When a gift is declined or fails to process, you'll find detailed information in your reports and can take action with your givers. This article explains where to find decline information and what you can do next.
How declines appear in reporting
Managers with the proper permissions can view declined gifts in the batch deposit report and in individual giver profiles.
In the batch deposit report:
- The Gross Amount column shows the amount deducted from your next deposit. Because gift funds are deposited into your account before clearing, a decline requires us to settle the amount back out.
- The Payment Type column shows the payment method used.
- The Status column shows the gift's outcome: approved, declined, voided, refunded, or chargeback.
Note: When a gift declines, an additional line item shows the funds credited back to the giver's account.
Why was the gift declined?
Most declines happen because the credit card issuer or bank placed a limit on the transaction. To resolve it, your giver must contact their credit card provider or bank.
To find the reason for the decline, check the Reason column in the Transactions Report. This column displays decline codes from the credit card company or bank. You can also view credit card decline codes and ACH decline codes in our help articles.
Important: Almost all decline codes are issued by the credit card provider or bank. Some codes are intentionally vague for privacy reasons—for example, "invalid transaction" can mean several things. If a code is unclear, your giver should contact their financial institution for a full explanation.
What happens when you update a payment method for a declined donation?
Important: When you update a payment profile to fix a declined payment, the system does not automatically reprocess the declined donation. The gift will need to be resubmitted by the donor, or it can be manually entered in the Virtual Terminal. If it is a recurring gift, the system will attempt to process it again at the next recurrence using the updated payment information.
Does the giver get notified about the decline?
Credit card gifts: Givers see approval or decline results immediately when they make the donation. If a recurring credit or debit card gift declines, the recipient receives a system-generated email notification.
ACH gifts: Since ACH gifts take longer to clear, givers don't receive an immediate decline notification. If an ACH gift declines, the funds are pulled from your next deposit and credited back to the giver. This appears in your organization's reporting.
You can follow up with a giver to provide details, but you don't need to take any action—the system handles it automatically.
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