V: ECHOnline Decline and Error Responses

| Interface Specification | ECHOnline Document revision date 05/24/2004

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# Part V: Decline and Error Responses

This document describes the content of an ECHOTYPE1 response containing a decline or error response received from the ECHO host computers. For a general description of ECHONLINE responses see Response Protocol in Part I of this Specification.

Host responses differ depending on the transaction code and whether or not an error or decline was detected by the host. For a description of acknowledgement and approval responses see Part IV: ECHONLINE Host Responses .

Credit card transactions and electronic check transactions differ slightly in their format. For this reason they are treated separately in the sections below. In the examples, the "·" character is used to indicate a space character.

## Credit Card Transactions

Decline and error responses are very similar in that they both represent situations that prevent a transaction from being authorized. Decline codes can actually represent a system error, and error codes can actually represent an account restriction. The difference between the two is more of a historical artifact than any distinction between an "error" and a "decline."

Decline responses are always preceded by the word "DECLINED," while error responses contain various text messages from ECHO's host computer or the issuer's computers. Decline and error responses are described below.

### Message Formats

Decline responses are formatted as follows.

Field | Size | Description
tag | 11 | "<ECHOTYPE1>"
decline | 9 | "DECLINED "
decline code | 2 | See Decline Codes table below
filler | 1 | " " (space)
amount | 20 | Declined transaction amount. Note: This field is right-justified with leading zeroes suppressed. Depending on the type of decline, there may or may not be a "$" character in the leftmost position of this field. Examples: "$bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb2.99" and "bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb2.99"
tag | 12 | "</ECHOTYPE1>"

Error responses are formatted as follows.

Field | Size | Description
tag | 11 | "<ECHOTYPE1>"
error text | 20 | error description
error code | 4 | See Error Codes table below
tag | 12 | "</ECHOTYPE1>"

### Decline Codes

Decline codes are defined in the following table.

Decline Code | Short Description | Explanation
01 | Refer to card issuer | The merchant must call the issuer before the transaction can be approved.
02 | Refer to card issuer, special condition | The merchant must call the issuer before the transaction can be approved.
03 | Invalid merchant number | The merchant ID is not valid.
04 | Pick-up card. Capture for reward | The card is listed on the Warning Bulletin. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
05 | Do not honor. The transaction was declined by the issuer without definition or reason | The transaction was declined without explanation by the card issuer.
06 | Error | The card issuer returned an error without further explanation.
07 | Pick-up card, special condition | The card is listed on the Warning Bulletin. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
08 | Honor with identification | Honor with identification.
09 | Request in progress | Request in progress.
10 | Approved for partial amount | Approved for partial amount.
11 | Approved, VIP | Approved, VIP program.
12 | Invalid transaction | The requested transaction is not supported or is not valid for the card number presented.
13 | Invalid amount | The amount exceeds the limits established by the issuer for this type of transaction.
14 | Invalid card # | The issuer indicates that this card is not valid.
15 | No such issuer | The card issuer number is not valid.
16 | Approved, update track 3 | Approved, update track 3.
17 | Customer cancellation | Customer cancellation.
18 | Customer dispute | Customer dispute.
19 | Re enter transaction | Customer should resubmit transaction.
20 | Invalid response | Invalid response.
21 | No action taken | No action taken. The issuer declined with no other explanation.
22 | Suspected malfunction | Suspected malfunction.
23 | Unacceptable transaction fee | Unacceptable transaction fee.
24 | File update not supported | File update not supported.
25 | Unable to locate record | Unable to locate record.
26 | Duplicate record | Duplicate record.
27 | File update edit error | File update edit error.
28 | File update file locked | File update file locked.
29 | not used |
30 | Format error, call ECHO | The host reported that the transaction was not formatted properly.
31 | Bank not supported | Bank not supported by switch.
32 | Completed partially | Completed partially.
33 | Expired card, pick-up | The card is expired. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
34 | Issuer suspects fraud, pick-up card | The card issuer suspects fraud. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
35 | Contact acquirer, pick-up | Contact card issuer. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
36 | Restricted card, pick-up | The card is restricted by the issuer. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
37 | Call ECHO security, pick-up | Contact ECHO security. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
38 | PIN tries exceeded, pick-up | PIN attempts exceed issuer limits. Merchant may receive reward money by capturing the card.
39 | No credit account | No credit account.
40 | Function not supported | Requested function not supported.
41 | Lost Card, capture for reward | The card has been reported lost.
42 | No universal account | No universal account.
43 | Stolen Card, capture for reward | The card has been reported stolen.
44 | No investment account | No investment account.
45 - 50 | not used |
51 | Not sufficient funds | The credit limit for this account has been exceeded.
52 - 53 | not used |
54 | Expired card | The card is expired.
55 | Incorrect PIN | The cardholder PIN is incorrect.
56 | No card record | No card record.
57 | Transaction not permitted to cardholder | The card is not allowed the type of transaction requested.
58 | Transaction not permitted on terminal | The Merchant is not allowed this type of transaction.
59 | Suspected fraud | Suspected fraud.
60 | Contact ECHO | Contact ECHO.
61 | Exceeds withdrawal limit | The amount exceeds the allowed daily maximum.
62 | Restricted card | The card has been restricted.
63 | Security violation. | The card has been restricted.
64 | Original amount incorrect | Original amount incorrect.
65 | Exceeds withdrawal frequency | The allowable number of daily transactions has been exceeded.
66 | Call acquirer security, call ECHO | Call acquirer security, call ECHO.
67 | not used |
68 | Response received too late | Response received too late.
69 - 74 | not used |
75 | PIN tries exceeded | The allowed number of PIN retries has been exceeded.
76 | Invalid "to" account | The debit account does not exist.
77 | Invalid "from" account | The credit account does not exist.
78 | Invalid account specified (general) | The associated card number account is invalid or does not exist.
79 | Already reversed | Already reversed.
80 - 83 | not used |
84 | Invalid authorization life cycle | The authorization life cycle is invalid.
85 | not used |
86 | Cannot verify PIN | Cannot verify PIN.
87 | Network Unavailable | Network Unavailable.
88 | not used |
89 | Ineligible to receive financial position information | Ineligible to receive financial position information.
90 | Cut-off in progress | Cut-off in progress.
91 | Issuer or switch inoperative | The bank is not available to authorize this transaction.
92 | Routing error | The transaction cannot be routed to the authorizing agency.
93 | Violation of law | Violation of law.
94 | Duplicate transaction | Duplicate transaction.
95 | Reconcile error | Reconcile error.
96 | System malfunction | A system error has occurred.
97 | not used |
98 | Exceeds cash limit | Exceeds cash limit.

