A "Do Not Honor" (or 05) credit card decline means the issuing bank rejected the transaction without giving a specific reason, acting as a generic safety catch for issues like suspected fraud (unusual spending/location), insufficient funds, incorrect card details (CVV/expiry), exceeding limits, or an expired/blocked card, requiring you to call the bank directly for clarification before retrying.
Put simply, the “Do Not Honor” message indicates that the customer card's issuing bank will not allow a transaction to take place. In other words, the credit card being used by the customer has been rejected by the issuing bank.
This is because the 'do not honour' code is a catch-all error for any failed transaction. The response is sent when the card issuer refuses or is unable to authorise payment for a variety of reasons. Without that authorisation token, your payment processor will be unable to complete the transaction.
When it comes to resolving the “Do Not Honor” error, you have a few options.
Your card may be declined for a number of reasons: the card has expired; you're over your credit limit; the card issuer sees suspicious activity that could be a sign of fraud; or a hotel, rental car company, or other business placed a block (or hold) on your card for its estimated total of your bill.
Try the following:
Here are the five most common ones:
(05) Do Not Honor is one of the 100-plus issuer decline codes merchants receive when a customer payment is unsuccessful. It's a catch-all code indicating that the issuing bank (i.e. the customer's bank) is unwilling to approve the transaction without specifying a reason.
The 2/3/4 rule is a guideline, primarily used by Bank of America, that limits how many new credit cards you can get: no more than 2 in 30 days, 3 in 12 months, and 4 in 24 months, helping to prevent over-application and manage hard inquiries on your credit report. While not universal, it's a useful benchmark for responsible card application, though other banks have different rules (like Chase's 5/24 rule).
The Do Not Honor error code means that the card's bank rejected the transaction without providing a specific reason. If you encounter this error, follow these steps to resolve the issue. Resolve Do Not Honor error code. Try running the card again. Sometimes, a simple retry can fix the issue.
If your debit card is blocked, contact your bank to understand the reason for the block and follow their instructions to reactivate it, which may involve verifying your identity or receiving a replacement card.
"Do Not Honor" is a catch-all decline code used by banks to indicate that a transaction has been rejected without specifying the exact reason. The bank could have rejected the transaction due to various issues like insufficient funds, exceeding the withdrawal limit, or outdated credit card information.
If a debit card payment you are making is declined, the first step is to check the following:
“Do not honor” is a generic decline code that the issuing bank sends to the business during a transaction. It means that the bank is not willing to accept the transaction.
Yes, it is possible to get a credit card with a CIBIL Score that is less than 750. Many banks and financial institutions give credit cards to applicants with a minimum credit score of 650.
Ask your customer to use an alternate card. Ask your customer to call or contact their bank and let them know about the transaction — especially if this transaction is happening outside of the country where the customer's bank is located in. Ask the customer to wait a few hours and try again.
A ghost card payment uses a digital, multi-use virtual card created for specific vendors or departments, not people, allowing businesses to automate recurring expenses like software subscriptions or supplier bills with built-in spending controls, all consolidated onto a single account statement without issuing physical cards. They are "ghost" because they have no physical form, existing only as a 16-digit number, offering enhanced security and tracking compared to traditional cards.
Send a Dispute Letter to Your Card Company
The letter serves as a written notice to the card company about the problem. Remember: You must send the letter within 60 calendar days of when the first statement with the disputed charge was sent to you.
A card decline is when a card payment isn't authorized or accepted. There are many reasons a credit or debit card might be declined – for example, the card has expired, there are insufficient funds, or one of the parties in the payment ecosystem detects fraudulent activity.
Soft declines are temporary issues like insufficient funds or authentication required. They can usually be retried successfully. Hard declines are permanent failures, such as a stolen card or invalid account, and should not be retried without changes from the customer.
A soft decline means there is a problem with the payment, but it may be temporary, and you can change something to help the payment succeed if retried. A hard decline indicates a serious problem and the payment should not be retried.