Decline code

When a charge fails, the card issuer sends back a short code with the refusal. Processors translate those codes into reasons like "insufficient funds", "expired card", "do not honor" or "authentication required". The code tells you what to do next. Two broad kinds: - Soft declines are temporary. Low balance, a bank's fraud check, or a network hiccup. Trying again later, often after payday, frequently works. - Hard declines won't succeed on a retry. The card is expired, reported lost or stolen, or the account is closed. The customer needs to give you a new card. Some need the customer to act now. A bank may require the cardholder to confirm the payment (for example through 3D Secure in Europe). Retrying silently won't help; the customer has to approve it. Why it matters for subscriptions. Renewals are charged without the customer at checkout, so every failure is silent unless you act. Reading the decline code lets you: - Retry soft declines on a sensible schedule. - Stop retrying hard declines and ask for a new card right away. - Spot problems on your side, such as a store or gateway setting. Don't retry endlessly. Card networks can charge fees or flag merchants for excessive retries on cards that will never work. How Chargezen handles it: Chargezen sorts each failed renewal into a card the subscriber needs to fix, a short hiccup worth another try, or a store setting your team should check, then retries on your schedule and sends card update reminders.