Checkout.com · Decline codes
What does Checkout.com 20046 “Bank decline” mean?
Checked
Checkout.com 20046 "Bank decline" is a plain refusal by the shopper's bank. Checkout.com tells the shopper to try a different card or contact the bank, and points merchants to recommendation codes for when to retry. It is a soft decline in Visa's generic category 4, so the bank may approve a later attempt.
- Type
- Soft decline (20xxx)
- Who declined
- The shopper's card issuer
- Retry
- Possibly. Visa category 4 (generic): at most 15 retries in 30 days
- Shopper action
- Use another card or contact the bank
- Merchant action
- Offer another payment method
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC can run a store's own Checkout.com account at checkout and reads 20046 as a refusal another processor may approve. If the store picked PayPal card payments as its backup, the shopper is offered PayPal card fields on the spot; the card-testing guard and the store's block rules still run first. A subscription renewal declined with 20046 gets one more try 48 to 72 hours later with Smart retry on; if the bank refuses again, the customer is emailed a link to add a new card.
Why it happens
The issuer refused for its own reasons, such as risk scoring or account status, and did not return a more specific code.
What the shopper can do
Pay with another card or PayPal, or ask the bank why the card was refused.
What the store can do
Read the recommendation code on the response before any retry, and keep retries well inside Visa's 15 in 30 days.
For developers
The payment comes back with status Declined, response_code 20046 and a response_summary such as "Bank decline" (Checkout.com notes the text can vary by endpoint). Checkout.com's Visa table puts this code in category 4, which it pairs with recommendation code 02 (try again later); read processing.recommendation_code on the response.
Frequently asked questions
- How is 20046 different from 20005?
- Both are unexplained bank refusals. Checkout.com lists them separately, and both point to recommendation codes for retry advice.
- Should I retry Checkout.com 20046 automatically?
- Only if the recommendation code says try again later (02). If it says 03, do not try again.
Sources
- API response codes — Checkout.com
- Visa response codes — Checkout.com
- Recommendation codes — Checkout.com
- Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
Related
- 20019 — The bank could not process it this time and asks for the payment to be sent again.
- 20005 — The bank declined without giving a reason. The most common generic refusal.
- 20003 — The payment failed for a technical reason on the merchant or acquirer side, not because of the card.
- 20051 — The card does not have enough available balance or credit for this amount.
- 20054 — The card's expiry date has passed. Only a new card or updated date can work.
- 20057 — The card is not allowed to make this kind of payment. Visa says never retry it.
- 20059 — The bank suspects the payment is fraudulent and refused it.
- 20061 — The card's spending limit for a period was reached.