# Why was a customer’s charge denied?

There are two reasons why charges get declined.

1. The customer’s bank (the issuing bank) declines the charge — for example:

* The cardholder does not have enough funds
* The card details are wrong or expired
* Other signals suggest the charge should not be approved

2. The charge gets flagged as illegitimate or fraudulent by the issuing bank or the acquiring bank.

We can help you figure out why the charge didn’t go through and understand the potential risk factor. Every decline comes back with a status code you can [look up](#decline-code) for the exact reason.

### Look up the decline code[​](#decline-code "Direct link to Look up the decline code")

Every declined charge carries a **status code** returned by the bank or processor that pinpoints the reason — for example `E221` (insufficient funds), `E229` (expired card), or `E201` (declined by the issuing bank). You'll find it on the payment in your [MONEI Dashboard](https://dashboard.monei.com/payments). To see what a specific code means — and whether the fix is to retry, update the card, or have the customer contact their bank — check the full [status codes reference](https://docs.monei.com/apis/rest/payments/.md#payment-status-codes), which lists every code MONEI can return.

### Issuing bank[​](#issuing-bank "Direct link to Issuing bank")

When a charge is made, your customer's bank looks at:

* The cardholder’s spending habits
* The card details
* The account balance
* Other signals, to decide whether to accept the charge

We show you the information we receive when a charge is declined, but the reasons banks give are often generic. If the customer’s bank declines the charge, the customer will need to speak with their bank to ensure future charges are approved.

### Acquiring bank[​](#acquiring-bank "Direct link to Acquiring bank")

The acquirer hosts your TPV virtual (your merchant ID). During an online transaction, MONEI’s payment gateway, the issuing bank, and your acquiring bank communicate — in a matter of seconds — running fraud and security checks to decide whether the payment is approved or declined.

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The acquirer sends the result back to us, and the final approved or declined message reaches you.

Learn more about how payments are processed with a payment gateway [here](https://monei.com/blog/what-is-a-payment-gateway/).

### How to decrease the likelihood of declined charges[​](#how-to-decrease-the-likelihood-of-declined-charges "Direct link to How to decrease the likelihood of declined charges")

**Validation checks**

Validation checks help to make sure the customer has entered the correct credit card number, expiration date, and CVC code. As well as the name and billing address associated with that card.

Collecting CVC codes is very effective in decreasing decline rates. We include CVC in all [payment screen integration options](https://docs.monei.com/integrations/use-prebuilt-payment-page/.md).

**3D Secure challenge**

We use a dynamic [3D Secure](https://docs.monei.com/fraud-prevention/3d-secure/.md) challenge to check transactions for risk factors such as location, contact information, and customer behavior. Suspicious activity is sent through a 3D secure challenge to minimize fraud. High-risk transactions are not blocked until we’re 100% sure it’s necessary.

Low-risk transactions don’t get challenged, so the cardholder can pay without interruption.

Dynamic 3D Secure is also referred to as a “frictionless challenge”: it requires two-factor authentication only when necessary. This way the chances of a lost sale decrease, and your conversion rate increases.

You can demo MONEI’s dynamic 3DS challenge [here](https://payments-demo.monei.com/checkout).

And learn more about 3D Secure and its advantages for e-commerce [here](https://monei.com/blog/what-is-3d-secure-and-its-advantages-for-e-commerce/).

**Smart routing**

MONEI’s smart routing engine also decreases the likelihood of lost sales on legitimate charges. During the payment process, transactions get sent to multiple acquirers and processors. This way, if the charge is falsely declined by one, it gets sent to another acquirer to try again before your customer gets a declined payment message.

## Common questions[​](#common-questions "Direct link to Common questions")

### What does "rejected by payment gateway" mean?[​](#rejected-by-gateway "Direct link to What does \"rejected by payment gateway\" mean?")

A "rejected by payment gateway" notification means the transaction was declined by the payment processing system — for the same reasons a charge is declined above (insufficient funds, incorrect or expired card details, or suspected fraud). The sale isn't completed until the customer provides a valid payment method. These rejections are automated, driven by the bank and card-network rules, and aren't a reflection of any issue with your store. Communicating clearly with the customer and offering alternative payment methods helps recover the sale.