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Visa Network Response Codes

Visa 05

Do Not Honor

Soft Decline
Temporary failures that may succeed on retry
Retryable
This decline may succeed on retry

Description

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.

Recommended Action

Retry the transaction after a delay. If persistent, ask the cardholder to contact their bank.

Common Causes

  • Issuer risk or fraud screening triggered
  • Transaction amount outside normal spending pattern
  • Temporary hold or restriction on the account
  • Insufficient funds (some issuers use 05 instead of 51)

Recovery Tips

  • Retry up to 15 times over 30 days per Visa rules
  • Space retries with increasing intervals
  • Ask the cardholder to contact their bank if retries fail
  • Try a smaller amount if possible

Quick Reference

Code
05
Category
Soft Decline
Retryable
Yes
Source
Visa
Recoverability verdict

This is a soft decline. This revenue is often recoverable.

Payments failing with code 05 are often recoverable with the right retry timing and routing. Slicker recovers up to 70% of soft declines with smart retries.

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