Feature Summary: When a payment fails in CourtReserve, your payment processor returns a decline code explaining why. This article covers the most common credit card declines, ACH/bank transfer return codes, processor and gateway errors, and TSYS card reader issues - along with resolution steps for each.

Use Cases:

Many decline decisions are made by the cardholder's issuing bank, not by CourtReserve or your payment processor. Understanding the code returned helps your staff respond quickly and accurately.

Note: Avoid processing a refund or payment directly in your processor portal unless absolutely necessary. Transactions processed outside of CourtReserve will not reflect in CourtReserve.

Payment errors generally fall into two groups. Card declines (codes 200-264) mean the member's bank is declining the card - neither you nor CourtReserve can override these, and the member needs to contact their bank or use a different payment method. System or account errors (codes 300 and above) mean something is misconfigured on the merchant account, or there is a temporary communication issue - these are usually fixable, and some need immediate attention because they affect every payment at your club.

Credit card declines are either soft (temporary - may succeed on retry) or hard (permanent - require cardholder action first).

The issuing bank rejected the transaction without a specific reason. This is typically triggered by fraud suspicion, spending limits, or internal bank rules.

Resolution:

The cardholder's balance or available credit is below the transaction amount. This accounts for approximately 40-50% of all failed payments.

Resolution:

Note: This is a soft decline. Retrying the same card too aggressively can trigger additional bank blocks.

The billing address (street number and/or ZIP) entered at checkout does not match what the card's issuing bank has on file. AVS reads numbers only - street number and ZIP are the critical fields.

Resolution:

Note: AVS mismatches often happen after a move. The member needs to update their address with their bank first, then retry or use another card.

The three-digit CVV on the back of the card (or four-digit on Amex front) does not match the issuer's record.

Resolution:

These are the codes CourtReserve itself displays as Payment Declined: [message] when a card payment fails. They sit on top of whatever your processor returns, so a member may see one of these even if the underlying reason came from SafeSave, Stripe, or CardConnect. If a decline code appears that is not listed below, the wording came directly from your payment provider rather than CourtReserve, so it can vary - check your payment provider dashboard for that transaction, or ask the member's bank.

You cannot resolve any of the following codes from CourtReserve. The member needs to use a different card or contact their bank.

Note: If you see codes 261 or 262, do not keep retrying the charge. Continuing to retry a card after the bank has revoked authorization can result in chargebacks against your club.

These codes (300 and above) mean the problem is on the merchant account or gateway configuration side, not the cardholder's. Some of them affect every payment at your club and need immediate attention.

Note: Codes 410 and 411 mean every payment at your club is currently failing, not just one member's transaction. Contact CourtReserve Support immediately rather than troubleshooting individual payments.

ACH payments pull funds directly from a member's bank account. Failures generate R-codes. Unlike credit card declines (near-instant), ACH returns take one to two banking days - unauthorized returns can take up to 60 calendar days.

These errors appear in CourtReserve when an issue occurs at the gateway or processor level beyond a standard bank decline. Many require action from you, the member, or our support team.

The card has been blocked by SafeSave due to excessive chargebacks against SafeSave processors.

Resolution:

This appears after initial authorization but before the gateway has fully settled with the bank. The transaction is in a pending state.

Resolution:

Occurs when (1) you are attempting a partial refund and (2) the original payment has not yet settled.

Resolution:

The routing number or account number entered does not match the customer name or does not correspond to an existing account. This is typically a data entry error.

Resolution:

Note: This is a data entry or member-side error, not a CourtReserve system issue.

The member was deleted from the payment gateway but still exists in CourtReserve, causing a reference mismatch.

Resolution: Submit a support request to CourtReserve. This requires a manual data fix by the Development Team.

The same routing and account number is already attached to this member and cannot be added again.

Resolution:

Typically appears after switching payment providers. The referenced transaction occurred in a previous processor that your CourtReserve account is no longer connected to.

Resolution: If processing a refund, it must be issued directly in your previous payment provider's portal. CourtReserve cannot access or refund transactions from a disconnected processor.

Contact SafeSave Support: [email protected]

A bank-level decline. The issuing bank rejected the transaction. SafeSave can pull more details on the specific bank response.

Resolution:

Note: This is not a CourtReserve system issue.

The member's bank is declining this specific transaction because the bank has restricted the card from certain merchant categories.

Resolution: The member must contact their issuing bank directly. CourtReserve and SafeSave cannot override an issuer MCC restriction.

A SafeSave-side processing error, not a standard bank decline.

