If you’re getting support tickets, emails, or calls from customers complaining that their cards are being declined on your eCommerce website, you could be losing sales.
Network declines are an inevitable part of doing business and accepting card payments, but they’re frustrating for both customers and merchants. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent declines and increase your payment authorization rate.
Keep reading to learn:
Network declines occur when your customer’s credit card network rejects requests to authorize a payment. Some customers might troubleshoot a network decline by entering their credit card information again or by trying a different card or payment method. Other shoppers might contact you and ask for help.
In the best case scenario, patient customers are eventually able to check out. In the worst case scenario, impatient customers not only abandon their carts, but they also never shop with you again and leave a poor review.
The bottom line: network declines are bad for business. It’s crucial for online merchants to reduce network declines, and thereby increase payment authorization rates, to improve sales and customer satisfaction.
Unfortunately, declines are a normal part of doing business online. The good news is, if you manage network declines effectively, you can minimize their
While network declines seem cryptic, they typically come with a reason code. When you know what these codes are, you can identify why a transaction was declined and troubleshoot. Insufficient funds, expired cards, or suspected fraud are some of the most common reasons for network declines.
If a customer reaches out to you about a network decline, inform them immediately and provide the reason for the decline, if possible. Encourage them to contact their bank or card issuer for more information. Oftentimes, cards are declined because of something to do with the customer and not your store, such as an incorrect address or an expired card. When customers know why their cards were declined, they can troubleshoot.
Sometimes customers troubleshoot but are still unable to gain payment authorization to complete their purchase. To avoid losing the sale, offer multiple payment methods on your online store, such as digital wallet payments (like Apple Pay or Google Pay), bank transfers, or cash on delivery.
Sometimes cards will be declined due to your payment processor’s security settings. Review these settings to ensure they aren’t too restrictive. Adjust the settings you have control over, as needed, but be careful not to compromise the security of your transactions.
If you’re experiencing a high number of declines and you’re unsure why, contact Shopify Support or your payment processor’s support team. They can help you understand the reasons for the declines and suggest ways to reduce them.
Payment authorization rate expresses the percentage of payments that work as they should (i.e., that aren’t declined). For example, if 960 of 1,000 payments on your website are approved, then your payment authorization rate is 96%.
While many declines are a normal part of business, there are things you can do to boost authorization rates. Here are some tricks for doing just that.
Forty-two percent of ecommerce sales were made via mobile devices in 2022. That figure is predicted to reach 44% by 2025. These statistics show that people are increasingly shopping from their smartphones and tablets.
If your checkout process isn’t optimized for mobile devices, customers could have a difficult time entering their payment information correctly, making declines unavoidable. Create a smooth mobile checkout to improve authorization rates.
Ask customers to provide their billing addresses to take advantage of AVS, which matches the billing address that the customer provides to the one associated with the given credit card. A mismatch can often lead to declines.
A card verification value is the three-digit code usually located on the back of a credit card, near the signature bar. CVV is an additional security measure that can help prevent fraudulent transactions. Ask for the CVV during checkout to prevent network declines and improve your payment authorization rate.
Surprise fees are just as frustrating as network declines to customers. Be transparent about all the costs you’re going to charge shoppers, including shipping and taxes, before customers reach checkout. Unexpected costs can lead to abandoned checkouts or declined transactions.
Ensure your website loads quickly and works reliably. Slow or glitchy websites can result in poor customer experiences and failed transactions.
You can use a free tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test your website’s speed and get actionable steps to take to fix performance barriers.
Keep your payment software and systems up to date. Outdated software can lead to compatibility issues and transaction failures.
When possible, opt in to automatic system updates. Make sure you’re subscribed to tools that are maintained and updated regularly, rather than using software with a one-time license fee and no support.
Clearly communicate with customers about potential issues that might arise during the payment process and how to resolve them.
Consider publishing the most common network decline reasons on an FAQs page on your website, as a customer support email autoresponder, or in your store’s chatbot to help customers troubleshoot and save your employees time.
If you’re experiencing a high number of declines, contact your payment processor. They may be able to provide insights into why transactions are failing and suggest solutions.
Shopify and Shopify Payments offer several features and services that can help merchants improve payment authorization rates and reduce network declines.
Shopify Payments is a fully integrated payment stack solution by Shopify. It’s designed to work seamlessly with your Shopify store, reducing the likelihood of technical issues that can lead to declines. Here’s how:
Here’s how Shopify can help improve your payment authorization rates outside of Shopify Payments:
While some network declines are an inescapable part of doing business online, you can reduce others by understanding their source and troubleshooting. Fortunately, Shopify features and services can help improve your shop’s payment authorization rates and reduce network declines.
