We have had several potential customers contact us letting us know their prepaid Visas receive the DECLINE message? Does Shopify not accept these and if not any recommendations. Millions of people use these cards.
Topic summary
Issue: Customers report prepaid Visa cards being declined at checkout; merchants ask whether these cards are accepted and how to proceed.
Shopify staff response: If using Shopify Payments (Shopify’s built‑in processor), Visa is accepted in all supported countries, though accepted card types vary by the merchant’s country. Declines typically come from the issuing bank. Merchants should review Orders > Abandoned checkouts > Timeline > payment events for bank-provided decline details, and advise customers to contact their bank. If a third‑party gateway is used, contact that provider. Staff did not explicitly confirm prepaid Visa acceptance.
Additional reports: One user’s prepaid Visa was rejected when paying for a Shopify plan (billing), indicating the issue may not be limited to a single storefront. Another participant cites consistent prepaid Visa declines across several major US merchants (Spanx, Azil, REI, Title Nine) and requests a trouble ticket, calling it a potential deal breaker.
Status: Unresolved/ongoing. Suggested next steps include collecting decline codes from abandoned checkouts, having customers contact card issuers, and escalating to Shopify support for investigation into prepaid Visa handling.
Hey, @Wolfshack!
I’d love to help you with your concern about payments. Are these potential customers using Shopify Payments in your store? If so, Visa cards are certainly accepted. The list of accepted credit card types does vary per country (merchant’s country, not the customer’s), however, Visa is accepted in all countries that Shopify Payments supports.
If you haven’t done this yet, I suggest checking out the abandoned cart pertaining to these order attempts. We receive information from the customer’s bank about a decline and we show as much information as we receive in the abandoned cart. You can follow the steps below to do this.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Abandoned checkouts.
- Click an abandoned checkout.
- On the abandoned checkout details page, go to Timeline.
- Click a payment event.
If the information doesn’t reveal specific details that resolve the problem, I recommend suggesting customers contact their bank or credit card company for assistance whenever you receive these reports. Customers usually encounter a Declined error message when there’s an issue with their credit card, and their bank will be able to investigate and find a solution for the matter.
If customers are experiencing this error when using a third-party payment gateway, I’m unable to advise whether Visa is accepted or not, but you may contact the payment gateway for clarification.
Let us know if you need help with anything else!
I’ve been trying to pay a plan to start my store but my prepaid VISA card is rejected
Summer- following up on this. I’ve been running tests to evaluate Shopify and have found that this is a consistent issue, spanning multiple USA-based merchants. Spanx.com, Azil.com, REI.com, TitleNine.com, etc. There are well known US-based merchants.
Is it possible to open a trouble ticket to investigate further? This would be a deal killer for me.