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Common Payment Error Codes

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Christian Carrion
Updated

Below is a list of some common error codes you may receive when using Party Center Software with Party Center Pay. 

Table Of Contents

Transaction Declined

This message is generated as Party Center Pay went to the customer's bank with the proper information and the customer's bank denied the transaction. Only the customer's bank can decline transactions, so you know if an error says "declined", the issue is on the customer's end of the transaction.

 

Transaction Declined Due to AVS Settings

This message appears when Party Center Pay declines the transaction due to an AVS (Address Verification Service) mismatch, meaning the customer put in the wrong ZIP code or address for the card they entered, according to the bank's records. More often than not this is due to a simple typo, or mishearing what a customer has said in the case of MOTO payments.

Additionally, some pre-paid Credit Cards may produce this error, in which case the customer needs to reach out to the company managing the pre-paid card's account. Contact information can typically be found on the back of the card itself.

For eCommerce Payments, AVS checks for the correct ZIP and the address against the bank's records. For MOTO payments, it only checks the ZIP.

 

2999-PinPad Error

When using a PC Pay EMV device, you may run across this error. It is a general error that appears when the connection between the EMV Device (Chip Reader) was interrupted or lost. This can also happen when the transaction was canceled from the device itself or the debit option was selected. If you experience this error, double-check that the customer chose the credit option on the device and didn't accidentally hit the red X and cancel the transaction.

Normally, this error occurs on a single terminal, because the connection between the device and register is somehow interrupted. If you suddenly see this error across multiple devices, it is very likely due to a network problem. Network updates, either purposefully or incurred by accident (Such as through a power outage), may interrupt the digital handshake between the card reader and the payment servers. Multiple devices suddenly throwing this error indicates that a change was made to your network structure and the connection needs to be reset. Fortunately, this can usually be resolved by resetting the devices. If you are using an ISMP4 or iPP320 device, you can hold the yellow button and the pound key at the same time to initiate a reset. If you are using a Verifone MX 915 or MX 925, then unplugging it from power and plugging it back in will reset the device.

If this does not work, then the device might need to be re-paired with your facility altogether. Call or email us at support at 916-226-4062 or support@partycentersoftware.com to complete this!

 

Error processing payment :10-TerminalId must be a positive integer

This error occurs when a PCS Register has not been associated with a particular EMV device (Chip Reader) and there is no default device set. You can associate an EMV device with a particular PCS Register by going to ADMIN--->PCS REGISTERS--->click edit on the register name that appears in the top left of the register window. You would then go to the dropdown next to "Payment Modules", select Party Center Pay EMV and then select which EMV device you want to associate with this PCS Register.

 

Network Unavailable, Restarting

You may see this message appear on your credit card reader while you are setting it up. When the reader displays this message, it usually follows by rebooting itself. This occurs because the reader is plugged into power, but does not have an active internet connection. If your internet connection is lost at any point, this message usually follows. The fix is simple- the device needs an active connection to the internet. It's possible that the connecting cable may be bad, so try swapping that cable if it is plugged in and still flashing the message.

Just because a device is connected to the internet, does not necessarily mean it is reaching the payment servers. When trying to activate the device, you may see it display a message like "This lane closed" or "TriPOS". These are the idle messages of the device and if your reader is displaying them prior to activation, then it usually means a firewall is blocking the connection to the payment servers. You'll need to ensure port 9001 is open for traffic; that will allow the reader to connect to the servers.

 

MerchantTrack Details

Certain transactions may have additional information within MerchantTrack. Any transaction marked as "Failed" should have some additional information with it. Here is a quick list of some of the common error codes and sub-codes.

  • 2999- While this is usually related to the pinpad error described above, there are a few other subcategories that may throw this error ID.
    • 2999 Timeout- After hitting "Tender", no progress was made on the transaction and the session expired.
    • 2999 Cancelled- If the customer hits "Cancel" on the EMV reader, the transaction will be marked as failed.
  • 1020 Transaction Declined by Issuer- This occurs when the customer's issuing bank declines the transaction for any reason. When this error is thrown, there will be an issuer response with a bit more detail about the declination.
    • 05 Generic Authorization Decline- The issuing bank declined the transaction for reasons unknown. The cardholder should contact their bank.
    • 12 Invalid Transaction- Likely an error occurred during the card transaction, and can be attempted again.
    • 51 Insufficient Funds- The debit card does not have enough funds to complete the transaction

 

EMV Device Not Reading Information Properly

In some cases, your EMV reader may accept a card, but does not read the information correctly. You may receive an error like: "Processor invalid data response - CardNumber Required". Sometimes, there may be no response at all, and the reader hangs indefinitely. Some terminals may get stuck on a screen with a simple smiley face "=)", but will not progress further.

If this is the case, you can attempt to perform a static discharge with the device. This may clear up some of the interference displayed by the reader and allow it to accept cards normally again. To do so, unplug the reader from its power source (You may need to remove the battery with some models). Hold the green button for a few seconds, and then power the device back on. If the issue persists, please reach out to our support team for more detailed troubleshooting.

 

Alert Interruption

The message "Alert Interruption" is indicative of a hardware fault or is used to prevent tampering with the device. The standard troubleshooting steps of rebooting the device are never a bad idea, but often the device will need to be replaced as there is a hardware fault in the system. If you see this message, give us Support a call so we can ensure that there is no local fix and we can work on getting a replacement device purchased or leased.

 

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