What a generic authorisation decline means and how to handle it

What a generic authorisation decline means and how to handle it

For merchants and payment teams, nothing is more frustrating than seeing a generic authorisation decline. Unlike a clear message such as insufficient funds or card expired, a generic response offers no useful detail. That lack of clarity complicates decision-making, affects revenue, and leaves both the customer and the merchant guessing.

What is a generic authorisation decline?

A generic authorisation decline is what happens when the cardholder’s bank rejects a payment but doesn’t say why. The response simply comes back as “declined,” leaving both the merchant and the customer in the dark.

The most common example is decline code 05 – Do Not Honor. It doesn’t clarify whether the problem was insufficient funds, a failed CVV check, or a card restriction. For merchants, that lack of detail makes it hard to know the next step — whether to try the payment again, route it through another acquirer, or drop it altogether.

Generic declines vs specific declines

Examples of generic decline include:

• 05 – Do Not Honor
• 57 – Transaction not permitted
• 62 – Restricted card

These codes provide no actionable detail. In contrast, specific decline codes point directly to the issue: 

• 51 – Insufficient funds
• 14 – Invalid card number
• 54 – Expired card 

When a card is declined for a specific reason, the merchant can resolve it or guide the customer quickly. With generic ones, merchants are left to experiment with retrying or rerouting. That trial-and-error approach often frustrates customers and leads to lost sales.

Decline codes in practice

Decline codes come from different sources:

ISO 8583 codes (01–99) 

These are numeric responses used globally by issuers and acquirers. Common examples:

Card Network Declines

Visa and Mastercard add their own, like Policy violation or Authentication required.

Processor Decline Codes

Gateways like Antom sometimes generate internal error codes such as:

• GENERIC_DECLINE
• UNKNOW_ERROR
• ACCESS_FORBIDDEN
• BUYER_BALANCE_NOT_ENOUGH

These processor labels are not universal standards. They’re internal mappings, and their meaning can differ from one provider to another. That’s why merchants should always check their processor’s documentation. Even with a list of debit or credit decline codes on hand, interpretation often depends on the issuer, the network, and the processor.

Common causes of generic declines

Why would a bank or card issuer send a generic response instead of a specific one? The reasons vary:

• Fraud suspicion or risk rules – Issuers may flag unusual behaviour but avoid disclosing details to prevent fraudsters from learning the triggers.
  
  
• Account restrictions – A customer may have limits on spending, withdrawals, or usage in certain regions.
  
  
• Issuer or network policy blocks – Some transactions are refused by default, such as those from high-risk sectors or certain terminals.
  
  
• Temporary technical issues – System errors at the issuer’s side can lead to a generic decline when the payment could not be processed normally.

How merchants should handle generic declines

Merchants need structured strategies for handling generic declines. A few approaches include:

• Retry strategies: Distinguish between soft declines (temporary issues) and hard declines (permanent). Retrying too aggressively risks chargebacks; retrying too little risks losing a customer.
  
  
• Local acquiring: Routing transactions through a local bank can improve issuer confidence and reduce generic responses.
  
  
• Fraud checks and pre-authorisation tools: Screen transactions for risk before submission to reduce unnecessary declines.
  
  
• Clear stop rules: Decide when to stop retrying, particularly if repeated attempts trigger transaction failed flags that could harm reputation with issuers.

Testing and integration

Most payment gateways and APIs return decline information through fields like “decline code” or “refusal reason.” Testing is critical: in sandbox environments, merchants can simulate both specific and generic declines. This helps payment teams design the right retry logic and customer messages. 

For example, showing “Your card was declined, please try another card” may be better than passing a vague error code back to the customer.

Best practices to reduce generic declines

Reducing generic declines requires a combination of business and technical approaches:

• Use local payment methods: Customers paying with familiar methods are more likely to have transactions approved.
  
  
• Smart retry routing: Directing retries through different acquirers or card networks can reduce decline rates.
  
  
• Monitor approval and decline trends: Tracking decline codes helps spot patterns, such as a bank repeatedly issuing generic responses for a certain card type.
  
  
• Fraud and risk checks: Tools like Antom Shield provide rule-based and automated risk scoring to reduce unnecessary issuer declines.
  
  
• Retry automation: Features like Antom Auto Retry and Pay Evaluation reduce declines caused by insufficient funds and improve recovery rates by retrying at optimal times.

By tackling generic declines with these strategies, merchants can protect revenue that would otherwise be lost to vague rejections. Antom brings these strategies together in one platform — helping businesses reduce uncertainty, lift approval rates, and keep the checkout experience smooth for customers worldwide.