Stripe · Decline codes
What does the Stripe stolen_card decline code mean?
Checked
The Stripe decline code stolen_card means the payment was declined because the card has been reported stolen. Stripe says not to report this detail to the customer: present it as a generic decline instead. The card is blocked for good, so never retry it. Treat the order with caution, because the person paying may not be the cardholder, and ask for another payment method.
- Type
- Hard decline, fraud signal
- Who declined
- The card's bank
- Retry
- No, never
- Shopper action
- Use a different payment method
- Merchant action
- Show a plain decline; check other orders from the same shopper
- PlatformDTC renewal
- No retry; held past due with an update-card link
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC treats stolen_card as a fraud stop at checkout: it is never retried and never moved to a backup processor. 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, stolen_card gets no automatic retry; the subscription is held past due and the customer is asked, through a one-click link, to add a different card.
Why it happens
The cardholder reported the card stolen and the bank blocked it. A payment attempt afterwards can come from whoever has the card or its number.
What the shopper can do
Pay with a different card or method. If the card was yours, contact your bank about a replacement.
What the store can do
Show "Your card was declined" and nothing more. Look at other orders from the same email, address or device before shipping anything.
For developers
Present decline_code = stolen_card as generic_decline. If a Visa charge's network_decline_code is 43 (stolen card, pick up), that is Category 1: Visa's rules forbid resubmitting the same payment credential. Cancel any scheduled retries.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I tell the shopper the card was reported stolen?
- No. Stripe recommends showing it the same way as a generic decline.
- Is a stolen_card attempt a chargeback risk?
- The declined payment itself cannot be charged back, since no money moved. But other orders from the same person deserve a closer look.
Sources
Related
- lost_card — The card has been reported lost. It can't be used; the shopper needs another card.
- fraudulent — Stripe's fraud checks suspected the payment was fraudulent and blocked it.
- pickup_card — The card can't be used for this payment; it may have been reported lost or stolen.
- merchant_blacklist — The payment matched an entry on the store's own Stripe block list.
- generic_decline — Declined for an unknown reason, or blocked by Stripe Radar or Adaptive Acceptance.
- stop_payment_order — The bank declined; the code's name points to a stop-payment order on the card.
- testmode_decline — A Stripe test card number was used in a real payment.
- transaction_not_allowed — The bank declined; the card does not allow this type of transaction.