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SmartRetry - Payment Recovery Platform

American Express

  • Cards

American Express is a global card network and issuer brand that merchants can accept for in-store and online card payments.

Struggling with your approval ratio for this payment provider?

contact SmartRetry team →
Published
Last updated
1 min
American Express
American Express payment phone

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American Express Company Overview

Payment Method
Official Website
https://www.americanexpress.com/
LinkedIn Page
American Express
Foundation
1850
Stock ID
NYSE:AXP
Company Type
public
Employees
64,000+
Location
USAUSA
Channel
OnlineIn person
For developers
Status pageStack Overflow

Features

Global card network acceptance

Support for American Express cards across major ecommerce, in-store, and omni-channel setups. Availability can differ by acquirer/PSP and merchant category.

Authorization outcomes and routing

Transactions are authorized through your payment platform’s Amex connectivity. Clear decline codes and response data help guide retries and customer messaging.

Approval rates and card declines visibility

Monitor Amex approval rate, soft vs hard declines, and issuer responses in your PSP logs. Use this data to tune retry rules and customer prompts.

Security and compliance alignment

Works within standard card-payment security practices, including PCI-focused handling through compliant PSPs. Tokenization and secure storage depend on your platform.

Customer authentication support

Authentication flows (where applicable) are typically managed by your PSP and checkout stack. Ensure Amex transactions use the same risk and authentication policies as other card brands.

Disputes and chargebacks handling

Chargebacks are generally managed via your acquirer/PSP with Amex-specific reason codes and timelines. Evidence requirements can vary by dispute type and region.

Operational reliability and reporting

Network processing is generally stable, with performance tracked via your PSP’s monitoring and reconciliation reports. Settlement reporting and descriptors depend on your acquirer setup.

Tip from SmartRetry If Amex declines are elevated, segment by decline reason and entry mode (ecommerce vs in-store) and review AVS/CVV and billing address quality before adjusting retry behavior.

Currencies

Processing currenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, CHF, HKD, SGD, CNY, INR

Available in

Available countries
  • Global

FAQ

Statuses

Statuses — All
CodeDescriptionLevelFrequencyResolution
ECI Codes
05

Cardholder authentication is successful (step-up or frictionless)

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06

Authentication was attempted but not completed (e.g. frictionless or passive)

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07

Non-authenticated e-commerce transaction

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Issuer Response Codes
100

Deny

---
101

Expired Card / Invalid Expiration Date

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106

Exceeded PIN attempts

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109

Invalid merchant

---
110

Invalid amount

---
111

Invalid account

---
115

Requested function not supported

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116

Not Sufficient Funds

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117

Invalid PIN

---
119

Cardmember not enrolled / not permitted

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120

Transaction not permitted to terminal

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121

Limit Exceeded

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122

Invalid card security code

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125

Invalid effective date

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130

Additional customer identification required

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181

Format error

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183

Invalid currency code

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187

Deny – New card issued

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189

Deny – Cancelled or Closed Merchant/SE

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190

National ID Mismatch

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193

Invalid Country Code

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194

Invalid Region Code

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200

Deny – Pick up card

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201

Expired Card

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202

Suspected fraud

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208

Lost Card

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209

Stolen Card

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900

Accepted – ATC Synchronization

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909

System Malfunction (Cryptographic error)

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912

Issuer not available

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977

Invalid Payment Plan

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978

Invalid Payment Times

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000

Approved

---
001

Approve with ID

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002

PARTIAL APPROVAL (PREPAID CARDS ONLY)

---
3DS Transaction Status Reason
10

Stolen card

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11

Suspected fraud

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12

Transaction not permitted to cardholder

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13

Cardholder not enrolled in service

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14

Transaction timed out at the ACS

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15

Low confidence

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16

Medium confidence

---
17

High confidence

---
18

Very high confidence

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19

Exceeds ACS maximum challenges

---
20

Non-payment transaction not supported

---
21

3RI transaction not supported

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22

ACS technical issue

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23

Decoupled authentication required by ACS but not requested by 3DS requestor

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24

3DS requestor decoupled max expiry time exceeded

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25

Decoupled Authentication was provided insufficient time to authenticate cardholder. ACS will not make attempt

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26

Authentication attempted but not performed by the cardholder

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27

Preferred authentication method not supported

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01

Card authentication failed

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02

Unknown device

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03

Unsupported device

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04

Exceeds authentication frequency limit

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05

Expired card

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06

Invalid card number

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07

Invalid transaction

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08

No card record

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09

Security failure

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3DS Transaction Status
Y

Authentication / Account Verification Successful

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N

Not Authenticated / Account Not Verified; Transaction denied

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U

Authentication / Account Verification Could Not Be Performed (technical or other problem)

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A

Attempts Processing Performed; not authenticated/verified, but proof of attempted authentication is provided

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C

Challenge Required; additional authentication required (CReq/CRes flow)

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D

Decoupled authentication confirmed

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R

Authentication / Account Verification Rejected; issuer requests authorization not be attempted

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I

Informational only; 3DS Requestor challenge preference acknowledged

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CAVV Result Codes
1

AEVV Failed – Authentication, Issuer Key

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2

AEVV Passed – Authentication, Issuer Key

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3

AEVV Passed – Attempt, Issuer Key

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4

AEVV Failed – Attempt, Issuer Key

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7

AEVV Failed – Attempt, Issuer not participating, Network Key

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8

AEVV Passed – Attempt, Issuer not participating, Network Key

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9

AEVV Failed – Attempt, Participating, ACS not available, Network Key

---
A

AEVV Passed – Attempt, Participating, ACS not available, Network Key

---
U

AEVV Unchecked

---

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