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When you’re running a credit or debit card, you may come across decline code 02. When terminals cannot accept a pending payment, they produce credit card decline codes. These codes are messages from payment processors about why the payment could not go through. You can use these codes to either fix the problem or direct the customer to contact their credit card issuer. Read on to find out what credit card declined code 02 means and how to resolve it.
Possible Reasons You’re Receiving Decline Code 02
The credit card decline Code 02 instructs the cardholder to refer to their issuer for a special condition. Similar to Decline Code 01, the financial institution that issued the card is declining the transaction. You should advise the customer to contact their issuing bank for further explanation. Only the issuer knows the real reason why the card can’t go through.
Credit card declined code 02 may appear if the customer has been traveling, if there is unusual activity on the card, or they are making an unusually large purchase. There are a variety of different reasons decline code 02 may appear, but the specific reasoning is not available to the merchant. In order to investigate the reason for the decline, the customer must call the card-issuing bank.
What is a Decline Code?
There are a variety of reasons why a transaction cannot go through. When this happens, a decline code appears on the terminal. The decline code indicates the reason behind the transaction’s rejection. There are a few different parties that can decline a transaction. It may be the payment processor, the payment gateway, or most commonly, the card-issuing bank.
How to Resolve Your Credit Card Decline Code 02
When a transaction is declined, you cannot complete the transaction with that payment method. It is best to remain calm and apologize for the inconvenience to the customer. You can then instruct the customer to try another credit card or other form of payment.
You should also advise the customer to contact their card issuer for further information and to properly restore their card to complete any additional transactions. It is best for the merchant to keep a low voice as to not alert other customers and potentially embarrass the customer receiving the decline code. If they wish to resolve the issue right then and there rather than providing a different form of payment, the merchant can offer to put the transaction on hold while directing the customer to a more private or comfortable area of the store to call their issuing bank.
