What's happening
A decline in the virtual terminal comes from the cardholder's bank, not from us and not from your account. The message tells you whether it's worth trying again or whether the customer has to sort it out with their bank.
Before you start
- Have the exact decline message in front of you — the wording matters
- Confirm you're keying the billing ZIP the bank has on file, not the ship-to ZIP
Fix it
- "Do not honor" — the bank declined without a reason. The customer has to call the number on the back of the card. Retrying won't help.
- "Insufficient funds" — exactly that. Ask for a different card.
- "AVS mismatch" — the billing address doesn't match the bank's record. Re-key it using the address on the cardholder's statement.
- "CVV mismatch" — re-key the three digits from the signature panel, or the four on the front for Amex.
- "Invalid expiry" — check the month and year, and that the card hasn't expired.
- "Pick up card" — do not retry and do not accept that card.
Did that work?
Yes — carry on.
No — if every card you try declines, the problem is your account, not the cards.