Stripe · Decline codes
What does the Stripe stop_payment_order decline code mean?
Checked
The Stripe decline code stop_payment_order is listed by Stripe as a decline for an unknown reason, with the customer told to contact their card issuer. Its name refers to a stop-payment order, an instruction from the cardholder to their bank to block payments, often to one merchant or subscription. Don't retry; contact the customer to confirm whether they still want to buy.
- Type
- Hard decline
- Who declined
- The card's bank
- Retry
- No
- Shopper action
- Remove the stop with the bank, or pay another way
- Merchant action
- Stop charging; confirm with the customer
- PlatformDTC renewal
- No retry; held past due with an update-card link
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC never retries stop_payment_order or sends it to a backup processor. On renewals, on the fixed schedule or with Smart retry, it stops immediately: the subscription is held past due, not cancelled, and the customer gets a signed one-click link to pay with another card, re-sent at most 4 times per billing cycle, at least 3 days apart.
Why it happens
Stripe does not give a reason, but a stop-payment order is usually placed by the cardholder, for example to end a subscription they could not cancel or no longer recognise.
What the shopper can do
If you placed the stop by mistake, ask your bank to remove it, or use a different card.
What the store can do
Make cancelling easy and visible: customers who can cancel with the store rarely go to their bank. Contact this customer before any further charge.
For developers
Visa's raw stop codes are R0 (stop this payment), R1 (stop all future payments) and R3 (stop all merchants), all Category 1 under Visa's rules: never resubmit for the same payment credential. Mastercard uses Merchant Advice Code 21 for "Stop recurring payment".
Frequently asked questions
- Can I charge a different amount after stop_payment_order?
- No. Changing the charge does not get around the stop, and Visa's rules forbid reattempting after its stop-payment codes.
- What should I tell the customer?
- Ask whether they want to continue. If so, they can update their card or have the bank lift the stop.
Sources
- Stripe decline codes — Stripe
- Network decline codes — Stripe
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (24 October 2026), Table 7-2 — Visa
- Merchant Advice Codes — Braintree (PayPal)
Related
- revocation_of_authorization — The bank declined; typically the cardholder revoked payments to this store.
- revocation_of_all_authorizations — The bank declined; typically the cardholder has stopped all future payments.
- do_not_try_again — Deprecated code: declined for an unknown reason; don't charge this card again.
- transaction_not_allowed — The bank declined; the card does not allow this type of transaction.
- testmode_decline — A Stripe test card number was used in a real payment.
- try_again_later — Deprecated code: the bank declined for an unknown reason; try again later.
- withdrawal_count_limit_exceeded — The customer has gone over the balance or credit limit available on the card.
- mobile_device_authentication_required — The payment needs authentication; the customer should tap their phone again.