My payment was declined

Created by S G, Modified on Mon, Sep 21 at 4:57 PM by S G

Declines nearly always come from your bank or card issuer rather than from us. Our checkout only passes on what the bank tells it.

Many banks automatically block adult-content merchants. If your card details are correct and there’s plenty of money available, this is the most likely explanation. A call to your bank asking them to authorise the transaction usually resolves it permanently.

What the error messages mean

MessageWhat it meansWhat to do
Do Not HonorA generic refusal from your bank. Doesn’t mean anything is wrong with your account.Ask your bank to authorise it, or use another card
Issuer Declined MCCYour bank blocks our merchant category outrightYour bank likely can’t lift this. Use a different card or method
Pick up cardYour bank’s fraud system has flagged or frozen the cardCall your bank — the number is on the back of the card
Invalid transactionThe processor couldn’t complete itCheck your details, wait, and retry. Try another card
Declined by user, no reason givenThe processor gives us no detailCheck the card allows online and international payments; contact your bank
Activity count limit exceededToo many attempts in a short windowWait a while before retrying, or use another method
Suspicion of fraudFraud prevention has been triggeredTurn off any VPN and try again
Declined by payment gatewayBlocked before reaching your bankSee the general steps below
Merchant ID not foundUsually means the payment system is trying to process a transaction but cannot locate or recognize the merchantTry another card or Try another browser/device. Contact the bank - only if decline/error

General troubleshooting

  • Check the card number, expiry and CVV
  • Check the billing address matches your card statement
  • Make sure the card allows online and international transactions
  • Turn off your VPN
  • Clear cache and cookies, and check autofill isn’t silently re-entering an old card
  • Try a different browser, device or network
  • Wait before retrying. Repeated rapid attempts trigger temporary fraud blocks on both our processor’s side and your bank’s — this makes things worse, not better
  • Try cancelling the existing subscription and repurchase the plan.

If it still won’t go through

Open the checkout page and see what other methods are available in your region (article 3.2), or subscribe through Google Play (article 3.17).

Please never send us your full card number. We don’t need it. If we need to trace a payment, only the first 6 and last 4 digits are enough.

Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select at least one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article