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Why do credit cards get declined?
Why do credit cards get declined?

When you are certain the credit card information is correct but the transaction will still not process.

Ned Creed avatar
Written by Ned Creed
Updated over a week ago

Credit card declines are troublesome. Here are the reasons, outside of your control, as to why the credit card could have been declined:

>First order: Since you are selling alcohol, the customer’s bank could be extra cautious.

>Large order: Many credit cards companies have internal limits for each customer and will deny a charge without prior authorization. If you are charging an order for a large amount this could be the reason. Have your customer call their bank to pre-authorize the order.

>Spending limit reached: Many credit cards have a spending limit, the amount of dollars a customer is allowed to charge. If they have reached that limit, the card will not work until the customer pays down their balance.

>Suspended credit card: Suspected fraud and actual fraud on credit cards is a common occurrence these days. Your customer may have had their existing card shut down recently due to fraud. With numerous auto-pay accounts we all have, it is difficult finding the time to update each and every one.

>Expiration date has passed: Has the credit card passed the expiration date? Stripe has been able to initiate an automatic update for expired cards, but only if all the data is still the same on the new card.


To make sure a transaction processes correctly, you need the following entered into a client account:

>Email address.
>Shipping address or pick-up address.
>Billing address that includes the street number and street name, apartment number if there is one, city, state, and zip code. If you don’t have these full details, that could be the reason for the decline.
>Credit card number, expiration date, and security code (3 digit on the back for Visa/MC or 4 digit on the front right of the card).


Before you contact the customer…
>Did you actually see a thin red banner at the top of the screen in your Figure account that said - Credit Card Declined or Order Declined?
>Shipping address and/or pickup details. Are they correct?
>No punctuation in product SKUs or quotes in the customer name, like a “Nickname” for example.

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