Braintree · Decline codes
What does Braintree 2003 “Cardholder's Activity Limit Exceeded” mean?
Checked
Braintree 2003 “Cardholder's Activity Limit Exceeded” means the account went over an activity limit set on the card, such as how often or how much it may be used. It is a soft decline. The shopper can ask the bank to change the limit or pay another way. Braintree maps it to Visa category 2, so retries are capped at 15 in 30 days.
- Type
- Soft decline
- Who declined
- The shopper's bank
- Retry
- Yes, later. Visa category 2: at most 15 retries in 30 days
- Shopper action
- Ask the bank to change the limit or use another card
- Merchant action
- Offer another method; retry after a few days
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC does not connect to Braintree. Activity-limit refusals on its Stripe checkout come back as card_velocity_exceeded (or Visa 65 for frequency), which PlatformDTC treats as temporary: the shopper sees a plain hint, and renewals retry at +2, +5 and +8 days.
Why it happens
Issuers limit the number or value of transactions in a period. Several orders in a row, a burst of online purchases or a new card with low limits can all trigger it.
What the shopper can do
Wait for the limit to reset or ask the bank to raise it, then try again, or pay with another card.
What the store can do
Ask the shopper to try another card or PayPal. Avoid retrying the same card several times in a row: each attempt adds to the activity count the bank is already refusing.
For developers
Braintree returns processor_response_code 2003 with processor_response_text “Cardholder's Activity Limit Exceeded” and processor_response_type “soft_declined” on the Transaction object. Braintree maps it to Visa category 2 (issuer cannot approve at this time): at most 15 retries in 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an activity limit on a card?
- A cap the bank sets on how many transactions, or how much value, a card can process in a period. Braintree 2003 means that cap was reached.
- Will Braintree 2003 clear on its own?
- Often, once the period resets. A later retry is allowed under Visa category 2.
Sources
- Declines: authorization decline codes — Braintree (PayPal)
- Transaction response object — Braintree (PayPal)
- Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
- Decline codes — Stripe
Related
- 2002 — The charge is bigger than the account's withdrawal limit.
- 2001 — The card did not have enough money or credit for this amount.
- 2004 — The card has expired.
- 2005 — The card number is wrong or not a valid card.
- 2006 — The expiry date entered is wrong.
- 2007 — The card number is not on file at the bank (no account).
- 2008 — The card number has the wrong number of digits.
- 2009 — The card number does not match any card-issuing bank.