Processor Response Codes

The response codes seen when processing payment cards often come with little
to no information as to why exactly they were returned, what part of the payment
processing chain issued the response, or how to deal with the response. This
guidance is intended to help technicians and merchants gain some insight into
these codes and help to determine if the response is expected or if there is an issue.
This list is not all encompassing but should cover most of the common codes seen
when reviewing CAGE logs or the declined payment report in WashConnect.
Processor response codes generally fall into one of these categories:

• Successful Authorization
• Do Not Authorize Ever
• Do Not Authorize as Presented
• Do Not Authorize at this Time

Successful Authorization

A successful authorization rarely will generate a ticket into support. The only time a
question may arise is for Customer AVS failed. This does not mean billing failed. AVS
code is not a valid code. This message simply means that an address verification
check did not pass and the merchant may incur a slightly higher interchange rate.

Do Not Authorize Ever

These codes are terminal responses and will never change to an authorization
regardless as to when or how many attempts to process the card are made. It is
possible in some of these cases that the card information has been read incorrectly
if this is on a swipe transaction but is not likely on a chip transaction.
Response codes can include: 46, 59, 302, 500, 503, 504, 767
Response messages can include: Account Closed, Invalid Card, New Account, Do
Not Retry, Hold Card, Do Not Honor, Suspected Fraud, Expired Card, Stolen Card,
Pick-up Card, Lost Card, Card type not valid
Solution: Cardholder needs to use a new card or method of payment. Cardholder
can escalate to their own bank.

Do Not Authorize as Presented

These codes are not terminal responses and may change depending on the criteria
of the transaction. Things like this could be related to non-sufficient funding on
the account, incorrect information being passed during the transaction, or even a
restriction that the issuing bank placed on the use of the card.
Response codes can include: 116, 119, 131, 500, 516, 531
Response messages can include: Insufficient Funds, Decline NSF, Invalid Tran,
Invalid Card, Decline, Format Error, Retry w/3DS
Solution: Transaction can be reattempted with a new amount, cardholder can add
value to their debit account or make payment on their credit account, cardholder
can use a new card or method of payment. Cardholder can escalate to their own
bank.

Do Not Authorize at this Time

These codes are not usually terminal responses, but depending on the reasoning for
a declined transaction, can be. This will usually involve the cardholder speaking to
their bank to gain that information. This type of response code generally indicates
that some fraud check has failed at the level of the issuing bank during processing.
The fraud checks usually indicate that in a given time period too many transactions
have happened or too much money has been authorized. This type of velocity
check will pause authorizations temporarily until a timeout is reached. In the case
of recurring billing, it could also indicate that the issuing bank is seeing that a
token is being used from an account other than the one it was created with. This
can happen when a new owner takes over existing club members during a site
acquisition. This is a rare event but is almost always due to a regional bank flagging
the cards that they issued.
Response codes can include: 505
Response messages can include: Retry Later, Retry Aft 1H, Retry Aft 24H, Retry Aft
2D, Retry Aft 4D, Retry Aft 10D
Solution: Transaction can be reattempted after the timeout is reached, cardholder
can use a new card or method of payment, if error is seen during recurring billing
after a site acquisition the card on file MUST be updated to work as it creates a new
token with the new merchant account information. Cardholder can escalate to their
own bank.

Other Non-Processor Messages

These codes are sometimes seen but differ from other codes in that they are
generated by the POS system and not passed to the system from the processor.
They typically indicate that there is some misconfiguration or error with a recurring
token.

Response Message	Meaning
Service Exception Fault	For daily processing a mismatch between TC/TXP ID and the Reg Key. For recurring billing a mismatch between TC/TXP ID and the Reg Key or the token is attempting to bill on the wrong account.
No Credit Information for Customer	Customer has nothing set up for card-on-file and will need to update their payment info.
No recurring ID present for the Customer	Customer has nothing set up for card-on-file and will need to update their payment info.
Unable to Connect	Issue with the connection to the processor. Verify the TXN/ Host URL configuration in Cage. Verify the site's internet.
No response from the Processor	Issue with the connection to the processor. Verify the TXN/ Host URL configuration in Cage. Verify the site's internet.
Transaction Express Not Configured	Configure merchant account info in Cage
Trans First Not Configured	Configure merchant account info in Cage
Invalid Recurring ID	Verify the correct merchant info is configured in Cage, and that this token is tied to that account. Verify token is encrypted properly.
Vehicle is Marked as Terminated in Database	Vehicle will need to be correctly signed up in the system with a valid club.