Telling a Customer Their Card is Declined - Veritrans Merchant Services (2024)

FAQs

How do I inform a customer about a declined card? ›

One easy method of informing a customer of a declined card is to avoid telling them that their card declined at all. Simply ask, “Is there another form of payment you might want to use today”? This makes it very apparent that their card declined without using the dreaded word.

As far as how you reach them, you may choose to send an email, send a text, or make a phone call. In wording your payment reminder, follow this simple formula: Let them know their payment failed, tell them how to submit payment or update their information, and include a way to reach out to you for help.

Give them a few hours or a day to move on to another target, and then inform them of the decline without providing a solution or additional details. Be polite! There's no reason to upset them. But don't give them cause to try again, either.

A credit card decline occurs if, for a particular reason, a credit card payment cannot be processed and the transaction is declined by the payment gateway, the processor, or the bank issuing the money. It's a common problem faced by businesses that process recurring payments.

After the first rejected payment, send a notification to make them aware of the issue. Include a call-to-action that immediately directs them to a page where they can resolve their account. Keep your payment failed message friendly and non-threatening, but state the next steps clearly.

Open your email with a personalized greeting, then jump straight into explaining why you sent the email: Their payment was declined. Then let them know briefly what the consequences of a payment failure are.

Request a different form of payment

In fact, in many cases the customer will be as mystified by the decline as you are. The easiest thing to do in those situations is to simply request a different form of payment. That may be another credit card, an ACH debit from the customer's bank account, a check, or even cash.

The first step is to look at the error code. If it's a soft decline, try the payment again. If it's a hard decline, ask your customer to get in touch with their card issuer or bank. Dunning management is a useful tool for recurring card payments, automatically retrying failed transactions later.

The one way I find would use is by first acknowledging the product a salesperson is offering then proceeding to explain to them that I am currently not in need of a credit card, but should I need the service, I will keep the sales person's contacts and give them a call.

How do you politely decline communication? ›

You don't need to go into detail. In fact, you won't even know why it was declined, so let the customer know that. Tell them they should call their bank or credit card company to sort everything out. The phone number is on the back of their card.

Your card may be declined for a number of reasons: the card has expired; you're over your credit limit; the card issuer sees suspicious activity that could be a sign of fraud; or a hotel, rental car company, or other business placed a block (or hold) on your card for its estimated total of your bill.

Soft declines are transaction rejections that occur due to temporary issues. Common causes include "Do Not Honor" responses, exceeded credit limits, or bank server downtimes.

We noticed an issue with the payment method you provided during our recent billing attempt. Please review your details to ensure accuracy. If you believe this is an error, or need assistance, please reach out to our Billing Department at your earliest convenience.