Navigating merchant advice codes for improved transaction outcomes and business insight
Merchant Advice Codes (MACs) are introduced by Mastercard to clearly communicate to merchants the reason for declining transactions, and the course of action that merchants can take. These codes provide insights into why a payment failed and recommendations on whether and when it can be retried.
Mastercard set the MAC values and may expand this list as part of their ongoing efforts to enhance payment system efficiency.
Please note that the availability of the MAC code depends on the policies of both the card issuer and the acquirer. It is important to understand that all banks do not yet universally support this feature.
These codes are available to merchants, potentially without prior notice, to guarantee prompt implementation.
Value
Description
Possible decline reasons
Recommendation summary
01
New account information available
Change in customer's account information, such as a new expiry date.
Update card information. isRetry : true
02
Cannot approve at this time, try again later
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try again the payment after 72 hours. isRetry : true
03
Do not try again
Account closed, suspected fraud, or customer cancelled the recurring agreement.
Do not retry this payment. It may be necessary to contact the customer directly. isRetry : false
04
Token not supported
Technical issues with the payment.
Contact
us. isRetry : true
21
Stop recurring payment
Customer cancelled the recurring agreement.
Do not retry this payment as retries can be subject to penalty fees by Mastercard. isRetry : false
24
Retry after 1 hour
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 1 hour. isRetry : true
25
Retry after 24 hours
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 24 hours. isRetry : true
26
Retry after 2 days
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 2 days. isRetry : true
27
Retry after 4 days
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 4 days. isRetry : true
28
Retry after 6 days
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 6 days. isRetry : true
29
Retry after 8 days
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 8 days. isRetry : true
30
Retry after 10 days
Credit limit issues or insufficient funds.
Try this payment after 10 days. isRetry : true
40
Consumer non-reloadable prepaid card
Issuer recognizes a consumer non-reloadable prepaid card was used.
No action required. isRetry : true
41
Consumer single-use virtual card
Issuer recognized a consumer single-use virtual card was used.
No action required. isRetry : true
42
Score exceeds applicable threshold value
Mastercard refused this transaction due to a sanctions' match.
No action required. isRetry : true
43
Consumer multi-use virtual card
Transaction was carried out with a consumer multi-use virtual card number.
