Payment Error Codes

When a transaction fails, the Error code link in the dashboard’s transaction details jumps to the matching entry here.

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Where failures happen

Every failure code maps to a stage of the payment journey. The category boxes below link to the matching sections on this page. For subscription renewals the customer isn’t present — the saved payment method is charged automatically:

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Customer needs to fix input

Your customer needs to correct something on the checkout (card details, CVV, address, OTP, etc.) and retry.

Code	Meaning	Why it failed	Recommended action
CARD_ABNORMAL_CARDNUMBER	Invalid card number	Cause: The card number entered is invalid or does not exist	Ask the customer to re-enter it.
CARD_ABNORMAL_NOTACTIVATED	Card not yet activated	Cause: The customer’s card hasn’t been activated	Ask them to activate it with their bank.
CARD_ABNORMAL_NOTACTIVATED_ACCOUNT	Bank account not activated	Cause: The customer’s bank account is inactive	Ask them to contact their bank.
CARD_AMOUNTOVERLIMIT	Exceeds card transaction limit	Cause: Amount exceeds the card’s per-transaction or daily limit	Customer may split the charge or use another card.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED	Card details verification failed	Cause: Couldn’t initiate bank verification with the card details	Ask the customer to recheck number, expiry, and CVV.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_ADDRESS	Billing address mismatch	Cause: The billing address doesn’t match the issuer’s records	Ask the customer to correct it.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_CVV2	Incorrect CVV	Cause: The card’s security code is wrong	Ask the customer to re-enter it.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_NEED_ADDITIONAL_AUTH	Additional verification required	Cause: The bank requires extra verification	The customer should contact their bank or complete verification on retry.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_VERIFICATIONDATA	Verification data mismatch	Cause: Information provided during verification didn’t match the issuer’s records	Ask the customer to retry.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_VERIFICATIONDATA	3-D Secure data mismatch	Cause: Information provided during 3-D Secure didn’t match the issuer’s records	Ask the customer to retry.
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED_VERIFICATIONDATA	One-time code incorrect	Cause: The customer’s one-time verification code from the bank was wrong	Ask them to request a new code and retry.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_ISSUER_CONTACT	Issuer requires customer contact	Cause: The customer’s bank wants them to call to verify or lift a restriction before retrying	Ask the customer to contact their bank.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_ISSUER_URGENT	Bank flagged abnormality	Cause: The customer’s bank flagged something and wants them to call immediately	Ask the customer to contact their bank right away.
CARD_OVERLIMIT	Exceeds bank limit	Cause: Amount exceeds the customer’s credit limit or per-transaction cap	Suggest splitting the charge or using another card.
CARD_PIN_INVALID	PIN or CVV incorrect	Cause: The PIN or CVV entered was wrong	Ask the customer to re-verify.
EXCEED_DAILY_LIMIT	Daily limit reached	Cause: The customer’s daily spending hit the bank’s cap	Suggest retrying tomorrow or using another card.
INITIATE_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED	Verification could not start	Cause: Couldn’t start bank verification with this card number	Ask the customer to recheck the card number.
USER_CPF_INVALID	Brazilian Tax ID (CPF) invalid	Cause: The Brazilian Tax ID the customer entered is malformed or doesn’t exist	Ask them to correct it.
CREATE_ORDER_EXPIRED_TOKEN	Checkout page expired	Cause: The customer took too long on the checkout page	Ask them to start a new checkout.

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Customer needs a new payment method

This card can’t be used. Ask the customer to use a different card or payment method.

