Can I retry an expired card on Braintree?

No. The card itself is past its date. Visa category 3 counts these retries toward fees; get a new card instead.

The shopper says the card is new. Why 2004?

They may have typed the old card's date, or the bank reissued the card with a new date and number.

Braintree · Decline codes

What does Braintree 2004 “Expired Card” mean?

Checked October 31, 2026

Braintree 2004 “Expired Card” means the card's expiry date has passed, so the bank will not approve it. It is a hard decline: retrying the same details will fail. The shopper needs to pay with a current card, and a subscriber needs to update the saved card. Braintree maps it to Visa category 3, where retries count toward a data-quality fee.

Type: Hard decline
Who declined: The shopper's bank
Retry: No, not with the same expiry date. Visa category 3: max 15 tries in 30 days, but a new card is needed
Shopper action: Use a current card
Merchant action: Ask the customer for updated card details

What PlatformDTC does

PlatformDTC does not connect to Braintree. The same answer on its Stripe checkout is expired_card: PlatformDTC never retries it, holds the renewal and emails the subscriber that the card has expired with a one-click link to update the payment method.

Why it happens

Every card stops working after the month printed on it. Saved cards in subscriptions are the usual victims, because the shopper got a new card and never updated the store.

What the shopper can do

Check the date on the card and enter a current card. If the card was replaced, use the new one.

What the store can do

Send the customer a link to update the card. A card account updater service, where your processor supports it, can also refresh expired saved cards automatically.

For developers

Braintree returns processor_response_code 2004 with processor_response_text “Expired Card” and processor_response_type “hard_declined” on the Transaction object. Braintree maps it to Visa category 3 (issuer cannot approve with these details): at most 15 retries in 30 days.

Frequently asked questions

Can I retry an expired card on Braintree?: No. The card itself is past its date. Visa category 3 counts these retries toward fees; get a new card instead.
The shopper says the card is new. Why 2004?: They may have typed the old card's date, or the bank reissued the card with a new date and number.

Sources

Declines: authorization decline codes — Braintree (PayPal)
Transaction response object — Braintree (PayPal)
Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
Decline codes — Stripe