Decline codes

What is "Do Not Honor"?

When a credit card payment is declined, the card issuer (the cardholder's bank) returns a response code to indicate the reason. "Do Not Honor" (response code 05) is one of the most common of these and also one of the least specific.

It is a catch-all decline code that the issuing bank sends when it refuses a transaction but does not provide a more detailed reason. Buckaroo receives and forwards this code exactly as returned by the card network. No additional detail is available beyond what the issuer provides.

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Important for merchants
A "Do Not Honor" decline does not indicate a problem with your integration, your Buckaroo account, or your payment setup. It is a decision made by the cardholder's bank.

Why issuers send this code

Issuing banks use "Do Not Honor" for a wide range of underlying reasons. Because issuers are not required to disclose their specific decline logic, the same code can appear for very different situations:

Cause	Description
Insufficient funds or credit limit reached	Many issuers return this generic code instead of a more specific one.
Fraud or risk controls	The issuer's risk engine flagged the transaction as unusual — for example, an unexpected location, amount, or merchant category.
Card or account restrictions	The card may have restrictions on certain merchant types, international payments, or online transactions.
Temporary holds or blocks	The card may be temporarily blocked after a suspicious activity alert, pending cardholder verification.
Soft decline policies	Some issuers send this code as a soft decline that may succeed if the customer authenticates via 3D Secure.
Issuer system issues	Occasionally caused by temporary issuer-side processing errors that resolve without any action.

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Note on insufficient funds
Research across card networks shows that a significant share of "Do Not Honor" declines are effectively the same as an insufficient funds decline. Some issuers are not granular in their response codes and default to 05 across multiple scenarios.

What you can and cannot see

Buckaroo passes through all information received from the card network. The table below summarises visibility across parties.

Information	Cardholder	Merchant	Buckaroo	Card Issuer
Response code (05)	Not shown	✅ Visible	✅ Visible	✅ Visible
Specific decline reason	Sometimes	❌ Not available	❌ Not available	Internal only
Retry outcome	Not shown	✅ Visible	✅ Visible	✅ Visible

Recommended actions

The right response depends on the context of the decline. Use the guidance below as a starting point.

For one-off customer payments

Ask the customer to contact their bank directly to understand why the payment was declined. Their bank can see the internal reason; you cannot.
Offer an alternative payment method (iDEAL, PayPal, Klarna, or another card).
If the customer wants to retry the same card, a single retry is reasonable. Repeated retries in quick succession can increase the risk of a fraud flag at the issuer.

For subscription or recurring payments

Trigger a dunning flow: notify the customer via email and ask them to update their payment details or retry manually.
Space out automated retries. At least 24 hours between attempts is recommended for most card networks.
After three failed attempts, pause automated retries and require manual customer action to avoid network penalties for excessive retries.

🚧 3D Secure may help

When "Do Not Honor" occurs on a transaction that did not go through 3D Secure, enabling 3DS authentication can sometimes convert soft declines into approvals. Some issuers use this code to signal that additional authentication is required. Buckaroo supports 3D Secure 2 — see 3D Secure for setup guidance.

Preventing declined payments

While you cannot control issuer decisions, you can take steps to reduce the frequency of declines and recover failed payments more effectively.

Action	Who it helps	Details
Enable 3D Secure 2	All merchants	Shifts liability and may satisfy issuer authentication requirements that trigger 05 codes.
Send pre-payment reminders	Subscriptions	Notify customers before recurring charges so they can ensure sufficient funds or update their card.
Offer multiple payment methods	All merchants	Customers whose card is declined can complete the purchase via bank transfer or digital wallet.
Use card updater services	Subscriptions	Automatically update stored card details when a card is renewed or replaced. Contact Buckaroo support for availability.
Monitor decline rate trends	All merchants	A sudden spike in 05 declines may signal a broader issue. Contact Buckaroo support if you see an unexpected increase.

Need help?

If you are seeing an unusually high volume of "Do Not Honor" declines and need assistance investigating, contact Buckaroo support with your merchant ID and the affected time range. We will help you review the decline patterns.