Transactions

Transaction reference not found

Meaning: No transaction could be found with this transaction reference
Solution: Ensure that you're passing the reference of a transaction that exists on this integration

Merchant is not enabled for Partial Debit

Meaning: The Partial Debit service has not been enabled for this integration
Solution: You can send us an email at support@paystack.com to make a request for the service

There was an error checking this authorization. Try again.

Meaning: An unspecified error occurred while checking the authorization code supplied
Solution: Try again or try another authorization code

Oooops, your payment has exceeded the time to pay.

Meaning: The transaction was not made before the Payment Session Timeout had elapsed
Solution: Increase your Payment Session Timeout, or set it to 0 to remove the timeout completely

Duplicate charge request for reference

Meaning: You passed the same reference while trying to initialize a transaction using the Inline or Popup method
Solution: Generate and pass a new transaction reference for every transaction

Invalid character in transaction reference

Meaning: Your transaction reference includes an invalid character. Only -,., =and alphanumeric characters are allowed
Solution: Ensure that you aren't using any characters that aren't alphanumeric or contained in "-,., =" in your transaction reference

Transaction cannot be completed. Session timeout exceeded.

Meaning: The transaction was not completed in the time allowed by your session timeout
Solution: You'll need to initialize a new transaction. If you don't want your transactions to time out, you can increase your Session Timeout or set it to 0 (no timeout)

Transaction amount limit exceeded

Meaning: The amount you tried to charge is higher than the maximum limit which is 10,000,000 (for all supported currencies)
Solution: You'll need to re-initialize the transaction with lower amount

Pay with transfer is not currently supported for transactions less than NGN 100.00

Meaning: The minimum amount for Pay with Transfers transactions is NGN 100
Solution: Ensure you're passing an amount greater than or equal to NGN 100 in Kobo

Invalid Merchant Selected

Meaning: You're attempting to start a transaction with the API key of a disabled business
Solution: If your business was disabled, you should have been sent an email detailing the reason this happened and how to reactivate your business. Send an email to support@paystack.com if you think this was done in error.

Transaction not found

Meaning: No transaction could be found with this transaction reference
Solution: Ensure that you've copied the transaction reference correctly. Also confirm that the API keys you're using, belong to the business you're searching the transaction reference for.

You must specify a valid amount

Meaning: You've attempted to initiate a transaction with amount set to zero
Solution: Ensure the amount is an integer greater than 0

Email is not allowed to be empty

Meaning: Email address is required when initializing a transaction
Solution: Pass the email to the transaction initialize API

Authorization code is invalid

Meaning: The authorization code for the transaction is not valid
Solution: Use a valid authorization code by generating a new one

Account number must be at least 6 digits in length

Meaning: The bank account number is less than the required minimum number.
Solution: Provide a correct account number when creating a new Subaccount

account_number is required

Meaning: The bank account number is not provided
Solution: Provide a correct account number when creating a new Subaccount

Invalid Amount Sent

Meaning: The amount provided for the transaction or transfer is not valid
Solution: Provide a valid amount based on the recommended minimum

Unable to process transaction

Meaning: This occurs when a customer's transaction is denied by Paystack's fraud system
Solution: The customer needs to escalate to Paystack either through the merchant or via our support channels.

Pickup card (stolen card)

Meaning: This means the customer's card has been reported as lost and a new card has been printed but the customer is yet to pick it up.
Solution: Please advise the customer to visit the bank and pickup their new card. In the meantime, the transaction can be completed using other payments options on the checkout

Invalid Authorization Code

Meaning: You are either passing an empty or wrong authorization code when charging a customer
Solution: Ensure your request doesn't contain an empty authorization. Also make sure you're using the right authorization code for the customer you're trying to charge

Invalid amount passed.

Meaning: You are either sending an empty string or a non-integer value as the amount of a transfer
Solution: You should ensure the length of amount is greater than zero and not a string value

Denied by fraud system

Meaning: The transaction is flagged as a suspicious one by our fraud system.
Solution: The customer should retry the transaction after 24 hours

Duplicate Transaction Reference

Meaning: This transaction reference has already been used on this integration
Solution: Ensure that you use a unique reference for every transaction. Alternatively, leave the reference field blank and we'll auto-generate one for you

Integration has been deactivated

Meaning: The business has been deactivated on Paystack and cannot process transactions any more.
Solution: The customer should reach out to the business and request they activate their integration on Paystack.

Pickup card (lost card)

Meaning: This card has been blocked by the bank cause the cardholder has reported it lost.
Solution: Advise your customer to reach out to their bank to get the block removed or return the card to the bank

at_least cannot be greater than amount

Meaning: The at_least value cannot be greater than the amount value.
Solution: Ensure that the value you're passing for at_least is less than the amount value. This occurs when using Partial Debit feature.

Transaction reference is invalid

Meaning: Incorrect transaction reference was given
Solution: Verify that the transaction reference is correct. Also ensure that this transaction exists on the integration whose API key you're using

Invalid Email Address Passed

Meaning: The email address is improperly formatted.
Solution: Ensure that the email follows the format: "username@example.com"

Declined

Meaning: The card has been blocked by the bank for this transaction.
Solution: Please ask your customer to reach out to their bank to find the reason why the transaction was blocked. You can also advise the customer to activate the card for online transactions.

Transaction ID should be numeric.

Meaning: The transaction ID contains non-numeric characters
Solution: Transaction IDs will always be numeric values. Verify that you're passing the transaction ID, and not reference

Expired card

Meaning: The card used has expired and you should get the customer's newest card details.
Solution: Please ask the customer to pay using a card that's valid.

Insufficient Funds

Meaning: The account tied to the card doesn't have enough to pay for the amount you're charging.
Solution: Please ask the customer to use a card that is well funded or to fund their account that's tied to the card.

Sample generic error

1{
2  "status": "false",
3  "message": "[string]"
4}

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