Not all transaction declines are the same thing. While some genuinely mean the transaction is dead, others can be retried. Knowing the difference saves you revenue and keeps your merchant account healthy.
Soft declines are temporary. The card is valid but the transaction failed for some other reason that can resolve on its own — insufficient funds, a temporary hold, or a system error. These are all situations where not only is it worth retrying the transaction, you absolutely should!
Hard declines are permanent. The card is invalid, stolen, expired, or blocked. Retrying a hard decline wastes processing fees, may get your account flagged, and ultimately hurts your approval ratio.
Soft Declines: Retry These
| Code | Meaning | Recommended Action |
| 05 | Do Not Honor | Retry carefully |
| 51 | Insufficient Funds | Retry in 3–5 days (target payday). Don’t retry same day. |
| 91 | Issuer/switch unavailable | Route to a backup MID or different acquiring bank immediately. |
| 96 | System Malfunction | Retry immediately — this is a processor/network error, not a card issue. |
| 19 | Re-enter Transaction | Re-submit the transaction. Likely a data transmission error. |
| 01 | Refer to Issuer | Ask the customer to call their bank. The bank wants to verify something before approving. |
The 24-hour rule for Code 05: If you retry a do not honor decline within 24 hours and it goes through, you may forfeit your chargeback reversal rights on that transaction. Always wait at least 24 hours.
For Code 51: Retrying insufficient funds the same day will fail again and annoys the customer’s bank. Target the 1st–5th of the month when paychecks deposit.
For Code 91: This is where multi-MID cascading pays for itself. Route to a backup processor and recover the sale instantly.
Hard Declines: Do Not Retry
| Code | Meaning | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Invalid Card Number | Ask the customer to re-enter their card details. Likely a typo. |
| 41 | Lost Card | Do not process. The card has been reported lost. Ask for a different payment method. |
| 43 | Stolen Card | Do not process. The card has been reported stolen. Ask for a different payment method. |
| 54 | Expired Card | Ask the customer to use a new card or update their card on file. |
| 62 | Restricted Card | The card is blocked for this type of transaction. Ask for a different card. |
| 78 | No Account | The card number doesn’t match any account on file. Likely a typo or a closed account. |
Never retry codes 41 or 43. Processing a transaction on a card reported lost or stolen can flag your merchant account for fraud. If your gateway doesn’t automatically block retries on these codes, configure it to.
For Code 54: If you’re running recurring billing, an expired card is the #1 cause of involuntary churn. Account updater services (VAU/MAU) refresh expired cards automatically before the charge attempt.
Why This Matters for Your Merchant Account
Retrying hard declines not only wastes processing fees, but it sends a signal to the acquiring bank that you’re not managing your transactions properly. Too many repeated failed transaction attempts can trigger a risk review of your account, which could ultimately lead to closure.
Meanwhile, ignoring soft declines means you’re leaving money on the table. A customer with insufficient funds today may have the money available in 3 days from now. A transaction that hits code 91 will be successful if you route to a different processor immediately.
You also need to keep in mind that under Visa’s rules, you’re limited to 15 retries within 30 days for soft declines and absolutely zero retries for hard declines. Exceeding these limits can result in fines.For the full list of decline codes with detailed explanations, see my complete decline code guide. For strategies to reduce declines across the board, see my tips on reducing credit card decline rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
A soft decline is temporary — the card is valid but the transaction failed for a resolvable reason (insufficient funds, system error, temporary hold). A hard decline is permanent — the card is invalid, expired, stolen, or blocked. Soft declines are worth retrying. Hard declines should never be retried.
Only if it’s a soft decline. Wait 24 hours for code 05 (do not honor), 3–5 days for code 51 (insufficient funds), or cascade immediately for code 91 (retry via another route). Never retry hard declines like codes 41 (lost card) or 43 (stolen card).
Code 05 (Do Not Honor) and Code 51 (Insufficient Funds) together account for over 76% of all declined credit card transactions globally. Both are soft declines and can be retried with the right timing.
Visa allows up to 15 retries within 30 days for soft declines. Hard declines should not be retried at all. Exceeding retry limits can result in fines from the card network. Best practice: maximum 2–3 retries per billing cycle for recurring charges.
