or product-level restrictions preventing the transaction. ## How to solve 57? Treat this code as a hard policy decline and do not immediately retry the identical authorization payload. Review the transaction context—such as the card product type, geographic region of the BINs, and transaction category—to determine if a specific restriction applies (e.g., cross-border prepaid loading). Prompt the customer with a clear, non-technical decline message and request an alternative payment method. ### Solving as a merchant Inspect your payment channel, transaction type, and BIN context to ensure you are not submitting fundamentally unsupported requests, such as refunding a non-reloadable prepaid card or violating domestic-use restrictions. Stop any automated retries for this credential, present a clear failure message to the shopper, and offer them an alternative payment method. ### Solving as a customer Provide a different payment method or alternative card to complete the purchase. If the transaction restriction appears to be an error, contact the issuing bank via the number on the back of the card to ask if the block can be reversed. 💡Tip from SmartRetry Implement BIN-level validation during checkout to detect card types—such as non-reloadable or cross-border prepaid cards—that issuers routinely restrict for your transaction category. Steering customers to alternate payment methods before authorization avoids unnecessary decline fees and prevents checkout abandonment. [See the full list of Mastercard's decline codes \>](/payment-providers/mastercard#statuses)[Find code on Mastercard's website \>](https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/public/mastercardcom/na/global-site/documents/transaction-processing-rules.pdf) ### Frequently asked questions about this topic What does Mastercard response code 57 mean? It means the transaction is not permitted to the issuer or cardholder. This occurs when an issuer restricts a specific transaction type, channel, or geographic region for that specific account. Can I automatically retry a code 57 decline? No, code 57 is a hard decline resulting from an issuer policy decision. Repeated automatic retries are unlikely to succeed and may cause customer friction or unnecessary network traffic. Why would a refund trigger a code 57 decline? Mastercard permits issuers to use code 57 for refunds specifically when the card belongs to a non-reloadable prepaid card program, as these cards generally cannot accept incoming funds. #### Share this article [![Share on X](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Ftwitter.21z6yr9njnznr.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Mastercard%20Issuer%20Response%20Code%2057%3A%20Transaction%20Not%20Permitted%20to%20Issuer%2FCardholder&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smartretry.com%2Fdecline-code%2Fmastercard-issuer-response-code-57 "Share on X")[![Share on Facebook](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Ffacebook.3sbfjbsxa26qg.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smartretry.com%2Fdecline-code%2Fmastercard-issuer-response-code-57 "Share on Facebook")[![Share on LinkedIn](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Flinkedin.09sdc8tnlrn4a.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smartretry.com%2Fdecline-code%2Fmastercard-issuer-response-code-57 "Share on LinkedIn") Make us your preferred source ![Kyle Regacho](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Faa4329c7f45a68c68f2fbccab899d0f43f3740f3f9e92d5c6ea711171fc1a35f%3Fs%3D96%26d%3Dmm%26r%3Dg) Author ##### Kyle Regacho [![LinkedIn](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Flinkedin.09sdc8tnlrn4a.svg)Find me on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdregacho/) Focused on payment recovery, decline codes, and authorization optimization at SmartRetry. Helps payment teams turn failed transactions into recovered revenue [Read all articles >](/authors/kyle-regacho) ## Join our newsletter! Real strategies to recover lost revenue - straight to your inbox Email address Subscribe ## Related codes * [![Mastercard](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fmastercard.svg)43Stolen cardhard declinefraud declineRead more >](/decline-code/mastercard-issuer-response-code-43) * [![Mastercard](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fmastercard.svg)41Lost cardhard declineRead more >](/decline-code/mastercard-issuer-response-code-41) * [![Mastercard](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=256,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fpayment-providers%2Flogos%2Fmastercard.svg)30Format errortechnical declineRead more >](/decline-code/mastercard-issuer-response-code-30) ## Articles you may find interesting: [View all](/blog) [![Turning Payment Declines into Revenue with Context-Aware Retry Logic](https://cdn.smartretry.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.smartretry.com%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2Frecovering-revenue-with-intelligent-retries.jpg) September 25, 2026 Turning Payment Declines into Revenue with Context-Aware Retry Logic Blind retries waste fees and damage issuer trust. 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Discover how data-driven retries and response code intelligence help teams recover failed transactions and protect conversion.](/blog/cost-of-payment-declines-recovery) --- ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Mastercard Issuer Response Code 57: Transaction Not Permitted to Issuer/Cardholder","url":"https://www.smartretry.com/decline-code/mastercard-issuer-response-code-57","inLanguage":"en","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.smartretry.com/#organization","name":"SmartRetry","url":"https://www.smartretry.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://cdn.smartretry.com/logo.png","width":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":175,"unitCode":"PX"},"height":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":29,"unitCode":"PX"}},"description":"SmartRetry is a smart payment recovery platform that helps businesses save revenue from failed payment transactions and reduce false declines.","sameAs":["https://x.com/smartretry","https://www.facebook.com/smartretry","https://www.instagram.com/smartretry","https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartretry","https://www.youtube.com/@smartretry"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","availableLanguage":["Hebrew","English"],"url":"https://www.smartretry.com/contact"},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"Menachem Begin","addressLocality":"Tel Aviv-Yafo","addressCountry":"IL"}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.smartretry.com/#organization","name":"SmartRetry","url":"https://www.smartretry.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://cdn.smartretry.com/logo.png","width":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":175,"unitCode":"PX"},"height":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","value":29,"unitCode":"PX"}},"description":"SmartRetry is a smart payment recovery platform that helps businesses save revenue from failed payment transactions and reduce false declines.","sameAs":["https://x.com/smartretry","https://www.facebook.com/smartretry","https://www.instagram.com/smartretry","https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartretry","https://www.youtube.com/@smartretry"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","availableLanguage":["Hebrew","English"],"url":"https://www.smartretry.com/contact"},"address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"Menachem Begin","addressLocality":"Tel Aviv-Yafo","addressCountry":"IL"}},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.smartretry.com/decline-code/mastercard-issuer-response-code-57","name":"Mastercard Issuer Response Code 57: Transaction Not Permitted to Issuer/Cardholder"},"description":"Learn how to resolve Mastercard decline code 57 (Transaction not permitted to issuer/cardholder). 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