Did the customer block my store?

9G says the cardholder set a block. It may be on your store, on online purchases or on recurring payments.

Should I retry a 9G decline?

Not repeatedly. Contact the customer instead.

Card issuer response codes (ISO 8583) · Decline codes

What does card decline code 9G mean?

Checked October 31, 2026

Code 9G is a Visa issuer response code meaning "blocked by cardholder/contact cardholder". The cardholder has set a block on the card, for example on a merchant, a type of purchase or recurring payments, and the bank declined because of it. Visa lists 9G in Category 2, allowing up to 20 reattempts in 30 days, but nothing changes until the cardholder removes the block. Contact the customer.

Type: Soft decline (cardholder block)
Who declined: The bank, on the cardholder's instruction
Visa category: Category 2 (issuer cannot approve at this time): up to 20 reattempts in 30 days
Retry: Only after the cardholder lifts the block
Shopper action: Remove the block in the banking app, or use another card
Merchant action: Contact the customer; don't keep retrying
PlatformDTC renewal (Smart retry): No rule for this raw code; the processor's own code decides

What PlatformDTC does

PlatformDTC has no rule for a raw 9G, so Stripe's code decides. With Smart retry on, retries stay inside the per-card Visa cap of 20 declines in 30 days, and when retries end the subscription is held past due rather than cancelled, so a customer who lifts the block can pay from the update-card link.

Why it happens

Banking apps let cardholders block merchants, categories or recurring payments. A 9G often means the customer blocked the store on purpose, sometimes instead of cancelling.

What the store can do

Reach out and ask whether they want to keep the subscription. Make cancelling easy: a blocked charge is often a cancellation that didn't find the cancel button.

For developers

On Stripe the raw issuer code arrives in charge.outcome.network_decline_code (here "9G"), next to Stripe's own decline_code. Read it together with the card brand: the same two characters can mean different things on Visa and Mastercard. 9G is in Visa's Category 2 list. Compare R0, R1 and R3, which are stop-payment orders and are Category 1.

Frequently asked questions

Did the customer block my store?: 9G says the cardholder set a block. It may be on your store, on online purchases or on recurring payments.
Should I retry a 9G decline?: Not repeatedly. Contact the customer instead.