When a payment fails in Pulse Commerce through Authorize.Net, the Payment History will show generic error messages such as "An error occurred during processing. Please try again" or "This transaction has been declined." These messages do not provide the specific reason for the decline.
How to View Transaction Details in Authorize.Net
To identify the specific reason for a payment decline:
1Sign in to the Authorize.Net Merchant Interface (separate from Pulse Commerce).
2Navigate to Transaction Search.
3Locate the failed transaction using the Trans. ID Code from your Pulse Payment History.
4Click the Transaction ID to open transaction details.
5Review the Response Reason Code and decline reason text on the Transaction Detail page.
Common Causes of Payment Declines
1. Address Verification (AVS) or CVV Mismatch
The most common reason for declines. Even minor discrepancies in the billing address (such as "Street" vs. "St." or a ZIP code typo) will cause Authorize.Net to reject the transaction for fraud protection.
Resolution: Have the customer re-enter their payment information at checkout, ensuring the billing address matches their bank records exactly, character for character.
2. Bank Decline
The customer's card issuer refused authorization. Common reasons include:
- Insufficient funds or exceeded credit limit
- Expired card
- Fraud block by the bank
- Card requires verbal approval from issuer
Resolution: The customer must contact their bank directly to understand the specific reason for the decline.
3. Fraud Detection Filters
Authorize.Net's Fraud Detection Suite (FDS) may block transactions based on configured rules such as IP address filters, transaction velocity, or shipping/IP mismatch.
Resolution: Review triggered filters in the Fraud Information section of the transaction details in Authorize.Net, then adjust filter settings under Tools → Fraud Detection Suite (FDS/AFDS).
4. Gateway Processing Error
"An error occurred during processing" typically indicates the payment gateway encountered a problem before reaching the issuing bank. This can be caused by incorrect API credentials, wrong environment selection (Live vs Sandbox), or processor connectivity issues.
Resolution: Verify your Authorize.Net API credentials and environment settings in Pulse Commerce. Contact your Merchant Service Provider if gateway errors persist.
Common Response Reason Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | General decline by card issuer |
| 3 | Referral for verbal approval required |
| 4 | Card reported lost or stolen |
| 27 | AVS (address) mismatch |
| 44 | CVV declined by processor |
| 45 | AVS and CVV mismatch |
| 65 | CVV mismatch |
| 250 | Fraud filter blocked IP address |
| 251 | Fraud filter triggered decline |
Communicating with Customers
When a customer reports a payment decline, use this template:
Sample Message:
"The payment decline occurred due to security validation by the payment gateway, not an issue with our system. While your bank may have initially authorized the transaction, Authorize.Net rejected it—typically due to a billing address or CVV mismatch during checkout. Even minor discrepancies (such as "Street" vs. "St." or a ZIP code typo) will trigger this security protection. Any authorization hold you see will drop off your statement within 2–3 business days without being charged.
Please re-enter your payment information at checkout, ensuring your billing address matches your bank records exactly, character for character. If the issue continues, please contact your card issuer to verify there are no restrictions on your account, or try an alternate payment method."
Merchant Configuration Review
If you're seeing repeated declines across multiple customers, review these settings in your Authorize.Net account:
AVS/CVV Settings: Navigate to Account → Tools → AVS/CVV Configuration and ensure settings aren't too strict for your business model.
Fraud Filters: Review configured filters under Tools → Fraud Detection Suite (FDS/AFDS). Pay special attention to filters that automatically decline transactions, such as IP velocity or IP/shipping mismatch filters.
Gateway Configuration: Verify your API Login ID, Transaction Key, and environment selection (Live vs Sandbox) are correct in Pulse Commerce settings.