Why Your Credit Card Transactions May Be Declined: A Guide to Understanding and Resolving Issues
Having your credit card transaction declined can be frustrating and inconvenient. However, understanding the possible reasons behind these declined transactions can help you quickly address and resolve the issue. Below, we outline several common scenarios that may lead to your credit card being declined and offer solutions to help you regain access to your card's functionalities.
1. Frozen or Blocked Card
If the card is in any of these 2 states, the transactions will be blocked, as it means there is either an outstanding subscription or credit card balance payment. An overdue balance will block access to your credit card until it's cleared.
Solution:
Check the status of your card by accessing your account through the Bits App. If there is an outstanding payment, clear it and your card will become unlocked.
2. Blocked Merchants/Categories
Transactions with the Bits credit card are blocked at certain merchants to protect consumers from potentially harmful financial activities. This includes but is not limited to, massage parlours, gambling services, cigar stores and stands, and buy-now-pay-later services (e.g., Klarna, Clearpay).
Solution:
Review the full list of blocked merchants/categories here (see section 5.10 for more details).
3. Spend Control/Credit Build Feature
To promote financial health, the Spend Control feature limits the usage of your card to no more than 20% of your credit limit. This is because utilising a higher percentage of your credit limit can negatively impact your credit score.
Solution:
If you wish to deactivate this feature:
1. Open the Bits application.
2. Navigate to Settings.
3. Go to Credit Card settings.
4. Find and select the option to Deactivate under Spend.
4. 1st Pre-Authorisation Failure
After the first use of your card, a pre-authorisation check is conducted to ensure there are no issues with the payment method linked to your account. Failure in this check may result in your card being locked.
Solution:
To unlock your card, pay off the balance on it. This action should also resolve any issues with failed subscription and credit card balance payments.
5. Abnormal Transactions
Transactions that are unusually large, frequent, or with merchants failing our security checks may trigger our security systems to block such transactions.
Recommended Actions:
1. Moderate the frequency of transactions.
2. Avoid using your card for the next 24 hours.
3. Make your next transaction with a PIN and chip at a physical terminal.
6. Exhausted PIN Attempts
Multiple failed transaction attempts can exhaust your PIN attempts, leading to a temporary block on transactions using the physical card.
Solution:
1. Head onto the contact section and request your attempts to be reset. Please await our response on this matter.
2. Log into the Bits mobile app.
3. Tap your card to navigate to the card section.
4. Tap "PIN" to view your PIN.
5. For your next transaction, use your card at a physical terminal and enter your PIN when prompted.
Final Advice
After addressing any of the above issues, we advise that your first transaction be made using the physical card at a terminal, entering the PIN shown in the app. This step ensures that your card is fully operational and helps avoid future transaction declines.
By understanding these common reasons for declined transactions and how to resolve them, you can ensure that your Bits credit card continues to serve you effectively and securely.