A payment was declined - what do I do?

Payment declines can happen for a number of reasons, and most of them are on the cardholder’s side rather than yours.

Common reasons a payment is declined:

• The customer’s card has insufficient funds
• The card has expired or been blocked by their bank
• The customer entered an incorrect PIN
• The card issuer flagged the transaction (fraud prevention)
• The terminal couldn’t read the card properly
• Daily or transaction limits exceeded

What to do

1. Ask the customer to try the payment again.
2. If the card was tapped, try inserting it into the chip reader instead.
3. If it’s still declining, ask the customer to try a different card.
4. If the customer believes their card should work, suggest they contact their bank.
5. If multiple cards are declining on your terminal, the issue may be with the terminal itself - contact Stitch support.

Need more help?

If you are still having trouble, reach out to Stitch Express support and we will get you sorted.