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Decline codes

Braintree processor decline codes explained

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Braintree, PayPal's card processor, returns a four-digit processor response code when a payment is declined. Codes 2000 to 2999 come from the shopper's bank, PayPal or your own account setup, and 3000 means the processing network was unavailable. Each code is typed soft (a retry may work) or hard (something must change first). This list gives every code in plain words, Braintree's Visa retry category, and what to do next.

CodeMeaning
2000The bank refused the payment without giving a reason (Do Not Honor).
2001The card did not have enough money or credit for this amount.
2002The charge is bigger than the account's withdrawal limit.
2003The card hit its activity limit (too many or too large purchases).
2004The card has expired.
2005The card number is wrong or not a valid card.
2006The expiry date entered is wrong.
2007The card number is not on file at the bank (no account).
2008The card number has the wrong number of digits.
2009The card number does not match any card-issuing bank.
2010The security code (CVV) entered is wrong.
2011The bank wants the merchant to phone for an approval code.
2012The card has probably been reported lost.
2013The card has probably been reported stolen.
2014The bank suspects fraud on this payment.
2015The bank won't allow this transaction on this card.
2016This looks like a duplicate of a payment just made.
2017The cardholder asked the bank to stop this payment.
2018The cardholder told the bank to stop all recurring charges.
2019The card does not support this kind of transaction.
2020The bank refused the payment citing a violation.
2021The bank declined, possibly for a security or fraud concern.
2022The card was replaced; the bank has newer card details.
2023Your merchant account can't use the feature this payment asked for.
2024Your account isn't set up to accept this card brand.
2025A merchant setup or connection problem stopped the payment.
2026The bank refused for an invalid merchant ID or unsupported transaction type.
2027The bank had a problem with the amount.
2028Your account has a setup problem (hierarchy).
2029Something is wrong with the card itself.
2030Your account has a terminal setup problem.
2031The bank doesn't support $0 card checks.
2032A surcharge isn't allowed on this card.
2033A communication error with the processor.
2034An error stopped the payment; nothing was charged.
2035The bank approved less than the full amount.
2036The authorization being acted on could not be found.
2037The authorization was already reversed.
2038The bank declined without a specific reason.
2039The authorization code was missing or not found.
2040Your account configuration may be wrong (invalid store).
2041The card needs the cardholder's approval with their bank.
2042Your account configuration may be wrong (invalid client ID).
2043The bank won't allow this payment; don't retry, call the issuer.
2044Declined; the shopper must call their bank.
2045Your merchant number is wrong at the processor.
2046The bank (or PayPal/Venmo) declined the payment.
2047The card was reported lost or stolen; the bank says keep it.
2048The amount sent was zero, unreadable or too large.
2049A SKU value sent with the payment was not valid.
2050Problem with the card or a temporary issue at the bank.
2051The card number doesn't match the payment method type.
2052Level III data was wrong or missing.
2053The card was reported lost or stolen.
2054A reversal or refund amount doesn't match the original.
2055Invalid transaction division number.
2056The amount is above the transaction division limit.
2057The bank or cardholder restricted the card.
2058Your account needs 3D Secure to process this card.
2059PayPal couldn't verify the address for Seller Protection.
2060Both the address and security code checks failed.
2061The transaction data was invalid.
2062The tax amount sent was invalid.
2063Your PayPal account preferences blocked this payment type.
2064Your account isn't set up for this currency.
2065PayPal refunds must happen within 180 days.
2066Your PayPal business account is restricted.
2067The PayPal authorization expired.
2068Your PayPal business account is locked or closed.
2069PayPal blocked a duplicate order ID.
2070The buyer cancelled their pre-approved PayPal payments.
2071The receiving PayPal account isn't set up or confirmed.
2072The PayPal email address is badly formatted.
2073PayPal couldn't validate the transaction.
2074The card or bank inside the buyer's PayPal was declined.
2075The buyer's PayPal account is locked or closed.
2076This buyer can't pay this seller with PayPal.
2077PayPal's risk model refused the transaction.
2078PIN encryption error.
2079Your PayPal merchant account has a configuration error.
2080Invalid credentials.
2081PayPal sent a pending response Braintree doesn't support.
2082PayPal requires buyer and seller in the same country.
2083PayPal needs the buyer's phone number.
2084The buyer must finish their PayPal tax information.
2085Your PayPal fraud settings blocked this buyer.
2086The amount is too large for the buyer's PayPal account.
2087Reference transactions aren't enabled on your PayPal account.
2088Your PayPal account doesn't accept this currency.
2089PayPal API permissions between accounts aren't set up.
2090Your PayPal/Venmo account can't refund more than was settled.
2091Your PayPal account only takes your home currency.
2092The bank account couldn't be verified this way.
2093The PayPal payment method expired or was cancelled.
2094PayPal calls were made out of order.
2095No full refund after a partial PayPal refund.
2096The buyer and seller PayPal accounts are the same.
2097The PayPal authorization is above the allowed limit.
2098Too many PayPal authorizations on one order.
2099The bank needs 3D Secure authentication.
2100Channel-initiated billing isn't enabled for your PayPal account.
2101The bank wants extra credentials, such as inserting the chip.
2102The PIN entered was wrong.
2103Too many wrong PIN attempts.
2104The bank declined the payment offline.
2105Refused: card data invalid for its life cycle (try later).
2106Refused for a policy reason (try later).
2107The card is new and hasn't been activated yet.
2108The card account is closed.
2109-2999A bank refusal in Braintree's catch-all processor declined range.
3000The processor network was unavailable; try again.

Soft vs hard declines

Braintree types every decline as soft or hard. A soft decline is a temporary issue, so retrying the same payment method may succeed. A hard decline needs action first, such as the shopper calling the bank or you contacting Braintree support.

Declines are not gateway rejections. A decline comes from the shopper's bank (or PayPal); a gateway rejection comes from your own Braintree rules such as AVS, CVV or risk thresholds.

Visa and Mastercard retry rules

Visa sorts declines into four categories. Category 1 means the issuer will never approve: do not retry. Categories 2, 3 and 4 allow at most 15 retries in a rolling 30 days. Braintree lists fees of $0.10 per domestic and $0.15 per international retry beyond the threshold.

For Mastercard, Braintree says to retry based on the merchant advice code. Mastercard charges $0.10 for every reattempt beyond 10 in 24 hours on merchant advice codes 03 and 21.

Settlement declines

Codes in the 4000 range are settlement declines: the bank refused after an earlier approval, or a capture or refund failed. They are much rarer than the authorization declines listed here.

How PlatformDTC compares

PlatformDTC does not connect to Braintree. Its checkout runs on Stripe and PayPal, or on a store's own Authorize.Net, Checkout.com, NMI or Airwallex account. Each page below names the matching Stripe or PayPal answer where both describe the same bank response, and what PlatformDTC does with it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a normal Braintree decline rate?
Braintree says an acceptable decline ratio is about 10% of transactions, varying by industry and business model.
Where do I find the Braintree decline code?
In the transaction details in the Braintree Control Panel, and in processor_response_code on the API's Transaction object.
Does Braintree retry declined subscriptions for me?
Braintree offers automated retry logic for subscriptions, with Smart Retries replacing its static Braintree Retry.

Sources

Payments library