This article outlines some of the most common Gateway Response Codes for donation declines and offers steps to address them effectively.
Decline (RPCT - 500)
- Reason: This decline may be due to a number of issues, and is almost always something that can be resolved on the donor's end.
- Resolution: The donor should be advised to verify they are using a valid, activated, and sufficiently funded payment method to make their donation.
Note: An excessive number of "Decline (RPCT - 500)" errors may indicate the organization fell victim to a card tester bot. This could result in their merchant account being temporarily deactivated, and must be addressed immediately for donations to resume as normal.
Expired card (RPCT - 101)
- Reason: The card has passed its expiration date.
- Resolution: The donor should use a different payment method to give.
AVS Mismatch (PPS - 101)
- Reason: The address the donor entered on the giving form does not match the billing address associated with their payment method.
- Resolution: The donor should verify the billing information tied to their payment method matches what they enter on the giving form.
CVV2 Declined (RPCT - 517)
- Reason: This error will return for organizations that use valid CVV as an additional safeguard against fraud. When CVV does not match the card information, the payment will decline.
- Resolution: The donor should ensure they have the correct card number, expiration date, and CVV before attempting to make another donation.
Not Sufficient Funds (RPCT - 116)
- Reason: If a pre-loaded card, then there are not enough funds left to complete the transaction. This could also mean the donor has exceeded their credit limit.
- Resolution: The donor should resolve this error with their card issuer.
Restricted card (RPCT - 104)
- Reasons:
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Security: The card may have been flagged for fraudulent activity or reported as stolen by the cardholder, and was therefore restricted by the issuer until the cardholder resolves the issue.
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Account Issues: The card account may be delinquent, over its credit limit, or in violation of the issuer's terms and conditions.
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- Resolution: The donor must reach out to their card issuer to resolve, or consider using a different payment method.
Transaction not permitted to cardholder (RPCT - 119)
- Similar to the "Restricted card" error, here are some reasons why the transaction may not be permitted to the cardholder:
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- Account & Security Issues: Their account has been marked delinquent or potentially fraudulent
- Transaction Type: Their card is restricted for certain transaction types (such as recurring payments, merchant types, etc.)
- Resolution: The donor must reach out to their card issuer to resolve, or consider using a different payment method.
Invalid zip (PPS - 17)
- Reason: The zip code entered either did not match the rest of the address, or was entered in an invalid format (such as with spaces or non-numeric characters).
- Resolution: The donor should verify their billing information is corrected entered and formatted before attempting to make another donation.
Invalid Account Number (RPCT - 131)
- Reason: The account number provided cannot be validated by the gateway.
- Resolution: The donor should verify their payment information is valid and correct.
Exceeds withdrawal amount (RPCT - 121)
- Reason: The transaction exceeds the total credit limit of the card, or the allowed one-time withdrawal amount.
- Resolution: The donor should confirm their allowed withdrawal amount before attempting to give again, or use a different payment method.