Payment errors can occur for various reasons when processing transactions on your Uscreen platform. Understanding these errors and knowing how to resolve them quickly is essential for maintaining a smooth customer experience and steady revenue.
This guide covers common payment issues across all transaction types, troubleshooting steps, and best practices to minimize disruptions for both one-time purchases and recurring subscriptions.
You may find the full list of decline codes of Stripe in their documentation below.
Check Payment Error Details in Stripe
If you are using Stripe, you can find detailed information about payment errors by logging in to your Stripe account.
Quick Check
In Stripe, navigate to Transactions and filter the list by clicking Failed.
This shows a list of all failed transactions, and to quickly learn about the reasons, enable the Decline Reason column.
Detailed View
In Stripe, search for the end-user email address (the same email address associated with their Uscreen account)
Under Customers, click the email address on the search result page
Check the Recent Activity to see the decline reason
Scroll down until you see Events and Logs
Look for the specific event that failed
Click the specific event to expand the JSON response for more details
📝 NOTE: Banks normally return very generic decline codes to protect the security and privacy of their account holders.
That is all of the information that we can provide, as this is all that banks provide. If you have further questions about the reason for the decline, please consult Stripe's support and provide them with the URL to that specific log.
Why Payments Get Declined
When our system submits a payment request to the financial institution, they use an automated system to check whether to process the charge or not. Their systems take into consideration various signals such as:
Account balance
The card information provided
Spending habits
Location of charge vs. location of card origin
And many other factors
Due to these varying factors, a card could be rejected a few minutes after a successful transaction, even if all the credit card information provided is correct.
Payment declines can be grouped into several categories based on their root causes. Here's a comprehensive list of decline codes you might encounter:
Card Information Issues
Invalid account number (14): The card number is incorrect or doesn't exist.
Expired card (54): The card has expired. The customer should use another card.
Incorrect PIN (55): The PIN entered is incorrect.
Invalid CVV (97): The CVV/security code is incorrect.
💡 TIP: Advise the user to recheck and re-enter their payment information.
Insufficient Funds Issues
Insufficient funds (51): The card has insufficient funds to complete the purchase. The customer should use an alternative payment method.
No checking account (52): The card is not linked to a checking account.
No savings account (53): The card is not linked to a savings account.
Exceeds withdrawal limit (65): The transaction exceeds the card's withdrawal limit.
💡 TIP: Inform the user to check their bank account or reach out to their bank.
Fraud Prevention Issues
Pick up card (fraud) (07): The card has been reported as fraudulent.
Lost card, pick up (41): The payment has been declined because the card is reported lost.
Stolen card, pick up (43): The card has been reported as stolen.
Suspected fraud (59): The transaction appears suspicious and has been flagged as potentially fraudulent.
📝 NOTE: Do not tell the user the specific reason, and have them contact their card issuer.
Transaction Restriction Issues
Do not honor (05): The card has been declined for an unknown reason. The customer needs to contact their card issuer.
Transaction not permitted—card (57): The card cannot be used for this type of transaction.
Transaction not permitted—terminal (58): The terminal or payment method is not allowed for this transaction.
Security violation (63): The transaction violates security protocols.
📝 NOTE: These are generic bank responses for a failed transaction, so have the user consult their bank to get specific details.
Processing Issues
Error (06): A general error occurred during processing.
Processing error: An error occurred while processing the card. The payment should be attempted again.
System error (96): A system error occurred during processing.
Issuer or switch unavailable (91): The card issuer's systems are temporarily unavailable.
Unable to route transaction (92): The payment network couldn't route the transaction properly.
💡 TIP: Suggest clearing the cache and cookies, ensuring that the network is stable, using a different browser, or trying again at a later time.
Recurring Payment Issues
Recurring charge stopped at customer request (R0/R1): The customer has requested to stop recurring charges.
ℹ️ INFO: When encountering these decline codes, the best course of action is usually to have the customer contact their bank for specific details, as Uscreen support typically doesn't receive additional information beyond these codes.
The user may also try using a different payment method if the one they are using is constantly getting declined.
Common Payment Error Scenarios
Debit Card Limitation
Some debit cards can be processed, while others cannot. This is completely dependent on the card issuer.
Some debit cards require a PIN in order for payments to be processed. Our checkout workflow is not designed to collect payment via direct debit with a PIN.
We recommend that users subscribe using a non-debit credit card to avoid issues with collecting future subscription fees.
Visa prepaid debit cards must be specifically set up to allow international transactions (in the event your user is in a country other than the country in which your payment provider is hosted) or online transactions, otherwise, the card will be declined when collection of payment is attempted.
Discover is only available for Stripe accounts based in Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States.
💡 TIP: If your users frequently experience issues with debit cards, encourage them to use credit cards instead for more reliable payment processing.
Currency Mismatch
Sometimes, cards originating in one country will be declined by payment processing accounts in a different country.
This is a fraud-preventative measure put into place by banks.
Verify the origin of the end-user's card. If it does not match the country in which your payment processing account is located, please have the end-user contact their card issuer to ask about foreign account processing rules on their card.
3D Secure (3DS) Authentication
3D Secure (3DS) is an additional authentication step that some banks require to confirm a cardholder's identity during online payments.
When 3DS is Triggered: Stripe may automatically prompt 3DS for certain transactions, especially if the customer's bank mandates it or if regulatory standards (e.g., the EU's PSD2) apply.
