Square Card Declined Error

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Verify the card details

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   1. For manually entered cards, details must match the card exactly, including the billing ZIP code
   2. Card fields turn red when something is wrong; re-enter with the customer
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Set the Gregorian calendar on Apple devices

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   1. Settings > General > Language & Region > Calendar > Gregorian
   2. Sign out of Square and sign back in
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Ask the customer to call their bank

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   1. Square isn't given the specific decline reason
   2. If the card is valid, the cardholder's issuer can explain and approve a retry
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Check for an outage and force offline mode if all cards fail

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   1. Check issquareup.com
   2. Tap More > Settings > Hardware > Network and turn off Wi-Fi (or unplug Ethernet)
   3. Turn Wi-Fi back on after the outage so offline payments upload; otherwise transactions keep declining
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Square shows 'Declined. Please use a different card.' or 'Declined. Please verify the card number, expiration date, CVV, and ZIP code.'

Why it happens

• Card issuer declined the payment
• Mistyped card number, CVV or billing ZIP
• Apple device calendar not set to Gregorian
• No or weak internet connection
• Square outage making every card decline

This guide also covers

• square card declined
• square declined please use a different card
• why is square declining cards

The same problem in other apps

All not loading, error messages & connection guides →

• PayPal Checkout Error: Something Went Wrong (PayPal)

Other Square errors

• Square Reader Not Connecting
• Square Transfer Delayed or On Hold
• Square Account Deactivated
• Square POS Offline Payments Not Syncing
• Square Chargeback or Dispute: What to Do
• How to Cancel Square Account or Subscription