Visa introduces a set of rules and fees around decline response code usage. This was in response to incorrect actions taken upon decline responses in the past by issuers, acquirers and merchants.
The rules and fees were enacted in an effort to:
• Enhance decline code management
• Ensure consistency across authorizations
• Improve authorization approval rates
• Reduce operational costs
• Reduce the risk of fraud
Below are the four categories Visa created to group the decline response codes:
| Category | Description | Response Codes | Retry Permitted |
| 1 | Decline response codes indicating the card is blocked for use or never existed. The issuer will never approve this transaction under any circumstances. | 03 - Invalid merchant 04 - Pickup card 07 - Pickup card, special conditions 12 - Invalid transaction 15 - No such issuer 41 - Pickup card lost card 43 - Pickup card stolen card 57 - Transaction not permitted to cardholder 62 - Restricted card 78 - No account 93 - Transaction cannot be completed R0 - Stop payment order R1 - Revocation of authorization order R3 - Revocation of all authorization | No |
| 2 | Due to a number of potential reasons these decline response codes indicate that there could be an approval, however at the time of the transaction, the issuer cannot approve. | 19 - Re-enter transaction 51 - Insufficient funds 59 - Suspected fraud 61 - Exceeds withdrawal amount limits 65 - Exceeds withdrawal frequency 75 - Allowable PIN-entry tries exceeded 86 - ATM malfunction 91 - Issuer or switch is inoperative 96 - System malfunction N3 - Cash service no available N4 - Cash request exceeds issuer limit | Yes |
| 3 | The Issuer cannot approve based on the details provided i.e. incorrect Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2), expiration date, or zip code. | 14 - Invalid account number 54 - Expired card 55 - Incorrect PIN N7 - Decline for CVV2 Failure-Visa 82 - Negative Online CAMCardholder 1A - Additional customer authentication required | Yes |
| 4 | This category is for more rare decline reason codes. This category includes all other decline response codes, many technical in nature or provide little to no value to acquirers or merchants. | All other decline response codes NOT listed in categories 1-3 05 - Do Not Honor 06 - Error 39 - No Credit Account 52 - No Checking Account 53 - No Savings Account 58 - Transaction not allowed at terminal 77 - Previous message located for a repeat or reversal, but repeat or reversal data inconsistent with original message 80 - Visa transaction credit issuer unavailable. Private label invalid date P2 - Invalid biller information P6 - Unsafe PIN Z3 - Unable to go online; declined | Yes |