Error codes are defined in the following table.

Error Code | Short Description | Explanation
1000 | Unrecoverable error. | An unrecoverable error has occurred in the ECHONLINE processing.
1001 | Account closed | The merchant account has been closed.
1002 | System closed | Services for this system are not available. (Not used by ECHONLINE)
1003 | E-Mail Down | The e-mail function is not available. (Not used by ECHONLINE)
1004-1011 | not used |
1012 | Invalid trans code | The host computer received an invalid transaction code.
1013 | Invalid term id | The ECHO-ID is invalid.
1014 | not used |
1015 | Invalid card number | The credit card number that was sent to the host computer was invalid
1016 | Invalid expiry date | The card has expired or the expiration date was invalid.
1017 | Invalid amount | The dollar amount was less than 1.00 or greater than the maximum allowed for this card.
1018 | not used |
1019 | Invalid state | The state code was invalid. (Not used by ECHONLINE)
1020 | not used |
1021 | Invalid service | The merchant or card holder is not allowed to perform that kind of transaction
1022-1023 | not used |
1024 | Invalid auth code | The authorization number presented with this transaction is incorrect. (deposit transactions only)
1025 | Invalid reference number | The reference number presented with this transaction is incorrect or is not numeric.
1026-1028 | not used |
1029 | Invalid contract number | The contract number presented with this transaction is incorrect or is not numeric. (Not used by ECHONLINE)
1030 | Invalid inventory data | The inventory data presented with this transaction is not ASCII "printable". (Not used by ECHONLINE)
1031-1500 | not used |
Error Codes 1501 through 1599 are generated by ECHONLINE after validating the merchant but before presenting the transaction to the host computers for processing.
1501-1507 | not used |
1508 |  | Invalid or missing order_type.
1509 |  | The merchant is not approved to submit this order_type.
1510 |  | The merchant is not approved to submit this transaction_type.
1511 |  | Duplicate transaction attempt (see counter in Part I of this Specification).
1512-1598 | not used |
1599 |  | An system error occurred while validating the transaction input.
1600-1800 | not used |
Error Codes 1801 through 1814 are generated by ECHONLINE to indicate responses to AVS-Only transactions when the response is anything but "X" or "Y" (all digits match).
1801 | Return Code "A" | Address matches; ZIP does not match.
1802 | Return Code "W" | 9-digit ZIP matches; Address does not match.
1803 | Return Code "Z" | 5-digit ZIP matches; Address does not match.
1804 | Return Codes "U" | Issuer unavailable; cannot verify.
1805 | Return Code "R" | Retry; system is currently unable to process.
1806 | Return Code "S" or "G" | Issuer does not support AVS.
1807 | Return Code "N" | Nothing matches.
1808 | Return Code "E" | Invalid AVS only response.
1809 | Return Code "B" | Street address match. Postal code not verified because of incompatible formats.
1810 | Return Code "C" | Street address and Postal code not verified because of incompatible formats.
1811 | Return Code "D" | Street address match and Postal code match.
1812 | Return Code "I" | Address information not verified for international transaction.
1813 | Return Code "M" | Street address match and Postal code match.
1814 | Return Code "P" | Postal code match. Street address not verified because of incompatible formats.
1815-1896 | not used |
1897 | invalid response | The host returned an invalid response.
1898 | disconnect | The host unexpectedly disconnected.
1899 | timeout | Timeout waiting for host response.
1900-2070 | not used |
