The card was declined
A declined card means the bank said no — no money was taken. Here's how to find out why and what to do next.
- 1
Open the gift
Find the gift in Giving. Its badge says "Declined" — "The charge didn't go through — no money was taken". Open it and read "Failure reason".
Declined gifts have a red badge. - 2
Read the reason
"Expired", "lost", "stolen", "closed", "invalid card number" or "security code" mean the card can't work — a new card is needed. "Insufficient funds" or "try again" may work another day.
- 3
Typing mistakes
Wrong security code (CVV), ZIP code or expiration date cause many declines. Ask the donor to read the card again.
Re-enter the card carefully. - 4
Recurring gifts
A declined recurring charge is tried again on your retry days (Settings → Collecting & reminders → "Retry after (days)"). A card that can't work isn't retried — the donor is asked for a new card right away.
Days to try again after a decline. - 5
Cards that need replacing
Giving → Recurring → "Need a new card" lists them. Press "Send update link", or "copy link" to read it to the donor.
Cards to replace, with update links. - 6
Try another way
Ask for another card, a bank transfer, Zelle, or a check.
Tips
- Many declines in a row from strangers on your giving page can be card testing — Yahiv watches for it (Settings → Sign-in & security).
- An alert comes in for declined recurring charges.
If something isn't working
The donor says the bank approved it.
Ask them to call the bank: a hold or a fraud check often shows as "approved" in their app but was declined.
Every card is declined on one processor.
Check Settings → Payment processors — the connection may need attention.
Still stuck after all these checks?
Press the help button and ask Yahiv, or write to Yahiv support with what you tried and a screenshot. Nobody minds — that's what support is for.