When a card payment is declined, in most cases the decision comes from the issuing bank. Conekta passes along the response, but only the buyer's bank knows the exact cause. These are the most frequent reasons and what to do in each case.
Most likely causes
- Insufficient funds
The account doesn't have enough balance or available credit for the amount. The buyer can try another card or an alternative method such as cash or bank transfer.
- Card limit reached
Many cards have daily purchase limits or specific limits for e-commerce. The buyer can adjust them from their banking app or wait until the next day.
- Card blocked, expired, or inactive
A card that has been reported, has expired, or was recently issued and not activated will always be declined. Only the bank can unblock or activate it.
- Incorrect details
A single wrong digit in the number, expiration date, or security code results in an immediate decline. Ask the buyer to carefully enter the details again.
- Online purchases disabled
Several banks issue cards with e-commerce turned off for security. The buyer can enable it in their banking app in a few minutes and try again.
- Bank security check
If the purchase falls outside the buyer's usual pattern, the bank may decline it as a precaution or request additional authentication. A call from the buyer to their bank usually clears the way for the next attempt.
If the decline came from Conekta
A smaller share of declines comes from Conekta's fraud prevention and is identified as such in the payment details. That case is explained in Why an operation was declined by fraud prevention.