REASONS WHY YOUR DEBIT CARD DECLINES+SOLUTIONS
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If your Debit card is not working or showing declined? then there’s some issue with your card.
That’s why I’m going to show you the reasons for debit card decline & how to fix the problems.
Debit Card: the biggest revolution in banking, change our perspective for cash transactions completely. Now we don’t even bother about going to the bank and wait in line for hours to withdraw our money or the need to carry cash every time in our wallet.
These cards save our time, give instant access to our funds, can be used anywhere in the world, etc. Now everything is possible because of the advanced technology, but along with benefits, Debit cards have some demerits too.
One of the biggest problems with Debit cards is that it gets deny at POS or ATM even when you have enough funds in your account or for no reason, which leaves you annoyed, embarrassed, and cringed in such a situation.
So, read the full article to know more about why your card gets declined most of the time without any reason and how to fix or handle a declined Debit Card.
Also Read: Credit card Chip Not Working [Solved]
What is Debit Card?
A debit card is a way to carry your cash safely and securely, which is directly linked to your account, and whenever you made any purchase using a debit card, it deducts money directly from your account.
Other names of Debit card are:
- Bank card
- Plastic card
- Check card
How it works
We can use our Check card for cash withdrawal at ATM or payment purposes at POS or online platforms.
Let’s see how it works in each mode:
ONLINE MODE:
At the point when you use your Debit Card on the web for online transactions, you have to enter the 16-digit Debit Card Number, the expiry date, and the three-digit CVV number to make a buy.
When the subtleties are entered, there is an OTP activated (One Time Password) to your versatile enrolled number, which should be entered at the dealer’s site to finish the exchange.
OFFLINE MODE:
We use our debit card offline at stores, restaurants, or anywhere for payment. The whole transaction takes place using a card reader machine.
Once you swipe or insert the card to the vendor’s machine, you have to enter the secure PIN for authentication. Then your bank forms the solicitation made by the vendor using the Debit Card and discharges the necessary sum.
Check out, our handy Guide to FIx Credit Card Machine Not Working
Types of Debit Cards
There are various types of Debit cards with their benefits and drawbacks. You must choose carefully between the various financial instruments available in the market according to your needs. Let’s discuss the types:
- Visa Debit Card
The International Debit cards from VISA are globally accepted. And is one of the safest and secured payment platform verified and backed by VISA. - MasterCard Debit Card
This debit card is also widely accepted and very handy. It’s trendy because of its excellent service and 24*7 customer support services. And it almost functions the same as Visa Debit Card. - Visa Electron Debit Cards
These Debit cards are Safe n secure and easiest to use with zero interest charge for cash withdrawal. The only difference between Visa Electron and Visa Cards is that it doesn’t allow the overdraft protection function like Visa. - Maestro Debit Card
MasterCard owned the services of the Maestro Debit card. It is suitable for every type of transaction along with local currencies withdrawal from any MasterCard owned ATM and from anywhere in the world. - Contactless Debit Card
These Debit cards are based on principles of NFC (Near Field Technology) or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which makes the transactions fast and accurate and saves time from swiping or inserting the card into the terminal. - EMV Card
EMV Debit card comes with an embedded electronic chip on it, which provides extra layers of security as compared to other types of debit cards.
In EMV technology, Cards come with a Card reader. So, either we have to insert or swipe the card into the card reader or payment terminal to complete the transaction. - Prepaid Debit Card
As the name defines itself, prepaid means first you have to fund your Debit card, then only you can use. These cards are not connected with your bank accounts directly. It has its benefits and demerits. - Check Card
A standard debit card which is linked directly to your bank account and deduce the amount just after payment. Supported by Visa and MasterCard payment network and being used at most merchants.
Reasons Why Your Debit Card Was Declined
The most irritating and embarrassing situation is when you are waiting in line for payment or going to make online transactions for the awaited product, and your card declines on the spot.
That time you feel like the Greatest Boon of this era became your greatest curse, and it’s more confusing when you don’t get any reason for its failure.
Here we are discussing some major reasons which can decline your card. Have a look:
- When you don’t have sufficient funds
It’s possible that you didn’t keep track of your account, spent all the funds already and forgot about it, and again went shopping.
This is a widespread problem around the world, and most of the time, we forgot to keep track of our account in time and ended up with payment decline because of insufficient funds.
Always remember, if your Debit card is linked with your bank account, then your bank has the authority to deny the payment when you don’t have sufficient funds for that. But if you have overdraft protection, then the bank will give you credit - When you enter the wrong PIN
PIN (Personal Identification Number) is very personal and not for share. Bank generates individual pin for individual customers for adding an extra layer of security to the corresponding account.
It’s a unique four-digit number (assigned per card), which the customer has to remember because he has to use it again and again. But if you failed to remember and entered the wrong pin in the card reader, your card will get declined.
So better, memorize it, and verify it before every use. - The debit card is damaged
Another good reason for your card denial. If you put your card lose with other sharp metallic objects or if your card is exposed to heat, water, and chemicals, then obviously it will get damaged. And a damaged debit card will not work at POS systems or wherever you need to swipe or insert it, So better protect your card and keep it safe. - When you exceed your daily limit
Almost every bank imposes a specific limit on their cards. It means you are allowed to spend or withdraw a certain amount only in 24hours, and once you try to exceed the threshold, the bank will decline your card.
Bank imposes this limit to avoid the fraudulent activity with your account and also saves you from being a big spender. - When your card is expired
Every Debit card comes with an expiry date. People often don’t check their card expiry date, and there it gets denied with a valid reason. If you look closely on the front side of the card, you will find month and year written in number. After that month and year, your card will not be valid and will be counted as dead.
