S
Stripeauthentication_required
Authentication Required
Soft Decline
Temporary failures that may succeed on retry
Retryable
This decline may succeed on retry
Description
The card was declined because the transaction requires authentication such as 3D Secure.
Recommended Action
Trigger 3D Secure authentication flow. For off-session payments, request the customer to come back on-session and authenticate.
Common Causes
- SCA/PSD2 regulation requires Strong Customer Authentication
- Issuer mandates 3DS for this transaction
- Card enrolled in 3D Secure but authentication was not performed
Recovery Tips
- Implement 3D Secure for on-session payments
- For recurring payments, authenticate the card when setting up the subscription
- Use Stripe Billing which handles SCA automatically
Quick Reference
Code
authentication_required
Category
Soft Decline
Retryable
Yes
Source
Stripe
Related Decline Codes
authentication_not_handledRetryable
Authentication Not Handled
The payment required authentication but the authentication flow was not performed before proceeding.
approve_with_idRetryable
Approve with ID
The payment cannot be authorised.
call_issuerRetryable
Call Issuer
The card was declined for an unknown reason. The customer needs to contact their card issuer for more information.
card_velocity_exceededRetryable
Card Velocity Exceeded
The customer has exceeded the balance, credit limit, or transaction amount limit on their card.
Automate Payment Recovery for Stripe
Slicker automatically handles decline codes like authentication_required by intelligently retrying at the optimal time based on the decline reason.