Resolution: Contact SafeSave support at [email protected] with the transaction details. CourtReserve support can assist with escalation if needed.

The credit card is no longer valid. The member most likely canceled or replaced their card.

Resolution: Reach out to the member to collect updated payment information. Have them add a new card in CourtReserve before retrying.

The bank has flagged this card for suspected fraud or card type ineligibility. The exact reason is not disclosed by the bank to SafeSave or CourtReserve.

Resolution:

The bank has communicated an issue with the card specifically. This could be a fraud flag, card restriction, or another bank-side condition.

Resolution: The member must contact their bank. The exact issue is not communicated to SafeSave or CourtReserve - the bank is the only party with full details.

The transaction amount exceeds the per-sale limit configured on your SafeSave merchant account.

Resolution: Contact SafeSave support at [email protected] to request an increase to your maximum ticket limit. This is a merchant account configuration change, not a card issue.

SafeSave cannot locate the API key associated with your account. This is a configuration or credential issue.

Resolution: Contact SafeSave support and CourtReserve support - this may require re-linking your SafeSave credentials in CourtReserve settings.

ACH/eCheck payments are not enabled on your SafeSave merchant account.

Resolution: Contact SafeSave support to enable ACH/eCheck on your merchant account, or log in to your SafeSave portal and enable this payment type in your settings. Until resolved, members cannot pay via bank transfer on your account.

Contact Stripe Support: [email protected]

Note: For fraudulent declines, never tell the member that fraud was detected. Simply say the payment did not go through and ask for a different method.

Note: All transactions are visible in your Stripe dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com. Avoid processing a refund or payment directly in the Stripe dashboard unless absolutely necessary - this will not reflect in CourtReserve.

Contact CardConnect Support: [email protected]

Clubs with a physical TSYS card reader configured via SafeSave process in-person payments through the terminal. The following are the most common terminal errors and resolution steps.

Note: For any TSYS reader error not resolved by a restart or network check, contact SafeSave support with the full error code and time of occurrence.

Unlike the decline codes above, these are plain-language messages you may see when an invoice, refund, or billing action is blocked. Most tell you exactly what happened and what to do next.

If you see any of the following, a required field was left blank or a required choice was not made. Complete the form and save again.

A positive fee amount is required, a rental is required, Account Number is required, Account Type is required, Adjustment Method is required, Billing Contact Name and Billing Email are required, Cancellation Reason is Required, Card Number is required, CVC is required, Ending date is required, Expiration Date is required, Fee Amount is required, First deposit is required, Note is required, Payment Frequencies is required, Payment type is required, Refund Amount is Required, Refund Destination is required, Routing Number is required, Second deposit is required, Start Date, Frequency, and Next Payment Date are required, Stripe Publishable Key and Secret Key are required fields.

These usually mean the item was deleted or changed elsewhere, or your page is showing stale information. Refresh the page and try again. If it is still there but will not work, contact Support.

Batch not found, Billing not found, Charge not found, Enterprise Billing not found, Family of this member was not found, Indicated batch and tracking id not found, Invoice not found, Payment method not found, Payment not found, Payment provider not found, Recurring Fee not found, Selected terminal not exists, Transaction not found.

The action already happened, or your page has not refreshed to show the current status. Refresh before retrying.

Already cancelled, Billing Cycle already paid, Invoice already marked as paid, One of transaction already paid, One of transaction already voided, Payment already refunded, Recurring Fee is already cancelled, Stripe Account already exists, This invoice is already paid, This Item Was Already Refunded, This subscription is already cancelled, Transaction already paid, Transaction already voided.

Reduce the amount, or ask an administrator to raise the relevant limit in settings.

Amount must be greater than 0, Choose at least one transaction, Description max length is 1000, Enter at least one email, Refund Amount can't be bigger than paid amount, Refund Amount can't be bigger than requested refund amount, This promo code has reached its maximum number of uses, Total should be greater then zero, Track data exceed maximum length, You have reached the maximum uses for this promo code.

These messages usually name exactly what is blocking you. Read the message and follow its instructions. If you have already done what it asks and it is still blocked, contact Support.

A generic failure occurred. Try the action once more. If it keeps happening, contact CourtReserve Support with the page you were on and roughly when it happened.

An error occurred while processing the refund, Amount you are trying to pay is different than the amount you initiated the payment (refresh and retry), An error occurred executing a RestRequest object, The batch processing is currently active; new invoices are temporarily disabled during this process, Unable to retrieve a Stripe account, Unexpected error occurred, please try one more time, Something went wrong, please try again.

Contact CourtReserve support in the following situations: