How does Visa impact approval rates?

While issuers make the final authorization decision, Visa’s network standards, data quality requirements, and authentication frameworks can help reduce unnecessary declines.

What is the difference between Visa and a payment service provider (PSP)?

Visa is a card network that defines rules and routes transactions, while a PSP connects merchants to acquirers and manages integrations, APIs, and payment flows.

Is Visa available in all countries?

Visa is considered a global network with acceptance in over 200 countries and territories, making a global availability classification appropriate.

What does an issuer decline such as 'Do Not Honor' mean?

Issuer declines originate from the issuing bank. Merchants should review authentication, transaction data quality, and retry strategies rather than assuming a technical failure.

How should merchants handle disputes and chargebacks on Visa transactions?

Merchants should follow Visa’s official dispute and evidence rules, maintain clear transaction records, and track dispute lifecycle stages through their acquirer or PSP.

Visa

Cards

Visa is a global card payment network enabling merchants to accept secure electronic payments worldwide.

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Published: October 13, 2025
Last updated: May 6, 2026

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About Visa

Product Type

Payment Method

Foundation

1958

Stock ID

NYSE:V

Company Type

public

Employees

20,000+

Location

USA

Channel

Online In person

For developers

Status page Stack Overflow

Features

Global Acceptance Network

Accepted worldwide across online and in-store merchants.

Fast Authorization

Low-latency authorization with high network reliability.

Issuer Risk Signals

Detailed issuer responses and decline reason codes.

Fraud Prevention

Built-in network-level fraud and risk protection.

Visa Secure (3DS)

Support for strong customer authentication with frictionless flows.

Cross-Border Ready

Optimized for international and multi-currency transactions.

Tokenization & Wallets

Native support for network tokens and digital wallets like Apple Pay.

Tip from SmartRetry Merchants can improve Visa approval rates by ensuring accurate transaction data, using authentication only when required, and handling issuer decline signals correctly to avoid unnecessary retries.

Currencies

Processing currencies USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, HKD, SGD, SEK, NZD, MXN, BRL, INR

Available in

Available countries

Global

FAQ

Statuses

Statuses - All
Code	Description
ECI Codes
05	Cardholder authentication is successful (step-up or frictionless)
06	Authentication was attempted but not completed (e.g. frictionless or passive)
07	Non-authenticated e-commerce transaction
Issuer Response Codes
00	Approved or completed successfully
01	Refer to card issuer
1A	Additional customer authentication required
02	Refer to card issuer's special conditions
03	Invalid merchant
04	Pick-up card
05	Do not honor
5C	Transaction not supported/blocked by issuer
06	Error
6P	Verification data failed
07	Pick-up card, special conditions
9G	Blocked by cardholder/contact cardholder
10	Approved, partial
11	Approved, VIP
12	Invalid transaction
13	Invalid amount
14	Invalid card number
15	No such issuer
19	Re-enter transaction
21	No action taken
25	Unable to locate record on file
28	File update file locked out
39	No credit account
41	Lost card
43	Stolen card
46	Closed account
51	Not sufficient funds
52	No checking account
53	No savings account
54	Expired card
55	Incorrect personal identification number
57	Transaction not permitted to cardholder
58	Transaction not permitted to terminal
59	Suspected fraud
61	Exceeds withdrawal amount limit
62	Restricted card
63	Security violation
64	Transaction does not fulfill AML requirement
65	Exceeds withdrawal frequency limit
70	Pin data required
74	Different value than that used for PIN encryption errors
75	Allowable number of PIN tries exceeded
76	Unsolicited reversal
78	Card not activated
79	Reversed (by switch)
80	No financial impact (used in reversal responses to declined originals)
81	Cryptographic error found in PIN (during PIN decryption)
82	CVV failure
85	No reason to decline (AVS/CVV2/credit voucher or return)
86	Cannot verify PIN (e.g., no PVV)
89	Ineligible to receive financial position information (GIV)
91	Issuer or switch inoperative
92	Routing error
93	Violation of law
94	Duplicate transmission
96	System malfunction
B1	Surcharge amount not permitted on Visa cards or EBT food stamps (U.S. acquirers only)
B2	Surcharge amount not supported by debit network issuer.
N0	Force STIP
N3	Cash service not available
N4	Cash request exceeds issuer or approved limit
N5	Ineligible for resubmission
N7	Decline for CVV2 failure
N8	Transaction amount exceeds preauthorized approval amount
P5	Denied PIN unblock—PIN change or unblock request declined by issuer
P6	Denied PIN change—requested PIN unsafe
Q1	Card Authentication failed
R0	Stop Payment Order
R1	Revocation of authorization order
R2	Transaction does not qualify for Visa PIN
R3	Revocation of all authorizations order
Z1	Offline-declined
Z3	Unable to go online; offline-declined
3DS Transaction Status Reason
01	Card authentication failed
02	Unknown device
03	Unsupported device
04	Exceeds authentication frequency limit
05	Expired card
06	Invalid card number
07	Invalid transaction
08	No card record
09	Security failure
10	Stolen card
11	Suspected fraud
12	Transaction not permitted to cardholder
13	Cardholder not enrolled in service
14	Transaction timed out at the ACS
15	Low confidence
16	Medium confidence
17	High confidence
18	Very high confidence
19	Exceeds ACS maximum challenges
20	Non-payment transaction not supported
21	3RI transaction not supported
22	ACS technical issue
23	Decoupled authentication required by ACS but not requested by 3DS requestor
24	3DS requestor decoupled max expiry time exceeded
25	Decoupled Authentication was provided insufficient time to authenticate cardholder. ACS will not make attempt
26	Authentication attempted but not performed by the cardholder
27	Preferred authentication method not supported
80	Error connecting to ACS
81	ACS timed out
82	Invalid response from ACS
83	System error response from ACS
84	Internal error while generating Cardholder Authentication Verification Value (CAVV)
85	Visa Merchant ID (VMID) not eligible for requested program
86	Protocol version not supported by ACS
87	Transaction is excluded from attempts processing — includes non-reloadable prepaid card and Non-Payments (NPA)
88	Requested program not supported by ACS
89	CAVV is included in response
90	Issuer Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) required
91	CanBeUsedForFidoEnrollment
92	CanNotBeUsedForFidoEnrollment
3DS Transaction Status
A	Attempts Processing Performed; not authenticated/verified, but proof of attempted authentication is provided
C	Challenge Required; additional authentication required (CReq/CRes flow)
D	Decoupled authentication confirmed
I	Informational only; 3DS Requestor challenge preference acknowledged
N	Not Authenticated / Account Not Verified; Transaction denied
R	Authentication / Account Verification Rejected; issuer requests authorization not be attempted
U	Authentication / Account Verification Could Not Be Performed (technical or other problem)
Y	Authentication / Account Verification Successful
CAVV Result Codes
	CAVV not present or not verified. No liability shift; merchant is not protected.
0	CAVV could not be verified or was missing. No liability shift; merchant is not protected.
1	CAVV failed verification – cardholder authentication. Liability remains with issuer.
2	CAVV passed verification – cardholder authentication. Liability shift applies.
3	CAVV passed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
4	CAVV failed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
5	Reserved – Not used.
6	Issuer not participating in CAVV verification. Liability shift applies.
7	CAVV failed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
8	CAVV passed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
9	CAVV failed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
A	CAVV passed verification – attempted authentication. Liability shift applies.
B	CAVV passed verification – no liability shift. Merchant is NOT protected.
C	CAVV not verified (Attempted Authentication). Liability shift applies.
D	CAVV not verified (Cardholder Authentication). Liability shift applies.