Braintree · Decline codes
What does Braintree 2038 “Processor Declined” mean?
Checked
Braintree 2038 “Processor Declined” means the shopper's bank is unwilling to accept the payment, and the reasons vary. It is a soft decline. The shopper should contact the bank or pay another way. Braintree maps it to Visa codes in category 2 and category 3; in both cases keep retries to 15 or fewer in 30 days.
- Type
- Soft decline
- Who declined
- The shopper's bank
- Retry
- Yes, later. Visa category 2 or 3: at most 15 retries in 30 days
- Shopper action
- Call the bank or use another card
- Merchant action
- Offer another method; space out retries
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC does not connect to Braintree. The closest Stripe answer is generic_decline, which PlatformDTC retries once on renewals after 48–72 hours before asking for a new card; at checkout it can offer PayPal card fields if the store set that backup.
Why it happens
Braintree groups several issuer answers under this text. The bank does not share which one applied.
What the shopper can do
Ask the bank why it declined, or use another card or PayPal.
What the store can do
Offer PayPal or another card. If you retry subscriptions yourself, spread attempts over days and respect Visa's 15-in-30 limit.
For developers
Braintree returns processor_response_code 2038 with processor_response_text “Processor Declined” 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. Braintree notes 2038 also covers category 3 responses.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does Braintree map 2038 to two Visa categories?
- 2038 covers Visa responses from category 2 and category 3. Braintree recommends limiting retries to 15 over 30 days either way.
- What is the difference between 2038 and 2000?
- Both are vague bank refusals. 2000 is Do Not Honor (Visa category 4); 2038 maps to categories 2 and 3.
Sources
- Declines: authorization decline codes — Braintree (PayPal)
- Transaction response object — Braintree (PayPal)
- Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
- Decline codes — Stripe
Related
- 2000 — The bank refused the payment without giving a reason (Do Not Honor).
- 2046 — The bank (or PayPal/Venmo) declined the payment.
- 2109-2999 — A bank refusal in Braintree's catch-all processor declined range.
- 2039 — The authorization code was missing or not found.
- 2040 — Your account configuration may be wrong (invalid store).
- 2041 — The card needs the cardholder's approval with their bank.
- 2042 — Your account configuration may be wrong (invalid client ID).
- 2043 — The bank won't allow this payment; don't retry, call the issuer.