"Issuer Available" instant declines
Welcome to the fourth part of the STIP Mega Guide.
In this part of the guide, we look at some important transaction decline scenarios.
Background
As covered in The Journey of a Transaction , Visa performs initial edits on transactions received from the acquirer and may decline them at this stage. These are considered "Issuer Available," because the issuer's availability has not yet been checked. Such transactions carry a STIP Advice Code of C in field 44.1, with a corresponding STIP Reason Code in field 63.4.
Below are common examples. STIP Reason Code is 9061 unless noted otherwise.
Response codes 04/07/41/43 (Pick up card – various)
Card is on the Account Screen Authorization File (ASAF) with one of the above action codes, and the issuer uses the All Respond option for ASAF.
Response code 05 (Do Not Honor)
Card on ASAF with action code 05, and the issuer uses All Respond option for ASAF processing.
Response code 13 (Invalid Amount)
- Invalid transaction amount in field 4 (amount is higher than allowed maximum values (per-field 4 section of technical specifications)
- Cashback amount in field 61 is zero
Response code 14 (Invalid Account Number)
Card on ASAF with action code 14, and the issuer uses All Respond option for ASAF processing.
Response code 15 (No Such Issuer)
- Transaction on a card in an inactive account range in VisaNet
- Transaction sent as Network 4 (PLUS) when that network is not enabled in VisaNet
Response code 55 (PIN Incorrect or missing)
- Incorrect PIN entered by the cardholder (when the client uses PIN Verification Always).
- PIN is missing from the transaction.
STIP Reason code is 9041 in both scenarios
Response code 46 (Closed Account)
Card on ASAF with action code 46, and the issuer uses All Respond option for ASAF processing.
Response code 57 (Transaction not permitted to cardholder)
- Whole BIN blocked in VisaNet (acquirer or issuer side)
- Invalid service code (not recognized by Visa)
- Cross-border transaction on card with domestic Service code
- PIN Management transaction on a card not set up for PIN Management service
- Service blocked in VisaNet (for example, online gambling, key-entered transactions)
Response code 62 (Restricted Card)
Visa or issuer has blocked a country in VisaNet to disallow transactions happening in those countries
Response code 59 (Suspected Fraud)
Transaction triggered a Visa Risk Manager rule that requires an instant decline.
STIP reason code is 9047
Response code 81 (Pin Cryptographic Error)
Commonly caused by the acquirer sending an incorrectly formatted PIN block in a PIN transaction.
STIP Reason code is 9045
Please note that not all response codes generate issuer authorization advice messages. Please see the article on STIP Advices for more information.
For help understanding and optimizing your authorization flows, including STIP processing and decline scenarios— please contact Payment Authorization Expertise. We can identify root causes and fixes to ensure Flawless Transactions. Every Time.