Impact on Transactions: If a user fails to complete the 3DS verification, the payment will not be processed. For one-time purchases, they'll need to try again. For subscriptions, they may lose access to content.
📝 NOTE: Users from European nations are more likely to encounter 3DS verification requirements due to PSD2 regulations. Ensure your customers understand they may need to complete this step for successful payments.
Double Charge (App and Website)
Sometimes users end up being double-charged for purchasing through in-app plans and your Uscreen storefront.
This often happens when users forget they already have a purchase or subscription.
Marketplaces like Apple App Store and Google Play Store do not send billing information to us directly.
Our apps send this information (roughly) every month for subscriptions.
💡 TIP: If a user reports a double charge, check both their web account and app store purchases to identify the duplicate transaction.
Subscription Payments Issues
When a subscription payment doesn't go through, it can happen for a few reasons. It's commonly due to missing or outdated payment details or other payment errors.
What Causes "On Hold" Status
The "On Hold" status applies specifically to users with active subscriptions when payment issues occur for the renewal of their subscription. This can happen due to:
Failed Payment: A subscription renewal payment was declined by the bank or payment processor.
Missing Payment Details: The subscriber has removed their payment information, or it has expired.
Incomplete 3DS Verification: The subscriber didn't complete the required 3D Secure authentication.
What Happens When an Account is "On Hold"
When a subscription account is placed "On Hold":
In the People page, subscribers will show a status of On Hold
🔗 Learn more about Subscription Status
In the Sales page, related invoices will show as Unpaid
🔗 Learn more about Invoice Status
Members will temporarily be unable to access content until the payment issue is resolved
Upon logging in, members will see a screen prompting them to update their payment information
ℹ️ INFO: All account data, including saved content and preferences, remains intact during the on-hold (grace) period. Once payment is processed, the subscriber regains access to everything.
🔗 Learn more about the On Hold Screen
Automatic Payment Retry Process
When a subscription renewal payment fails, our system will automatically attempt to retry the charge:
The system will make multiple retry attempts over a period of time.
During this time, the subscriber's account will remain On Hold.
The subscriber will receive email notifications about the failed payment.
If the payment is successful during a retry, the subscriber's access will be automatically restored.
💡 TIP: You can monitor the retry status by opening the Unpaid invoice and checking the Invoice History.
Other Specific Error Messages
"Cannot charge a customer that has no active card"
This may happen if a customer tries to update their credit card information but fails to provide the complete card information or tries to submit an empty credit card field.
Our system will try to submit the request to Stripe, however, because the information is inaccurate, a new Stripe instance is created for the customer using the old card details, which may either be invalid or expired.
💡 TIP: This can be resolved by carefully entering the correct credit card information again and clicking the submit button just once.
"Card brand not supported"
This means your account cannot charge this card brand.
📝 NOTE: Please contact Stripe's support directly as this is outside the scope of Uscreen's support.
Best Practices to Prevent Payment Issues
For Store Admins
Monitor Invoice Statuses: Regularly check the Sales tab to identify and address payment issues early.
Use Stripe's Tools: If you're seeing a lot of 'high risk' declines, consider setting up Stripe Radar for adjusting the Radar rules and enhanced fraud protection.
Communicate Clearly: Ensure your users understand payment requirements, especially for international transactions or 3DS verification.
Setting Up Stripe Radar
Stripe Radar is a suite of modern tools to help you fight fraud.
It's fully integrated into your payments flow, and you can start using it without any additional development time; however, there is an additional cost to it.
The add-on is recommended when a majority of users are located in high-risk card fraud countries or when you notice that a large number of transactions are being blocked and marked as high-risk.
More details about how to set it up can be found below.
For Your Customers
Keep Payment Information Updated: Encourage users to regularly update their payment details to prevent transaction failures.
Use Credit Cards When Possible: Some debit cards can be processed, while others cannot. Credit cards generally have higher success rates.
Check Card Restrictions: Some cards have restrictions on international or online transactions. Users should verify these with their bank.
Verify Sufficient Funds: Ensure the card has enough funds to cover the transaction amount.
Check Card Expiration: Make sure the card hasn't expired and the expiration date is entered correctly.
FAQs
Why do I see "Incomplete" Payment Intents in Stripe?
Why do I see "Incomplete" Payment Intents in Stripe?
You may see a number of Incomplete Payment Intents in Stripe. This is expected behavior due to the Google Pay button, which sends a Payment Intent (with the prefix "pi_") to Stripe as a security measure and in preparation for use.
If the customer pays with a credit card or PayPal, for example, the status will remain Incomplete. That just means the Google Pay button wasn't used for the purchase. On the other hand, if the customer completes checkout using Google Pay, the Payment Intent will be switched to a status of Succeeded.
A customer paid via the App Store, but does not have access to the content. What should they do?
A customer paid via the App Store, but does not have access to the content. What should they do?
The customer may need to update the app and restore the purchase. View our article on How to Restore Purchase for detailed instructions on what the customer needs to do to resolve this issue.
What should I do if a customer reports being charged twice?
What should I do if a customer reports being charged twice?
First, check if they have subscriptions through both the website and an app store. If so, they'll need to cancel one of them. If it's a duplicate charge through the same channel, check your Stripe dashboard for the transaction details and process a refund if necessary.