Created: February 27, 2026 | Author: Intro | Category: Operations / Payments
This article defines which card decline Result keywords should be:
- blocked immediately
- blocked conditionally
- kept retry-eligible
- routed to ACH or delayed retry
- excluded from token health scoring
The goal is to reduce wasted retries on dead cards while maximizing recoverable revenue.
Key Rules
- Immediate Block (1 strike): terminal fraud or structural failures with near-zero recovery
- Conditional Block (5 consecutive): structural-sounding declines with measurable recovery
- Retry / ACH Candidate: valid-account signals where the card channel failed
- Do Not Disable / Do Not Count: processor/system errors that should not impact token status
- Backstop Rule: disable any token after 30 consecutive failures, regardless of code
🔴 Immediate Block (1 Strike)
| Keyword | Est. 30-Day Recovery | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| stolen | <0.1% | Fraud flag. Replacement required. |
| lost | <0.1% | Fraud flag. |
| pick up card / pickup card | <0.1% | Confiscation instruction. |
| card blocked, prior cat-1 decline | <0.5% | Fraud escalation. |
| no such issuer | <0.1% | BIN invalid. |
| invalid card number | <0.1% | Nonexistent PAN. |
| invalid pan | <0.1% | Network-level invalid. |
| card number invalid | <0.1% | Same as above. |
| card not found | <0.1% | Issuer cannot locate account. |
| invalid bin | <0.1% | Invalid BIN structure. |
| revoked card | <0.5% | Permanently revoked. |
| terminated card | <0.5% | Permanently terminated. |
| fraud account | <0.5% | Explicit fraud state. |
🟡 Conditional Block (Disable After 5 Consecutive)
| Keyword | Est. 30-Day Recovery | Why Not Immediate |
|---|---|---|
| invalid account | 2–6% | Sometimes mapping noise. |
| no such account | 1–5% | Similar to above. |
| closed account | 3–8% | Small recovery exists. |
| service not allowed | 5–12% | MCC / recurring block. |
| transaction not permitted | 6–15% | Policy block that can lift. |
| card type not allowed | 5–10% | Routing / MCC dependent. |
| card not accepted by merchant | 4–9% | Merchant config issue possible. |
| customer requested stop | 2–7% | Stop orders can be reversed. |
🟢 Retry / ACH Candidate (Do NOT Disable)
These declines strongly indicate the account is valid but the debit card channel failed. These should remain retry-eligible and often convert well to ACH or timed retries.
| Keyword | Est. 30-Day Recovery | Best Action |
|---|---|---|
| insufficient funds | 25–60% | Retry on payroll timing windows |
| do not honor | 15–35% | Retry next day, ACH candidate |
| suspected fraud | 20–40% | ACH immediately or delayed retry |
| fraud, card-absent environment | 20–45% | Strong ACH candidate |
| count exceeds limit | 10–25% | Delay retry 12–24h |
| issuer unavailable / switch inoperative | 15–30% | Retry later same day |
| CVV mismatch / verification failed | 10–30% | Retry if recurring token |
| expired card | 5–20% | ACH fallback or borrower outreach |
❌ Do NOT Disable / Do NOT Count
These are processor, gateway, or system errors that should not affect token health.
| Keyword | Est. Recovery | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| invalid trans | 10–40% | Processor/system issue |
| invalid parameter format | 20–50% | Integration error |
| reserved for private use | 5–25% | Placeholder ISO mapping |
| network error | 10–35% | Upstream timeout or switch failure |
| issuer unavailable | 15–30% | Routing/network issue |
| system malfunction | 10–25% | Temporary processing error |
⏱️ Retry Timing Guidance
For high-value retry candidates, best-performing windows from portfolio data:
- 2:00 AM
- 9:45 AM
- Thursday afternoon
- Friday 10:00 AM
🏦 Best ACH Triggers
Move directly to ACH when decline contains:
- suspected fraud
- fraud, card-absent environment
- transaction not permitted
- card type not allowed
- do not honor
These often indicate a good account, but a bad card channel.
Implementation Notes
- Result-field matching: use case-insensitive substring matching
- Conditional disable: requires 5 consecutive failures for the same token
- Backstop: keep existing 30 consecutive failures rule
- Soft declines: preserve token health score
- ACH routing: trigger ACH recommendation workflow for green-category declines
- Recovery rates: directional estimates; validate quarterly against actual approval-after-decline rates
Policy Objective
This framework balances:
- cost control → dead-card disable logic
- recovery lift → soft decline timing optimization
- ACH conversion → good-account detection
- processor noise suppression → no false token kills
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