Go ahead, take a look, and inform your bank if it’s going to expire. - When your information did not match
Did you move your house and didn’t update your bank? Or did you change your contact number and forgot to update?
Any of this reason leads to denial of your card because your bank verifies your information every time you use your card for authentication. When the bank suspects any change in information, they will freeze your card for your safety.
Make sure you update your bank for even a small update about you. - Suspicious transaction
Any activity with your payment account, which is odd and not fit in a regular pattern like withdrawing a considerable amount, withdrawing from miles away from your regular place, etc. comes under suspicion.
In this type of situation, the bank will deny the request and popped your contact number with a confirmation message at first. - International Purchase
It doesn’t matter if you are making an international online transaction or you visit a foreign location and then purchasing something.
Some banks automatically deny the international transaction and bell your alarm in both cases. In one way, it’s very frustrating and embarrassing, but in another way, the bank is protecting your money from hijackers and fraudsters. - Technical Issues
Sometimes the fault is not with your card but with the card reader, payment terminal, or card issuer. It can be because of a slow network of terminals or systems error with the card issuer, or card reader is jammed, etc.
In all the above cases, your card will get deny even when it’s not your card’s fault. In this type of situation, wait and try again after sometimes. - Your joint holder deactivated your card
In case if your account is joint or you are carrying the card of your spouse, family, friend, or relative, then it’s better to ask them first about the denial of the card.
It may be possible that the primary card owner or joint holder deactivated the card for some reason. This will deny your card for no reason. So better to apologize and communicate with them if you did something wrong. - PIN Lockout
Every bank has this policy of pin lockout if you enter the wrong pin more than the maximum number of guesses (generally three attempts) provided by your issuer bank.
Either you are withdrawing money or making a payment, but if you entered the wrong pin thrice, your card would be denied, and the bank rejects the transaction. - Using the chip card the wrong way:
It’s possible that you are not aware of the latest technology of chip cards, or maybe your vendor does not have the latest card reader technology at his POS.
We moved from magnetic tapes to chip cards, and accordingly, everything changes. So before using your card, it’s always better to know about the technology you are going to use. - Your card is not activated yet
You can’t start using your card as soon as you received it from your issuer bank. There’s a procedure to activate it.
When you receive your debit card for the first time, you must follow the instruction given in the brochure or provided by the bank to activate it.
Maybe you have to make a call to any specific number or do some pin settlement procedure at first. - When a particular card type not accepted
We already described the type of cards, and not every POS or ATM can accept all kinds of cards. In general, EMV cards are globally accepted, but VISA electron and contactless are still not infrequent use.
If the POS is not accepting your card type, then also your card will get denied. - Chip not working
If you are using your card for a long time, then it can be possible that it got frayed or unnoticeable wear and tear break the chip of the card.
In that case, your card will stop working even if you have a sufficient amount in your fund. - When you forget about annual charges:
Last but not least, every bank charges a minimum amount for the debit card services from its customers annually.
And if you didn’t enable to charge automatically from your account, then you have to pay it manually, and sometimes we forgot to do it, which deactivate or hold our card from the further transactions.
HOW TO FIX YOUR DEBIT CARD DECLINED
So, along with the above mention reasons, there can be many more reasons: why your card is declined. Now you know the reasons, your next step is what will you do in such situations and what is advisable to do immediately when your card is denied at POS.
Here are some solutions or to do things for you to fix your card:
- Kindly check your funds immediately
Check whether you have enough funds in your account or not for transactions. Enable Overdraft services if you want to save yourself from this kind of situation.
Download the mobile app on your phone to get the notification and update about anything related to your account. - Recheck your pin
Verify your pin after entering it.
Memorize your four-digit pin to avoid such problems for the future and never write your pin at the back of your card or anywhere, which is public. - Is your information up to date?
In case of manual filling of info, check whether your complete information is matching with the bank or not.
Always update your small to the significant change of information as soon as possible to the bank. - Check your card type is acceptable or not at POS
Check whether your card type is matching with the vendor’s card reader technology or not. The vendor is accepting your card brand or not.
Always choose globally accepted cards to avoid future mishappenings. - You reach your withdrawal limit
Check your exceeding limit. If it’s necessary to exceed, call your bank to exceed the limit for the day. Generally, they do it. - Stop if it’s a suspicious or international transaction
Ensure you are not doing something suspicious or wrong with your card. Try to avoid international transactions, and if necessary, call your bank first. If going to spend a significant amount, then also notify beforehand. - Check if your card is damaged or unclean
Clean your card with the hacks I provided in the previous article. Always keep your card safe and in cardholder to avoid scratch or any physical damage. - Be familiar with Chip Card Technology
In case of a chip card, make sure you are giving sufficient time to the card reader to read your card. Also, check if your card type is matching with POS technology. Clean the chip of your card to remove the unseen dust or impurities. - Check if your card is expired
Check the expiry date on your card to know if your card is due or expired. Request replacement if the card is dead.
Destroy the old card before throwing it anywhere as it still holds your information - Call Customer Care
>> In case you tried all the above fixing techniques.
>> When your card is not working for online transactions.
>> If your card keeps declining again and again for no reason.
>> When the card stops working without any reason.
>> If your card is missing, stolen, or misplaced. Or any other reason which you can’t handle.
All these solutions are tested on Wellsfargo, US Bank, Chase, Target, Suntrust, Halifax, Bank of America, capital one 360 Debit Cards+ Many more other banks.
(Note: If you flip the card backside, you will get the customer support number. You don’t have to waste time in googling it)
CONCLUSION
After reading this article, I hope you will get a clear idea about how a debit card works and on what basis your card declines. And the most important: how to fix it.
Apart from fixing, you should always carry some money for backup options with you. Also, you can apply for the credit card to back you up.
Do share this with your friends so they can also save themselves from such situations.
