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Troubleshoot Authorize.net gateway errors

Zuora

Troubleshoot Authorize.net gateway errors

For failed payments processed using the Authorize.net payment gateway, Zuora Payments will provide the gateway Response Reason Code (for example, 44) and Response Reason Text (for example, This transaction has been declined).

To view the current status of the Authorize.net gateway, go to this location: https://status.authorize.net/.

Obtain information on payment gateway errors

To find more information on Authorize.net payment gateway errors:

  1. Search the Authorize.net online documentation for information on response codes.
  2. Look up the transaction by the transaction ID number (in the Zuora payment detail page, this is the Reference ID and Secondary Reference ID numbers) in your merchant account to see if more information is provided; often you will see more than just the response (reasons) code and response message in Zuora.
  3. If you require additional information, you can contact Authorize.net Support directly at (801) 492-6450 and ask to be transferred to Authorize.net customer support. The Authorize.net Customer Support representative will ask you for:
    • Your Authorize.net Account’s Gateway ID number. This is required for them to support you and log a case.
    • The name of business (your company name).
    • The name, email address, and phone number of the person requesting support (that is, your name, email address, and phone).
    • The Transaction ID (in Z-Payments, this is the Reference ID) for the failed payment. 

The following Authorize.net response codes trigger the Payment Declined notifications:

  • 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9
  • 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18
  • 27, 28
  • 37
  • 44, 45, 46, 49
  • 50, 53
  • 65, 66, 68, 69
  • 70, 71, 72
  • 120, 127
  • 250, 251
  • Other error codes

Make sure you are not re-trying an invalid card too many times

We recommend that you check the payment in Zuora to see how many times the same payment method has been re-tried for payment and failed. If there have been several retries, check the error messages from the beginning with the first failure and the more recent failures to determine if the error message is the same. If a merchant tries to process a payment against the same credit card too many times despite receiving errors, this could trigger warnings to the card issuing bank. The card issuing bank may place an alert on the account and not allow any further transactions from the merchant using that payment method. When a merchant has been flagged, the error received on the payment may not state the reason why instead it might be a generic error such as 2 - Declined. In this case, the merchant (Zuora customer) should work with their merchant acquirer/processor to see if they can identify the problem with the payment method. If the processor does not know, then the merchant and/or the cardholder can try calling their card issuing bank to look into the issue

General Decline errors (including "2-This transaction has been declined")

General credit card decline errors from Authorize.net may have a Response Reason Code "2" and Response Reason Text "This transaction has been declined." General declines are fairly common, but a high rate of decline with this error is worth investigating further with your payment gateway and processor to rule out any issues with your merchant account. If you notice the declines happening with a specific card issuing bank, you may want to contact that bank to find out more information. 

Reasons for a general decline include: 

  • Insufficient funds in the card holder's account.
  • The card issuing bank does not allow internet transactions on the card.
  • The card is invalid (for example, it is canceled).
  • The card requires verbal authorization for transactions.
  • The merchant has been blocked from charging this card for payment. 

If you experience a very high number of transactions with this error, contact your merchant services provider to review your account configuration and status of the account. Since Authorize.net receives the decline from the processor who receives it from the card issuing bank, Authorize.net may refer you to your processor or merchant services provider for assistance.

Limited Free Trials and Credit Card Declines

If your company offers a limited free trial where you obtain and authorize credit cards in advance, but charge for payment on a future date (such as tomorrow, a week, or a month later) there's a risk that the credit card may no longer be valid when the future payment is collected (in gateway terminology, this is sometimes referred to as capturing a payment). The status/validity of a credit card can change easily and frequently. A customer's credit card can have sufficient funds today, but the customer makes a large purchase tomorrow that results in their account being low in funds. If you happen to charge their card when their account has insufficient funds, you will get a credit card decline. The same customer can pay off their credit card debt tomorrow, and their card will once again be valid with sufficient funds. For this reason, we recommend configuring your payment retry rules to retry credit cards (for example, you can retry a card once every 24 hours, up to a maximum of 3 attempts).There are many benefits to offering limited free trials, but its important to understand how a credit card can be valid one day and be declined the next. Again, if you feel these types of declines are occurring at a high rate, please contact your payment gateway and processor immediately to investigate the issue. 

Response code 10x with the response text "The transaction is currently under review"

If the response code 10x with the response text “The transaction is currently under review” is received from Authorize.net, to avoid double charge, please contact CyberSource Support to configure the Daily Velocity Filter setting in the AFDS fraud management tool for your merchant account to not set the payments to the Review status.

Response codes for troubleshooting refunds

The following response codes can be returned by the Authorize.net gateway for refund problems.

Response Code Response Reason Code Response Reason Text Notes Next Steps
3 11 A duplicate transaction has been submitted. A transaction with identical amount and credit card information was submitted two minutes prior. Wait 2 minutes before creating another refund for the same account.
3 54 The referenced transaction does not meet the criteria for issuing a credit. None A refund can only be issued once a payment has settled. If the payment has not settled, you can void a payment instead of issuing a refund.