Why did my card payment fail?

What this is#

Why a card payment might be declined when you try to pay a VPSDime invoice, and what you can do about it. In almost every case the decline comes from your bank or card issuer, not from us.

The decline comes from your bank#

When you pay, your card details are passed to our card processor, which asks your bank to authorize the charge. Your bank returns an approve or decline response. On a decline there's very little we can change from our side, the decision is your bank's. The email we send about a failed payment lists the specific reason your bank gave, so start there.

Common reasons a card is declined#

Your bank placed a hold. The issuer has flagged or blocked the charge. Contact your bank to check for any restriction on the card.

Your billing details need updating. An incorrect or incomplete card number, expiry, or billing address will fail authorization, since your details are matched during the charge. Check them, and make sure the card hasn't expired.

Insufficient funds. The charge couldn't be collected from the account. Check the balance or available credit with your bank.

International payments are blocked. Many banks block international charges by default, even if other international payments have worked before. The block can also reset without notice after you've cleared it once. Ask your bank to allow the charge.

"Exceeds frequency limit". This means your bank declined the charge because too many payment attempts were made in a short time. Wait a few hours and try again. Repeated retries can trigger this, so give it some time rather than trying again straight away.

Charged anyway? PREAUTH and holds explained#

Two things on your card statement can look alarming after a failed or attempted payment, and both are normal:

• A line marked PREAUTH (or "pre-authorization"). Before charging a card, the processor may place a small pre-authorization, a temporary hold that verifies the card is real and active. It looks like a payment in your banking app, but no money has actually been taken, and it disappears on its own.
• A failed payment that still shows up as a charge. When your bank declines or interrupts a payment, the authorization hold it created can remain visible for a while, looking exactly like a real payment, even though it was never completed and will never be collected. Your online banking may label it "pending".

In both cases the entry clears by itself after a few days; exactly how long depends on your bank or card company's policy (typically within a week). There's nothing you need to do except wait, the invoice stays payable, and paying it again does not double-charge you, since the held amounts were never collected.

If a pending entry hasn't cleared after a few days, contact us with the invoice number and the date and amount of the entry, and we'll check it against our processor's records.

What you can do#

• Read the reason in the failed-payment email and act on it. Most point to something your bank can fix in a minute.
• Contact your bank to approve the charge or lift a hold, then try again.
• Update your card or billing details if anything is out of date. If you renew with a saved card, see Saved cards.
• Try the same card on a different card option. At the invoice, three options accept a card: Mastercard / Visa (our main card processor), PayPal / Card, and Alternative PayPal. Each runs through a different provider, so a card declined on one often goes through on another. It's worth trying another card option before anything else. See payment methods.
• Try another method. A different card, PayPal, a wallet, or crypto often goes straight through. See Payment methods we accept.

Still need help?#

You can open a support ticket. So we can help on the first reply, it's worth mentioning:

• the invoice number you're paying,
• the exact error or decline reason from the email,
• which card type and method you tried.

Related questions#

• "Why was my credit or debit card declined?"
• "My card payment isn't going through, what do I do?"
• "What does 'Exceeds frequency limit' mean?"
• "My bank is blocking an international payment."
• "Can I pay with a different method if my card fails?"
• "Can I try my card through a different processor?"
• "What does PREAUTH on my statement mean?"
• "My payment failed but my bank shows a charge."
• "Was I charged twice? There's a pending payment that failed."
• "When does a pending card hold clear?"