Not every decline is retried. When a decline could still succeed later — a temporary hold or a balance issue, for example — Boulevard automatically retries the payment and emails the client after each attempt. When a decline is terminal, meaning the card can never be charged again, Boulevard doesn't retry, and the client is asked to add a different card instead. The "Automatic retries?" column below shows which is which.
Decline reason | Explanation | Action | Automatic retries? |
Card issue | There is a general problem with the card that prevents the transaction from processing. It may be due to temporary network errors, the client locking their card, card configuration problems, or other issues not tied to a specific decline code. | Update payment method | Yes |
Cardholder cancelled recurring payments | The client asked their card issuer to stop recurring payments. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Client inactive | Membership cannot be renewed because the client’s account is inactive. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Credit limit reached | The transaction was declined because the customer’s card has reached its activity, balance, or credit limit. | Retry card | Yes |
CVV is incorrect OR zip code or CVV incorrect | The card’s security code or billing zip code did not match what the bank has on file. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Do not honor | The bank declined the transaction, possibly due to fraud concerns or other restrictions. The client should contact their card issuer for more information. | Update payment method | Yes |
Expired card | The card has expired and is no longer valid. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Illegal transaction | The bank declined the transaction because it was flagged as not allowed under the card’s terms. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Insufficient funds | The card does not have enough funds available to cover the transaction. | Retry card | Yes |
Invalid card | The card details entered are invalid or not recognized by the bank. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Invalid cardholder account | The bank could not verify the cardholder’s account information. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Invalid membership | The membership linked to this payment is invalid or no longer active. | Update payment method | No — contact Boulevard Support |
Invalid merchant account | The payment could not be processed due to an issue with the merchant account configuration. | Reinstate your merchant account before retrying payment. Contact Boulevard Support if you have questions regarding your merchant account. | No — reinstate your merchant account first |
Invalid transaction | The bank rejected the transaction as invalid. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Issuer error | The card issuer experienced a temporary error when processing the transaction. | Retry card | Yes |
Membership cancelled | The client’s membership was cancelled, so the payment could not be processed. | Update payment method | No — the membership is no longer active |
Missing merchant account | The transaction could not be processed because the merchant account information was missing. | Reinstate your merchant account before retrying payment. Contact Boulevard Support if you have questions regarding your merchant account. | No — reinstate your merchant account first |
Payment not yet required | The scheduled payment is not yet due. | Update payment method | No |
Pin entries exceeded | The cardholder entered the wrong PIN too many times. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Processing error | A temporary error occurred while processing the transaction. | Retry card | Yes |
Restricted card | The client’s card has restrictions that prevent this type of transaction. | Update payment method | No — a different card is required |
Timeout | The transaction could not be completed because the request timed out. | Retry card | Yes |
Unknown error | The transaction failed due to an unspecified error. | Update payment method | Yes |