1. Introduction

Transaction error codes (also known as NCERROR and NCSTATUS) are rejection reasons our systems receive from acquirers, issuers and our fraud tools. They provide simple explanations for transaction failures and in the Back Office. In this guide, we walk through the most common decline statuses and provide our recommendations. Note that these details below are information interpreted by our platform based on feedback from acquirers and issuers. To learn more about our main transaction statuses, check our Transaction Statuses guide. 

List of statuses

2. How to access error codes?

To access these error codes, go to Operations > View Transactions in the Back Office. Look up the PayID of the impacted transaction. In the details of your transaction, you will see NC ST/ER (which refers to NCSTATUS and NCERROR). Click on ? to have an overview of all possible status and error codes.  

Screenshot of NCERROR in the Back Office

For all transactions (except eTerminal), you can also access this information in your server-to-server feedback. 

3. Comply to Visa/MasterCard reattempt management

Card schemes Visa/MasterCard have defined a list of specific error codes that refer to possible fraudulent retries once a card has been declined in the first place.

To reduce the number of such retries (and thereby decrease fraud rates), Visa/MasterCard expect you to limit/prevent retries for these cards.

It is instrumental that you comply to this rule, as Visa/MasterCard charge you additional fees (collected by your acquirer) for any of these retries.
direct.BrandnameAlternative helps you to comply to this rule by either

for the following groups of error codes:

Our platform might throw 39991001 – "Maximum number of attempts reached for a transaction with same payment number. Our platform will block any new attempt until the waiting period expires".

This platform-specific error code is not directly related to the Visa/MasterCard rules. Our platform throws this error after the maximum number of attempts for a transaction with the same error code. Our platform will block any new attempt within the period defined by Visa/MasterCard. Refer to the original rejection code of previous attempts to learn why the transaction was rejected in the first place.

A) Block retries after the first failed try over a period of 30 days

Error code Description
30041001 Pick up card (no fraud)
30071001 Pick up card, special condition (fraud account)
30151001 No such issuer (first 8 digits of account number do not relate to an issuing identifier)
30411001 Lost card, pick up
30431001 Stolen card, pick up
33000972 Stop payment order
33000973 Revocation of authorization order
33000975 Revocation of all authorizations order
33000833 Ineligible for resubmission

B) Limit retries over a certain period of time

For this group of errors, Visa and MasterCard define different time periods:

  • Visa: Limit to 15 retries over a period of 30 days
  • MasterCard: Limit to 10 retries over a period of 24 hours

This list contains only the most common rejection reasons for this category. Visa/MasterCard might add or remove rejection reasons in the future. The error codes 30121001, 30141001, 30511001, 30611001, 30781001, 30911001, 40001139, 30571001 and 30961001 (and 30151001 for Mastercard only) are not checked for this feature. If you encounter an error code not listed in this or any category, the rejection reason is linked to the rule defined by category B.

Error code Description
30191001 Re-enter transaction
30591001 Suspected fraud
30621001 Restricted card (card invalid in region or country)
30751001 Allowable number of PIN-entry tries exceeded
30931001 Transaction cannot be completed – violation of law
33000831 Cash service not available
33000832 Cash request exceeds issuer or approved limit
30541001 Expired card or expiration date missing
30551001 PIN incorrect or missing
33000835 Decline for CVV2 failure
Our platform implements this mechanism for integration modes Page de paiement hebergée and DirectLink