Code	Meaning	Why it failed	Recommended action
CARD_ABNORMAL	Card in abnormal status	Cause: The customer’s card has been reported lost or frozen	Ask them to use another payment method.
CARD_ABNORMAL_CLOSED	Bank account closed	Cause: The customer’s bank account is closed	Ask them to use another payment method.
CARD_ABNORMAL_CLOSED_FROMACCOUNT	Source account closed	Cause: The funding account linked to the customer’s card is closed	Ask them to use another method.
CARD_ABNORMAL_EXPIRED	Card expired	Cause: The customer’s card has expired	Ask them to update it or use a different card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_FRAUD	Issuer flagged as fraud	Cause: The customer’s bank blocked this on fraud suspicion	Ask them to contact the bank or use another card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_ISSUER	Issuer not registered	Cause: The customer’s bank isn’t registered with the card network	Ask them to use a different card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_LOST	Card reported lost	Cause: The customer’s card was reported lost	Ask them to use another payment method.
CARD_ABNORMAL_NOCREDIT	No linked credit account	Cause: Couldn’t find a credit account tied to the customer’s card	Ask them to verify or use another card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_STOLEN	Card reported stolen	Cause: The customer’s card has been reported lost or stolen	Ask them to use another payment method.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_BLOCK	Bank account blocked	Cause: The customer’s bank account is frozen	Ask them to use another method or contact the bank.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_FRAUD	Bank blocked for fraud	Cause: The customer’s bank flagged this transaction as fraud and blocked it	Ask them to use another method.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_LAW	Account restricted by law	Cause: The customer’s account is legally restricted from transactions	Ask them to use another method.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_REVOKEALL_ACCOUNT	Account access revoked	Cause: The customer’s account access has been fully revoked	Ask them to use another method.
CARD_INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE	Insufficient funds	Cause: The customer’s card doesn’t have enough funds	Ask them to top up or use another card.
CARD_INVALID_TRANSACTION	Card type not supported	Cause: The customer’s card doesn’t support this transaction type	Ask them to use a different card.
CARD_PAYMENT_RETRY_LIMIT	Retry limit reached	Cause: Too many failed attempts on this card; the network has blocked further retries	Ask the customer to use a different card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_NOCHECKING	Card couldn’t be verified	Cause: The issuer flagged the customer’s card as abnormal and couldn’t verify it	Ask them to use another card.
CARD_ABNORMAL_RESTRICTED	Card restricted in this region	Cause: The customer’s card is restricted or locked in this region	Ask them to use another method.
CARD_NOTALLOWED_TXN	Transaction type not allowed	Cause: The issuer prohibits this transaction type on this card (e.g. cross-border)	Ask the customer to use a different card.
PAYMENT_REJECTION	Blocked by Waffo risk	Cause: This transaction was blocked by Waffo’s risk rules	Contact support if you think this is wrong.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_REJECTION	Payment rejected	Cause: The payment service rejected this transaction on its own risk rules	Ask the customer to use another method.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_REJECTION	Subscription charge rejected	Cause: The saved payment method for this subscription has not been verified	Ask the customer to verify it in the customer portal.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_REJECTION	Subscription charge failed: card expired	Cause: The card on file for this subscription has expired	Ask the customer to update it in the customer portal.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_REJECTION	Invalid mobile number	Cause: The customer’s mobile number format is invalid	Ask them to correct it.
CREATE_ORDER_FAILED	Payment service under maintenance	Cause: The payment service is undergoing maintenance	Ask the customer to retry later.
CREATE_ORDER_FAILED	Payment service declined	Cause: The payment service rejected this transaction on its own risk rules	Ask the customer to use another method.

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Transient issues — retry later

A temporary glitch in the bank, card network, or payment service. The customer can usually retry in a few minutes.

