Adyen · Decline codes
What does Adyen refusal reason 4 “Acquirer Error” mean?
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Adyen refusal reason 4, "Acquirer Error", means the transaction did not go through because of an error on the acquirer's end, the bank that processes card payments for the merchant. The shopper's card and bank were not the cause. A retry after a short pause usually works; if many payments show code 4 at once, it points to a wider processing problem.
- Type
- Processing error
- Who declined
- The acquirer (the bank processing for the merchant)
- Retry
- Yes, after a short pause; the card was not the problem.
- Shopper action
- Try again in a moment, or use another method.
- Merchant action
- Check Adyen's status if many payments show it.
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC does not connect to Adyen; its checkout runs on Stripe and PayPal. Faults on the processing side surface in Stripe as codes like processing_error, which PlatformDTC treats as temporary: a renewal gets up to four attempts on a +2/+5/+8 day schedule.
Why it happens
The acquirer could not complete the authorization request, for example a technical failure in its systems or its link to the card scheme.
What the shopper can do
Wait a moment and try once more. If it fails again, another card or payment method avoids the problem.
What the store can do
A burst of code 4 across many shoppers is an outage, not a fraud wave. Check Adyen's status before changing any risk settings.
For developers
refusalReasonCode "4". Adyen's resultCode can be Refused or Error; treat code 4 as transient and retry with backoff.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Adyen refusal 4 the shopper's fault?
- No. Adyen describes it as an error on the acquirer's end.
- Can I retry Adyen refusal 4?
- Yes, after a short pause. It is not a decision by the shopper's bank.
Sources
- Adyen refusal reasons — Adyen
- Stripe decline codes — Stripe
Related
- 9 — Adyen could not reach the shopper's bank to authorize the payment.
- 21 — The transaction was not submitted correctly for processing.
- 5 — The card is blocked and cannot be used.
- 6 — The card's expiry date has passed.
- 7 — An amount mismatch occurred while the payment was being processed.
- 8 — The card number is wrong or does not exist.
- 10 — The shopper's bank does not support or allow this type of transaction on the card.