Stripe reasons for being declined

Why was a customer’s charge declined?

Declines can happen for a variety of reasons. When we submit a charge to the customer’s bank, they have automated systems that determine whether accept or not to accept the charge. These systems take various signals into account, such as customer’s spending habits, account balance and card information like the expiration date and CVC

Since these signals are constantly changing, a previously successful card might be declined in the future. Even if all of the card information is correct and you previously had a successful payment, a future charge can still be declined by a bank’s overzealous fraud system.


Finding out more information about a specific decline

We show as much information as we receive from the customer’s bank about a decline in your dashboard. Unfortunately, most declines are generic, so we don’t have much specific information as to why a charge was declined.
If all of the card information seems correct, it is best to have contact your bank, inquire for more information and ask for future charges to be accepted.


Decreasing the likelihood of declines

The correctness of the card number, the expiration date, and the CVC are the primary factors used by the customer’s bank when deciding whether accept or not to accept a transaction.
Collecting the CVC can significantly decrease your decline rates. If you’re not collecting CVCs and you’re having issues with declines, requiring the value can be a quick fix.