2071 | Call VISA | An authorization number from the VISA Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2072 | Call Master Card | An authorization number from the Master Card Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2073 | Call Carte Blanche | An authorization number from the Carte Blanche Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2074 | Call Diners Club | An authorization number from the Diners' Club Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2075 | Call AMEX | An authorization number from the American Express Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2076 | Call Discover | An authorization number from the Discover Voice Center is required to approve this transaction.
2077 | not used |
2078 | Call ECHO | The merchant must call ECHO Customer Support for approval.or because there is a problem with the merchant's account.
2079 | Call XpresscheX | The merchant must call ECHO Customer Support for approval.or because there is a problem with the merchant's account.
The remaining error codes are generated by the ECHO host computers in response to errors in the dial-up protocol. These messages should never appear in ECHONLINE. They are listed below for completeness.
3001 | No ACK on Resp | The host did not receive an ACK from the terminal after sending the transaction response.
3002 | POS NAK'd 3 Times | The host disconnected after the terminal replied 3 times to the host response with a NAK.
3003 | Drop on Wait | The line dropped before the host could send a response to the terminal.
3005 | Drop on Resp | The line dropped while the host was sending the response to the terminal.
3007 | Drop Before EOT | The host received an ACK from the terminal but the line dropped before the host could send the EOT.
3011 | No Resp to ENQ | The line was up and carrier detected, but the terminal did not respond to the ENQ.
3012 | Drop on Input | The line disconnected while the host was receiving data from the terminal.
3013 | FEP NAK'd 3 Times | The host disconnected after receiving 3 transmissions with incorrect LRC from the terminal.
3014 | No Resp to ENQ | The line disconnected during input data wait in Multi-Trans Mode.
3015 | Drop on Input | The host encountered a full queue and discarded the input data.
9000-9999 | Host Error | The host encountered an internal error and was not able to process the transaction.

## Electronic Check Transactions

ECHO verifies all electronic checks against the National Check Information Systems (NCIS) database. This is a real-time check verification system that can return a wide variety of responses and conditions. ECHONLINE does nor recognize a warning response, only approvals and declines. Therefore, warnings received from NCIS are treated as declines by ECHONLINE.

Decline responses are formatted as shown below. Each message is 16 characters long and contains information regarding the reasons for the decline or warning and the name and contact number for the agency providing the information leading to the decline.

The NCN Response Format.pdf document located in the XPRESSCHEXPLUS Transaction Validation Tool contains all Check Verification Responses.

Field | Size | Description
tag | 11 | "<ECHOTYPE1>"
message | 16 | Decline message (see examples below).
message | 16 | from 0 to n instances of additional decline and warning messages.
tag | 12 | "</ECHOTYPE1>"

Examples:
The first example shows a decline response containing 7 separate messages.<p><code><!--<ECHOTYPE1>DECLINE·CHECK···50·UNPAIDS·(ALL)UNPAID·AMT=·3778PHN·800-555-4503···CHKACHEK·····PHN·800-555-2954····XPCK!·······</ECHOTYPE1>--><br><!--<ECHOTYPE1>WARNING·········DAYLOC/NCHCKS=14DAYLOC/AMT=45···WINLOC/AMT=12···</ECHOTYPE1> -->
<!-- <ECHOTYPE1>ERROR IN ID·····</ECHOTYPE1> -->
<!-- <ECHOTYPE1>DECLINE·CHECK····2·UNPAIDS·(LOC)UNPAID·AMT=··376BANK·STOP·······PHN 800-555-4503SUPER·COLLECT···</ECHOTYPE1> -->
<!-- <ECHOTYPE1>RE-PRESENTED CHK</ECHOTYPE1> -->

Note:
All Electronic Check Declines return a Decline Code of "0005" in the ECHOTYPE3 <decline_code> tag (i.e., <decline_code>0005</decline_code> ). To determine the exact reason for the decline, the ECHOTYPE1 response must be examined.

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