One of the most awkward moments of one’s life is having a credit card declined; particularly if you do not have any other method of payment, or worse, you are the first person in a long queue of customers.
Whenever a cashier swipes a credit card, the system of payment communes with the issuer of your credit card to know if you have maximum funds available for the transaction and if your card is valid. If your credit card is good, the system sends back a message which shows it has been approved, and your transaction is completed. In a few cases, however, the system sends back a “decline” message meaning the sale was not approved. In this article, we will look into some reasons resulting in declined credit cards.
You Do Not Have Sufficient Credit Available
The credit available is the difference between your credit limit and vanilla card balance. After a spending spree, you could run out of credit, or you’ve had your credit limit unexpectedly cut. Therefore, you can log onto your online account or call customer service to check your available credit.
Past Due Payment
The issuer of your credit card is likely to suspend your capability of making new payments if you have missed some credit card payments. To restore your purchasing privileges, you will have to present your account current.
Expired Credit Cards
Always ensure that you check your credit card date of expiration. If it has gone beyond the period of expiration, that explains the reason why your credit card keeps getting declined. The issuer of your credit card might have sent a replacement, so all you need to do is to get the new one and get it activated.
Account Flagged For Fraud
Issuers of credit cards monitor the transactions on your credit cards regularly to ensure they are in alignment with the form of your purchases. If there’s anything outside your usual spending habits, it could be flagged as fraud, thereby causing the declination of your credit card.