Checkout.com · Decline codes
What does Checkout.com 20078 “Blocked at first use” mean?
Checked
Checkout.com 20078 "Blocked at first use" means the payment came from a new or replacement card that has not been properly unblocked by the cardholder. Checkout.com tells the shopper to try a different card or contact the bank. Visa lists it in category 2: once the card is activated, the payment can go through.
- Type
- Soft decline (20xxx)
- Who declined
- The shopper's card issuer
- Retry
- Later. Visa category 2: at most 15 retries in 30 days
- Shopper action
- Activate the card with the bank, then pay again
- Merchant action
- Ask the shopper to activate the card or use another
What PlatformDTC does
Checkout.com 20078 is not in PlatformDTC's reroute table, and PlatformDTC never reroutes a code it has not classified: checkout shows the decline instead of sending the card to a backup processor. A subscription renewal declined with 20078 is never retried: the subscription is held past due and the customer is emailed a link to add a new card.
Why it happens
Banks ship new cards blocked until the cardholder activates them, often by an app, a call, or a first chip-and-PIN purchase.
What the shopper can do
Activate the card as the bank's letter or app says, then try again.
What the store can do
Tell the shopper to activate their new card; a retry after activation usually passes.
For developers
The payment comes back with status Declined, response_code 20078 and a response_summary such as "Blocked at first use" (Checkout.com notes the text can vary by endpoint). Checkout.com's Visa table puts this code in category 2, which it pairs with recommendation code 02 (try again later); read processing.recommendation_code on the response.
Frequently asked questions
- What does first use mean in Checkout.com 20078?
- The card is new or a replacement and is still blocked until the cardholder unblocks it.
- Can 20078 be retried?
- Yes, after activation. Visa category 2 allows retries.
Sources
- API response codes — Checkout.com
- Visa response codes — Checkout.com
- Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
Related
- 20075 — The card is locked after too many wrong PIN attempts.
- 20082 — The card's security data failed the bank's checks.
- 20064 — The amount did not match what the bank expected for the original transaction.
- 20087 — The security code or expiry date entered is wrong.
- 20091 — The shopper's bank could not be reached, so it could not approve the payment.
- 20093 — The bank refused because the payment would break a law or regulation it applies.
- 20096 — A system error stopped the payment. Not the shopper's card.
- 20099 — The bank returned a response Checkout.com could not map to a known code.