Code	Meaning	Why it failed	Recommended action
CARD_AUTHENTICATION_ERROR	Verification protocol error	Cause: A protocol or communication issue occurred during verification	Ask the customer to retry shortly.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_REVOKE_SINGLE	Bank revoked this transaction	Cause: The customer’s bank revoked this specific authorization	Ask them to retry.
CARD_BANK_REJECT_SECURITY	Blocked by bank security	Cause: The customer’s bank blocked this for security	Ask them to retry later or contact the bank.
CARD_COUNTOVERLIMIT	Too many attempts	Cause: The customer’s card has hit a frequency limit	Ask them to retry later.
ISSUE_BANK_DECLINE	Issuer declined (no reason)	Cause: The customer’s bank declined without specifying why	Ask them to retry later.
RISK_TRANSACTION_LIMIT	Waffo risk control triggered	Cause: Waffo’s amount or velocity rules blocked this transaction	Ask the customer to retry later or use another card.
TIMEOUT_CHANNEL_CLOSE	Customer didn’t complete the payment in the payment channel in time	Cause: The customer confirmed the payment at checkout and was handed off to the payment channel, but never finished paying there (e.g. the QR code was not scanned or confirmed). The transaction closed automatically when the payment window expired	This is not a platform or checkout failure. If the customer still wants to purchase, have them start a new payment.
CARD_BANK_REJECT	Bank declined	Cause: The customer’s bank declined this without a specific reason	Ask them to retry later.
CARD_GENERAL_ERROR	Bank generic error	Cause: The bank returned a non-specific error	Ask the customer to retry or switch methods.
CARD_ORG_OTHER_ERROR	Card network error	Cause: The card network (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) returned an internal error	Ask the customer to retry.
CARD_SYSTEMERROR	Bank temporarily down	Cause: The customer’s bank is having transient issues	Ask them to retry shortly.
CREATE_ORDER_ERROR	Payment initiation timed out	Cause: Network timeout when creating the transaction	Ask the customer to retry.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_ERROR	Payment service communication error	Cause: An unexpected error occurred communicating with the payment service	Ask the customer to retry.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_ERROR	Payment service network error	Cause: The network connection to the payment service failed	Ask the customer to retry.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_ERROR	Payment service communication error	Cause: An unexpected error occurred communicating with the payment service	Ask the customer to retry.
PAYMENT_CHANNEL_ERROR	Unexpected payment service response	Cause: The payment service returned an unparseable response	Ask the customer to retry.
PAYMENT_FAILED	Payment failed	Cause: See the transaction detail for the specific reason	Contact support if unclear.
PAYMENT_FAILED	Customer abandoned checkout	Cause: The customer left the checkout page without finishing	Reach out if you want to recover the sale.
PAYMENT_FAILED	Payment service notification failed	Cause: The payment may have succeeded but the notification didn’t arrive	Check the order status again later.
PAYMENT_FAILED	Payment service error	Cause: The payment service didn’t give specific details	Ask the customer to retry or switch methods.
SYSTEM_ERROR	Internal system error	Cause: A transient internal error in Waffo	Ask the customer to retry; contact support if persistent.
UNKNOWN_ERROR	Unknown error	Cause: An undefined exception occurred	Ask the customer to retry; contact support if it keeps happening.
UNSPECIFIED_PAYMENT_FAILURE	Payment failed (no specific reason)	Cause: The bank or payment service didn’t give a specific reason	Ask the customer to try another method.

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Terminal — no action available

The payment never went through and the transaction is closed. No remediation is possible; you can still reach out to the customer if you want to recover the sale.

Code	Meaning	Why it failed	Recommended action
CANCEL_CLOSE	Order closed	Cause: This order was closed	No action needed.
TIMEOUT_CLOSE	Customer payment timeout	Cause: The customer didn’t pay in time and the order was closed	Send a new payment link if needed.
USER_CANCEL_CLOSE	Customer canceled	Cause: The customer canceled this order	Reach out if you want to recover the sale.
CARD_CARDHOLDER_REJECT	Customer declined at bank	Cause: The customer canceled the payment at their bank	Reach out if you want to recover the sale.
MERCHANT_ORDER_TIMEOUT	Order expired	Cause: The order’s expiration passed without payment and was auto-closed	Send a new payment link if needed.

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Other

Bank-side duplicate detection.

Code	Meaning	Why it failed	Recommended action
CARD_BANK_REJECT_DUPLICATE	Duplicate transaction	Cause: The bank detected this as a duplicate and blocked it to prevent double-charging	The customer should contact the bank if it isn’t.