Skip to main content

Card Declines: Why They Happen and How to Fix Them

  • Updated

If your Float card transaction was declined, here’s how to find out why and what you can do next.

 

How to Find Out Why a Transaction Declined

Notifications:

Cardholders get a notification (email, SMS, push, or Slack) with the decline reason.

 

In the Float web app

You can view decline reasons by going to:

  • Transactions > Declined > adjust date and other filters as necessary

  • Cards > select a Physical or Virtual card

View the Decline Reason column or hover over the red "X" icon.

 

In the Float mobile app

  • Tap the Transactions icon in the bottom nav

  • Or go to Cards > tap a card > scroll to recent transactions

  • Declined transactions will show a red “Declined” label

  • Tap the transaction to view the decline reason

What if I don't see a transaction at all in Float, but the vendor says it declined? 

Sometimes, a transaction is declined by the vendor or their payment processor before it ever reaches Float. 

  • If it’s an online payment, add the Float card as a saved payment method first, then retry. 
  • If the issue persists, contact the vendor to ensure they accept the card. 
  • Ask the vendor’s bank or payment processor if they’ve blocked the transaction. 

This type of decline is outside of Float’s control—best to resolve directly with the vendor. 

 

Decline Reasons and How to Resolve Them

Insufficient card balance

Insufficient business funds

Card is paused

Cardholder terminated / Cardholder not active

Card terminated

Tap not accepted, please insert chip

Card suspicious – Expiration mismatch

Invalid card security code / CVV2 / CVC / CVV

Invalid PIN / Incorrect PIN

PIN try limit exceeded

Merchant category prohibited for this card by your business

Digital wallet token not found / terminated / suspended

Card not active / Card not activated

Card expired

Card transaction velocity exceeded / Float maximum one day business spending amount exceeded / Float maximum transaction amount exceeded / Currency is considered risky by Float

Merchant prohibited by card program / Merchant category prohibited by Float's card program / Merchant is prohibited by Float / Transactions not allowed from this country

ATM transactions not allowed

Transaction declined by network / Issuer timeout advice

Chip fallback to magstripe is not allowed

Business is paused

Business not yet verified

Business is deactivated

 

 

Insufficient card balance

The card doesn’t have enough remaining limit for the transaction, or it has no active limit.

To fix it:

Once the limit is available, the transaction can be reattempted. 

 

Insufficient business funds

The business doesn’t have enough funds in the matching-currency Float Cash account, or has insufficient Charge limit for Float Charge customers.

To fix it:

An admin must add funds to the Cash account or pay down the Charge balance.

After funding, the transaction can be reattempted.

 

Card is paused

The card is paused and can't be used for spending.

To fix it:

View the pause reason on the Card page in the web app or mobile app

Resolve based on the reason shown:

    • “Transactions missing required info”: Provide missing spend details to resolve policy violation

    • “Paused by card owner”: The user can unpause it from the Card page by clicking "Resume Card"

    • “Paused by Admin”: The Float Administrator who paused the card can unpause it from the Card page by clicking "Resume Card"

    • “Paused until business is approved” or “Identity verification in progress”:  The business or user must complete the KYB or KYC process prior to the card becoming unpaused

    • “Paused for suspicious transaction”: A risk flag auto-paused the card. Our Risk team may contact you or unpause it automatically. If not, reach out to support@floatfinancial.com

    • Card was replaced: Activate the replacement card to use it

Once unpaused, retry the transaction. 

 

Cardholder terminated / Cardholder not active

The cardholder's Float account is deactivated and this card can no longer be used. In some cases, this error presents if required compliance documents are missing.

To fix it:

If the cardholder is active but the decline still occurs, contact support@floatfinancial.com.

 

Card terminated

The card has been cancelled and can’t be used. 

To fix it:

 

Tap not accepted, please insert chip

As a security measure, physical cards will default to require chip insertion when a significant amount of tap transactions have occurred in a certain period. Further tap transactions will not be permitted until a successful PIN-entry transaction has taken place.

To fix it:

  • Insert the card and complete a transaction using PIN

  • After that, tap will work again

 

Card suspicious – Expiration mismatch

The expiry date entered doesn’t match the card’s actual expiry.

To fix it:

Verify the correct expiration date for the card. 

