Checkout.com · Decline codes
What does Checkout.com 20096 “System malfunction” mean?
Checked
Checkout.com 20096 "System malfunction" means the payment failed because of a technical fault somewhere in the chain. Checkout.com's advice is to try again with the same card or use a different card. Visa lists it in category 2, issuer cannot approve at this time, so a later attempt usually goes through.
- Type
- Soft decline (20xxx), technical
- Who declined
- Nobody: a system failed
- Retry
- Later. Visa category 2: at most 15 retries in 30 days
- Shopper action
- Try again with the same card, or use another
- Merchant action
- Allow a retry; contact Checkout.com if it persists
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC classifies Checkout.com 20096 as a decline worth a second processor. Stores that chose PayPal card payments as their backup see the shopper offered PayPal card fields right after the refusal, with the same card-testing and block-rule checks applied before PayPal is called. With Smart retry on, a subscription renewal declined with 20096 is retried 2, 5 and 8 days after the first decline.
Why it happens
A system in the network, the issuer, or the processing chain had an error while handling the payment.
What the shopper can do
Pay again in a moment, or with another card.
What the store can do
Retry once. If you see a run of 20096 across many shoppers, check Checkout.com's status and contact support.
For developers
The payment comes back with status Declined, response_code 20096 and a response_summary such as "System malfunction" (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
- Is 20096 my store's fault?
- Not usually. It is a system fault in the payment chain.
- Can Checkout.com 20096 be retried?
- Yes. Checkout.com suggests trying again, and Visa allows category 2 retries.
Sources
- API response codes — Checkout.com
- Visa response codes — Checkout.com
- Mapping to Visa system integrity fee categories — Adyen
Related
- 20099 — The bank returned a response Checkout.com could not map to a known code.
- 20091 — The shopper's bank could not be reached, so it could not approve the payment.
- 20068 — The bank did not answer in time, so the payment failed.
- 2005C — The bank blocks this kind of transaction on the card.
- 2009G — The cardholder has blocked payments like this on their own card.
- 200N7 — The security code (CVV) entered does not match the card.
- 200P1 — The card hit its daily spending limit.
- 200P9 — The amount is above a limit on the card; a smaller amount could pass.