Visa response code categories

Last updated: 14th July 2022

Visa has categorised response codes into categories that inform the merchant if and when a transaction should be retried.

Category 1: Issuer will never approve

This subset of decline codes indicates there is no circumstance in which the issuer will approve.

Recommended action: do not try again. This corresponds to recommendation code 03.

Response code	Description
30004	Pick up card (no fraud)
30007	Pickup card, special conditions
20012	Invalid transaction
20014	Invalid card number
30015	No such issuer
30041	Lost card - pick up
30043	Stolen card - pick up
30046	Closed Account
20057	Transaction not permitted to cardholder
200R1	Issuer initiated a stop payment (revocation order) for the Authorization
200R3	Issuer initiated a stop payment (revocation order) for all Authorizations

This subset of decline codes indicates the issuer may approve, but cannot do so at that time.

Recommended action: try again later. This corresponds to recommendation code 02.

Response code	Description
20003	Invalid merchant
20019	Re-enter transaction
20051	Insufficient funds
20059	Suspected fraud
20061	Exceeds withdrawal amount limits
20062	Restricted card
20065	Exceeds withdrawal frequency limit
20075	Allowable PIN tries exceeded
20078	Blocked card, first time card usage
20091	Issuer or switch is inoperative
20093	Transaction cannot be completed
20096	System malfunction

This subset of codes indicates the issuer cannot approve based on the details provided.

Recommended action: provide updated or additional information. This corresponds to recommendation code 01.

Response code	Description
20054	Expired card
20055	Incorrect PIN
20082	No security model
20154	3DS authentication required
2006P	Cardholder ID verification failed
20063	Security violation

All other Visa decline codes not listed, many of which are not descriptive, fall in this category and re-attempt is allowed.

Recommended action: try again later. This corresponds to recommendation code 02.