Understanding and Troubleshooting Declined Virtual Card Transactions

Encountering a declined virtual card transaction can be frustrating, but understanding the reasons behind it can help you troubleshoot effectively. In this guide, we will explore the common causes of declined transactions and provide solutions to resolve these issues promptly.

Declined by Merchant

A transaction may be declined by the merchant for various reasons, usually related to incorrect card information. Here’s what you need to know:

Scenario # 1: Incorrect Card Information
- Cause: Mistakes in entering the card number, billing address, or expiration date.
- Solution: Re-enter the card details and double-check that all information is accurate.

In Zip, the transaction attempt will appear on your virtual card, with a Failed Payment status. An error message similar to the following will appear: "Card couldn't be verified. Check all card information is accurate and attempt the purchase."

In this case, please follow these steps to ensure that the entered card information is correct:

1. Go to the details page for the specific virtual card.

2. Try the purchase again. When you re-enter your card details into the merchant payment portal, please verify that the following information is correct and matches the information on the virtual card's details page:

   • Billing address

   • Cardholder name

   • Card number

   • Expiration date

   • CVV

Scenario #2: Merchant Fraud Prevention
- Cause: Merchants may decline transactions based on their fraud prevention algorithms.
- Solution: Replacing your card with a new number often resolves this issue.

When this scenario happens, you will see an error message directly on the credit card processing page of the merchant, but no transaction will appear on Zip. This indicates that the merchant did not attempt to process the transaction, but directly rejected the attempted charge.

To replace your card with a new card number, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the virtual card's detail page in Zip, and click the triple dot button to the right of the card's status indicator in the page header.

2. Choose Replace card from the menu. The new card will be linked to the same request, transactions, and default coding values (where applicable).

Declined by Zip

When Zip instructs a merchant to decline a transaction, it is due to controls set by your organization's administrators. Here is how to address issues related to transactions declined by Zip:

Scenario #3: Spending Limit or Category Restrictions
- Cause: The amount of attempted transaction exceeds the remaining amount within the card’s spending limit, or the transaction falls within a blocked category.
- Solution: Contact your administrators to update the card’s spending limit or remove the category restriction, allowing the transaction to proceed.

In Zip, you will see this transaction on your virtual card, with a Failed Payment status. An error message similar to the following will appear: "Declined due to your card's spending limit or category controls"

When you see this message, please take the following steps:

1. Go to the details page for the specific virtual card.

2. Identify the Spending limit information found in the left-hand side panel, and compare that amount to the All-time spend information.

   • You can compare this information to the attempted transaction, and calculate to see if there is still additional spending budget for the attempted transaction.

   • To request additional budget, please reach out to your administrators.

3. If there appears to be sufficient Spending limit for the transaction, the transaction decline was likely due to a category or merchant control by your administrators. Please reach out to your administrators for additional information.

 

 

Scenario #4: Card is Locked
- Cause: The attempted transaction involves a virtual card that has been locked.
- Solution: Reach out to your administrators to unlock the card, enabling successful transactions.

In Zip, you will see this transaction on your virtual card, with a Failed Payment status. An error message similar to the following will appear: "Card inactive. If this is an error, contact your company's Zip admin to reactivate your card."

When you see this message, please take the following steps:

1. Go to the details page for the specific virtual card.

2. Check the card status at the top of the page. If your card shows Inactive, that is the reason for why the attempted transaction was declined.

3. If you believe this is in error, please reach out to your administrators to reactivate this card.

   

For further assistance or specific inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.