Stripe · Decline codes
What does the Stripe pickup_card decline code mean?
Checked
The Stripe decline code pickup_card means the customer can't use this card for this payment, and Stripe notes it may have been reported lost or stolen. The name comes from in-store payments, where the bank asks the merchant to keep the card. Online, it simply means stop: do not retry the card, and ask for another payment method. The cardholder should contact their bank.
- Type
- Hard decline
- Who declined
- The card's bank
- Retry
- No, never on this card
- Shopper action
- Use another card and contact the bank
- Merchant action
- Ask for a different payment method; review the order if other signals look off
- PlatformDTC renewal
- No retry; held past due with an update-card link
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC never retries pickup_card and never moves it to a backup processor at checkout, where the shopper sees only the generic hint "Your card was declined. Try another card or contact your bank." On renewals, on the fixed schedule or with Smart retry, pickup_card is held past due instead of being retried or cancelled, the card is marked blocked, and the customer gets a signed one-click link to add a new card, re-sent up to 4 times per billing cycle at least 3 days apart.
Why it happens
The bank has flagged the card so that it should not be used at all. Lost and stolen reports are common reasons, but banks also use it for closed or compromised cards.
What the shopper can do
Pay with a different card or a wallet. If the card is yours, call the bank: they can tell you why it was flagged.
What the store can do
Show a plain decline and ask for another payment method. Never schedule retries on this card.
For developers
On Visa, raw codes 04 (pick up card, no fraud) and 07 (pick up card, special condition, fraud account) are Category 1: Visa's rules forbid resubmitting an authorization for the same payment credential. Remove the stored payment method from any retry schedule.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to keep the card for pickup_card?
- Only in a physical store would a bank ask that. For an online order it means the card must not be charged again.
- Can I retry a pickup_card decline tomorrow?
- No. The card is flagged and will keep failing; on Visa, retrying Category 1 codes breaks the network rules.
Sources
Related
- lost_card — The card has been reported lost. It can't be used; the shopper needs another card.
- stolen_card — The card has been reported stolen. It can't be used again.
- restricted_card — The card can't be used for this payment; it may have been reported lost or stolen.
- fraudulent — Stripe's fraud checks suspected the payment was fraudulent and blocked it.
- pin_try_exceeded — Too many wrong PIN attempts; the customer must use another card or method.
- processing_error — An error occurred while processing the card. Usually temporary.
- reenter_transaction — The bank couldn't process the payment for an unknown reason; try it again.
- revocation_of_all_authorizations — The bank declined; typically the cardholder has stopped all future payments.