Customer Question - Credit cards being declined across all Shopify websites

[JamesinVan]

For some reason, Shopify declines all my credit cards. I have attempted 3 different cards on 3 different shopify sites and all cards are declined. All cards are in good standing, plenty of credit available and used on a daily basis both online and irl. I have contacted the card issuers and there are no payment requests being made. In other words, the payments are not being declined by the credit card issuers. 

Can anyone help me with this?  I'm guessing I'm being caught up in some over zealous fraud prevention system. It's super frustrating!

Thanks in advance.

[Trevor · Accepted solution]

@JamesinVan 

Very strange that your credit cards would be declining across a number of Shopify stores. Here are a few things to consider: 

• Are you using a VPN? If yes, that could be flagging your order and declining it automatically 
• Is the postal code/zip on your credit card the same as the one you're inputting at checkout? If they don't align, the transaction can get declined 
• Are these full credit cards or debit cards with credit card capabilities? The former is a more supported method

I would recommend reaching out to the store(s) you tried to purchase from. They may have an abandoned cart order in their admin that may provide the details on why the card was declined. You can then take that to the card issuer to troubleshoot further. 

[JamesinVan]

@Trevor 

Thanks for your reply.

I am not using a VPN, Postal Codes match (I have tried multiple permutations and also ensured the address is an exact match with the Credit Card statement), and I am using full credit cards which I have no problem using anywhere else except through Shopify.

I have spoken previously with Customer Service relating to the issue, and they refer me to the credit card companies saying that the payment has been declined and there must be an issue with my card. When I check in with the credit card companies, they say the card is in good standing with no holds and that they have never received a request for payment from the company I am attempting to purchase from. I go back to Customer Service and get stuck in a permanent loop of "it must be the other guy".

However, it seems to me that I am being flagged and declined before the payment is even requested from the credit card company. I don't have enough knowledge about how 3rd party payment processors work to say what is happening, but the CSR can't see anything except the decline and the credit card company never receives the request, so it makes sense (to me at least) that the issue is the middle man, which in this case is Shopify. 

I'm then caught between a rock and a hard place because I don't have a Shopify account, which is how I've ended up posting here.

[Trevor]

@JamesinVan 

I understand; however, I'm afraid we can not provide support on this as we can't confirm whether the store you're trying to purchase from is using Shopify. Speaking with the business you are trying to purchase from would be the best step you can take to find a solution. 

Without the permission of the business, we can not look into their store data to determine why a customer's card would be declined. Due to this, I can't speculate on why the card was declined outside of the points I've made above. If your card is being flagged and the business is using Shopify Payments, then that might be something we can review further should the business reach out to us directly. 

Without the assistance of the business, our support would be limited to directing you to speak with your card issuer. 

[JamesinVan]

@Trevor 

Thank you for the reply.

The store is totemhousedesign.com

I contacted totemhousedesign and they said they would contact Shopify directly so I guess now it's just wait and see what happens. They never received any of the orders I've attempted and have no information at their end whatsoever, no records of declined transactions, nothing showing up with my name on it.

I previously had this issue with halfmoon.ca and just abandoned it at that time but as it keeps on happening I'd really like to be able to resolve whatever the issue is once and for all.

Anyway Totem House said they'd call in to Shopify so fingers crossed something can be resolved, thanks for your help and I'll keep you updated.

[Trevor]

@JamesinVan 

Thank you for the context. Hopefully, they will be able to work with our Support teams to determine the cause of the issue. 

[raelehman]

I have had this same issue. I have a bank debit card (with a CVV that functions like a credit card) that I use all the time IRL and online. It consistently gets immediately declined at every store when I try to pay via Shop Pay. I contacted my bank and they say that they show no declined transactions on their end. There's plenty of money in the account, all the info is correct, I have tried re-entering and double checking all the billing info, zip code, CVV, etc and it never works. I have had the issue with several different online stores.

[Imogen]

Hi there, @raelehman. Thanks for taking the time to follow up on this older thread! Have you had the opportunity to follow along with the steps that my colleague Trevor advised on in regards to resolving this issue? You can find those steps in the 'Accepted Solution', as well as in their follow up posts. It would be a good idea to follow up with one of the businesses you've tried to order from to see if they can provide you with some insights into this issues in their checkout by examining any 'Abandoned Carts' you may have left behind. These carts will have card related error information that you can use when speaking to your bank about these issues. If the issues are only happening with Shop Pay, then consider reaching out to our Shop Support Team directly for assistance.

[dialup90s]

OK! I was having this same problem with multiple customers across multiple cards. I tried to order something from my own store and it was declined as well. I contacted American Express to try to get some insight. They told me it was declined BECAUSE THE MERCHANT NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH THAT STORE IS ONE USED FOR ONLINE GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENTS. Hence the reason basically all cards are being declined.  HUGE ERROR BY SHOPIFY. Please resolve ASAP!

[Tim00]

I'm having a similar issue but, what is happening is that the store is getting deactivated immediately so, I cannot make any changes or corrections to billing info. Can you reopen this case and re-visit this issue based on what I'm experiencing?

[tunninja]

Same Issue. I've continued to have this issue with Shopify no matter how I try to process my credit card it will not go through. (venmo, paypal, hard entered, shoppay all tried)

[JamesinVan]

Hey, I fixed the issue and can now order normally with Shopify. I don't
know what the deal was but it took finding a very patient vendor who was
willing to walk through whatever the issue was with Shopify at their end.
Once I was able to make that payment everything worked fine. I don't know
what the issue was and I wasn't able to resolve it directly with Shopify
myself, I had to go through a vendor. I hope this helps you figure it out,
there is hope!

[Gab16]

Did you find a solution??

[LarsW]

I am a Shopify store owner and I just had this happen with a customer... and I worked out a solution!

They had tried multiple cards and Apple pay, and kept getting declined. We troubleshooted a few things, but nothing worked.

I then set up a draft order for them with the items they wanted to purchase, and emailed them an invoice with a link to complete the purchase. They then managed to complete the payment ok. Hoorah!
The customer said they initially came to the site from a Facebook ad, so I wonder if that remained in the cookie settings and flagged the payments as suspicious in some way.

[christinamh527]

Unfortunately I am having this same issue across all stores that use Shopify. My order goes through, but it is immediately canceled. I’ve reached out to the merchants and they all tell me that it was canceled due to high risk fraud. Even orders for like $35. And the crazy thing is, ive tried 3 different credit cards, debit card (functions like a cc), Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo. The same thing every single time. I had my card saved on my shop pay account and have never ever had this issue. I called the bank and they told me the issue is not on their end. They can see they’ve debited the money. But then it’s immediately returned by the merchant. This is beyond frustrating as most of these stores just give me the run around answer and then I’m SOL. I can’t understand why suddenly one day Shopify stopped accepting ANY orders from me through all the stores I’ve tried. This seems so unfair to me as a paying customer. I wish someone could help me with this. 

[LarsW]

See if the Shopify store owner can set up a draft order for you, then send you link to complete the order. I managed to do this for one of my customers, and it worked! (She was having the same issue as you). 

[christinamh527]

It’s happening with every store that uses Shopify. I finally decided to try to place an order and have it shipped to a different address. Weirdly enough that worked. I’m not sure why my address has been essentially blocked across all stores that use Shopify. It’s inconvenient to have to have it shipped elsewhere but right now that seems like the only work around. One merchant I reached out to wouldn’t even give me any information expect that the order was flagged for high risk fraud and couldn’t provide any other information or fulfill any orders. Super strange. I don’t understand it.