Adyen · Decline codes
What does Adyen refusal reason 20 “FRAUD” mean?
Checked
Adyen refusal reason 20, "FRAUD", means the pre-authorization risk checks gave the transaction a fraud score of 100 or more, so Adyen flagged it as fraudulent and refused it before asking the bank. It reflects your risk configuration, not the issuer. Review which rules fired; if genuine customers are blocked, adjust the rules instead of retrying.
- Type
- Risk block (Adyen risk engine)
- Who declined
- Adyen's risk checks, before authorization
- Retry
- No. Review the risk rules or the order.
- Shopper action
- Contact the store or try another method.
- Merchant action
- Check which risk rules fired in the Customer Area.
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC does not connect to Adyen; its checkout runs on Stripe and PayPal. The counterpart there is Stripe's fraudulent, a refusal from the processor's own fraud screening; PlatformDTC never retries it and never moves it to a backup processor.
Why it happens
Adyen's risk engine adds up scores from its checks before authorization. At 100 or more, the transaction is refused as fraud.
What the shopper can do
Use another payment method or contact the store; the decision was made by the store's fraud screening.
What the store can do
In the Customer Area, open the payment's risk details to see the contributing rules. Tune rules that catch good customers rather than turning risk checks off.
For developers
refusalReasonCode "20". 22 FRAUD-CANCELLED is the same threshold reached by pre- plus post-authorization checks.
Frequently asked questions
- Did the bank decline Adyen refusal 20?
- No. Adyen's own pre-authorization risk checks refused it.
- How do I reduce Adyen refusal 20 for real customers?
- Review the risk rules that contributed to the score and adjust them in the Customer Area.
Sources
- Adyen refusal reasons — Adyen
- Stripe decline codes — Stripe
Related
- 22 — Pre- and post-authorization risk checks together scored 100 or more, so the payment was refused.
- 14 — The acquirer flagged the payment as possible fraud.
- 31 — The shopper's bank reported the payment as suspected fraud (raw 59 or 34).
- 21 — The transaction was not submitted correctly for processing.
- 23 — The issuer or acquirer does not permit this transaction on this card (raw 57 or 58).
- 24 — The card security code (CVC) entered is wrong.
- 25 — The issuer restricted where this card can be used (raw 62).
- 26 — The shopper asked their bank to stop this subscription or all recurring payments (raw R0, R1, R3).