Declined and canceled payments

Declined and canceled transactions result from safety precautions taken by FastSpring or your customer’s payment provider.

If a payment provider declines an order (e.g., insufficient funds), FastSpring has limited insight into the specific reasoning; customers must contact their issuing bank. If FastSpring cancels an order, it is usually due to our internal fraud detection system.

Use the sections below to troubleshoot failed payments.

Common Reasons

View the most frequent reasons for bank declines and fraud cancellations.

Transaction Details

Analyze specific failure codes for Credit Card and PayPal transactions.

Error Messages

See the specific error messages displayed to customers when payments fail.

Common decline reasons

Transactions generally fail for one of two reasons: the customer's bank rejected the charge, or FastSpring's risk engine flagged the order.

Bank Declines: The customer’s payment provider may decline a charge due to insufficient funds, inaccurate card information, or suspicion of fraudulent activity. You can search for the order to review status details, but customers should contact their provider for the most accurate resolution.
FastSpring Cancellations: If an order fails FastSpring Fraud Detection, we mark it with a Risk Analysis tag and cancel the payment.

Transaction details by method

Different payment methods display different status codes in the FastSpring app. Select a tab below to view troubleshooting details.

If an order passes risk analysis, the credit card issuer may still cancel the order. FastSpring displays the status as Canceled and payment details as Payment FAILED.

Click on a transaction to access its details page. The Method column in the Payments and Returns section may contain specific codes from the processor:

RESTRICTED
INSUFFICIENT_FUNDS
Not authorized
Procedure codes such as Proc=110 or Proc=430285

Soft Decline vs. Restricted Decline

Soft Decline: The issuing bank did not approve the transaction, but you can try again later. FastSpring will attempt to route the transaction through a separate processing network for approval.
Restricted Decline: The credit card is invalid, often due to fraudulent activity that caused the bank to deactivate the card. Customers cannot use this card moving forward.

Note: Customers may see a pending charge on their statement after a decline. This is a temporary hold that is typically removed within 5-10 business days.

Customer-facing error messages

When a transaction fails, FastSpring displays a specific message to the customer explaining the issue. Messaging varies depending on the type of transaction or decline.

Credit Card Errors

"This transaction has been declined. Please use a different payment method or contact your bank."

Cause: FastSpring did not receive a detailed decline reason from the processor.
Resolution: The customer should contact their issuing bank or try a different card.

"We regret that your order could not be accepted. We value your business and would like to help you complete this order. Please contact us for assistance."

Cause: FastSpring or the issuing bank declined the transaction for fraud-related reasons.
Resolution: The customer should contact Consumer Support.

PayPal and Amazon Pay Errors

"An unexpected error occurred, and we are not currently able to accept payment."

PayPal Cause: The transaction exceeded the customer’s limit. They should contact the bank issuing the card associated with their PayPal account.
Amazon Pay Cause: The order amount is too high. The customer should use a different payment method.

Next steps

If you have questions regarding a specific canceled payment or fraud flag that cannot be resolved by the steps above, please contact FastSpring Support.