Hard Decline
Hard declines occur when issuers permanently reject a transaction request. This type of decline implies that a transaction should not be retried unless the underlying issue is resolved. Common causes for hard declines are expired cards, closed accounts, fraud, stolen cards, maxed-out credit limits, and invalid transactions.
To resolve a hard decline, merchants should inform the cardholder of the problem and have them contact their bank, update their payment information, or use a different payment method.
Credit card decline codes associated with hard declines include:
- Code 39: No Credit Account
- Code 41: Lost Card, Pick Up
- Code 43: Stolen Card, Pick Up
- Code 54: Expired card or Expiration Date Missing
- Code 59: Suspected Fraud
Merchants should double-check for data entry errors before submitting a transaction for processing, so as to help avoid hard declines.
