Stripe · Decline codes
What does the Stripe processing_error decline code mean?
Checked
The Stripe decline code processing_error means an error occurred while processing the card. It points to a technical failure along the way rather than the bank rejecting the shopper. Stripe's advice is to ask the customer to attempt the payment again, and only if it still fails should they contact their card issuer. A second attempt a little later usually succeeds.
- Type
- Soft decline (technical)
- Who declined
- No clear refusal: processing failed
- Retry
- Yes
- Shopper action
- Try again; if it repeats, use another card or call the bank
- Merchant action
- Invite a retry; watch for a pattern across many shoppers
- PlatformDTC renewal
- Retried 2, 5 and 8 days after the first decline (Smart retry)
What PlatformDTC does
At checkout PlatformDTC adds its own hint to processing_error, "We hit a temporary processing error. Please try again.", and, where the store has PayPal card payments as its backup, offers the shopper a second try there. With Smart retry on, a renewal that fails with processing_error is retried 2, 5 and 8 days after the first decline, at most 4 attempts.
Why it happens
A system between the store and the card's bank failed while handling the payment: a timeout, a malfunction or a message that could not be completed. The card itself is often fine.
What the shopper can do
Wait a moment and pay again. If it fails a second time, try a different card or wallet, or ask your bank whether there is a problem with the card.
What the store can do
Let the shopper retry without re-entering everything. If many customers hit processing_error at once, it is likely a wider outage; check your processor's status page.
For developers
decline_code = processing_error. Check charge.outcome.network_decline_code: on Visa, 96 means system malfunction, a Category 2 code Visa allows to be reattempted up to 20 times in 30 days. Use an idempotency key on retries so a slow first attempt can't create a double charge.
Frequently asked questions
- Is processing_error caused by the shopper?
- Usually not. It indicates a technical problem while processing the card. A second attempt often works.
- How soon can I retry processing_error?
- A shopper can try again straight away. For subscriptions, spacing retries over a few days works better than repeating within minutes.
Sources
Related
- issuer_not_available — The card's bank could not be reached, so the payment was never authorized.
- reenter_transaction — The bank couldn't process the payment for an unknown reason; try it again.
- try_again_later — Deprecated code: the bank declined for an unknown reason; try again later.
- card_declined — Stripe's error code for any declined card; the decline_code says why.
- restricted_card — The card can't be used for this payment; it may have been reported lost or stolen.
- revocation_of_all_authorizations — The bank declined; typically the cardholder has stopped all future payments.
- revocation_of_authorization — The bank declined; typically the cardholder revoked payments to this store.
- security_violation — The bank declined for a reason it did not share; often a security rule.