  • In the web app: open the card and click Show Details

  • In the mobile app: tap the card > Card info

Retry the transaction using the correct expiry date.

 

Invalid card security code / CVV2 / CVC / CVV

The three-digit security code entered at checkout doesn’t match the one on file.

To fix it:

Verify the security code for the Float card.

  • In the web app: open the card and click Show Details

  • In the app: tap the card > Card info

Retry the transaction using the correct security code.

 

Invalid PIN / Incorrect PIN

The wrong PIN was entered at point-of-sale

To fix it:

For CAD cards, you can view the current PIN:

  • Web app: Cards > Physical > select card > Show PIN

  • Mobile app: tap the card > PIN

If you need to change your PIN, follow the steps here: Resetting a PIN

Retry the transaction using the correct PIN.

 

PIN try limit exceeded

The incorrect PIN has been entered too many times on this or previous transaction attempts. Until the PIN is reset, PIN-entry transactions will become automatically declined prior to the PIN being entered.

To fix it: 

Retry the transaction once the PIN is reset.

 

Merchant category prohibited for this card by your business

Merchant Category Controls set by your admin are blocking the transaction

To fix it:

If the controls have been updated to allow merchants from this category, the transaction can be re-attempted. 

 

Digital wallet token not found / terminated / suspended

An issue has occurred involving the authorization of your Float card in the digital payment wallet. If you've added the same card to multiple digital wallets, that may be a factor. 

To fix it:

Retry the transaction after re-adding the card to the digital wallet. 

 

Card not active / Card not activated

The physical card hasn’t been activated yet.

To fix it:

Retry the transaction after the card has been activated. 

 

Card expired

The card is past its expiry date and is no longer valid.

To fix it:

 

Card transaction velocity exceeded / Float maximum one day business spending amount exceeded / Float maximum transaction amount exceeded / Currency is considered risky by Float

A built-in guardrail was triggered. These controls exist to prevent misuse of your business’s Float cards, but they might restrict legitimate usage in some cases. 

To fix it:

  • Contact Float Product support via support@floatfinancial.com and provide information about the declined transaction(s), the last four digits of the card number and an explanation of the transaction purpose. 
  • Our team will work with you to adjust guardrails as necessary to accommodate your expected usage and prevent future declines. 

Once our team has confirmed that the involved control parameter has been adjusted, the transaction can be reattempted. 

 

Merchant prohibited by card program / Merchant category prohibited by Float's card program / Merchant is prohibited by Float / Transactions not allowed from this country

These transactions are blocked for regulatory or risk reasons

 

ATM transactions not allowed

Float cards can’t be used at ATMs or for cash equivalents. Learn more: Prohibited and Restricted Transaction Declines.

 

Transaction declined by network / Issuer timeout advice

There may be an issue preventing transaction processing on Float’s own platform or at our card issuing partner. These issues are extremely rare and usually resolve in seconds.

Wait a few minutes and try again. If the error persists, contact Float Support. 

 

Chip fallback to magstripe is not allowed

The terminal couldn’t read the chip and tried to use magstripe, which is not allowed.

To fix it:

  • Retry with chip and PIN

If other terminals also fail to read the chip, your card may be damaged and needs replacing. 

 

Business is paused

Spending has been paused across your business’s Float account. Our team will have reached out to the Primary Administrator on the account.

To fix it:

    • Spenders should notify their Float Administrator of the status and advise them to look for communication from Float.

    • Admins: look for communication from Float with next steps

    • If no info is found, email support@floatfinancial.com

Once the Primary Administrator has worked with Float to address the cause of the spending pause, the transaction can be reattempted.

 

Business not yet verified

Your business hasn’t completed the KYB process. 

To fix it:

  • The Primary Administrator will have received communication from Float regarding any outstanding items necessary to complete the approval process.
  • Work with the Float approvals team to become approved for Float.
  •  

Once business approval is complete, the transaction can be re-attempted. 

 

Business is deactivated

Your business’s Float account has been closed

To fix it:

  • The Primary Administrator should contact Float Support via support@floatfinancial.com
  • The Float team will advise of any requirements to reactivate the business

Once the business’s Float account has been reactivated, the transaction can be reattempted.

Related articles