V
Visa Network Response Codes91
Issuer Unavailable
Soft Decline
Temporary failures that may succeed on retry
Retryable
This decline may succeed on retry
Description
The issuing bank's authorization system is unavailable or not responding. This is a temporary connectivity issue.
Recommended Action
Retry after a short delay. The issuer system should recover shortly.
Common Causes
- Issuer system down for maintenance
- Network connectivity issues between processors
- Issuer authorization system overloaded
Recovery Tips
- Retry after a few minutes
- If widespread, check for known issuer outages
- Use stand-in processing (STIP) if available
Quick Reference
Code
91
Category
Soft Decline
Retryable
Yes
Source
Visa
Related Decline Codes
01Retryable
Refer to Card Issuer
The issuing bank is requesting the merchant to contact them before proceeding. This is a generic referral code indicating the issuer wants more information or verification.
02Retryable
Refer to Card Issuer (Special Condition)
Similar to code 01 but indicates a special condition. The issuing bank wants the merchant to contact them for a specific reason related to the account.
03Retryable
Invalid Merchant
The merchant ID or terminal configuration is not recognized or not valid for this transaction type. This typically indicates a setup issue rather than a cardholder problem.
05Retryable
Do Not Honor
The issuing bank has declined the transaction without providing a specific reason. This is one of the most common decline codes and can be temporary or permanent depending on the issuer's internal risk assessment.
Automate Payment Recovery for Visa
Slicker automatically handles decline codes like 91 by intelligently retrying at the optimal time based on the decline reason.