Why a payment was declined or failed

Declined means the card issuer did not approve the payment. A failed payment may have been interrupted by a PIN, connection, currency-choice or device problem. Read the message on the card machine and only treat the sale as paid when it shows Card payment successful.

The PIN was incorrect

If the machine says the PIN is incorrect and offers another attempt, let the customer enter their PIN again. Never ask the customer to tell you their PIN or enter it for them.

There is a network problem

Check the machine’s Wi-Fi or SIM connection in Settings → Network. Restore the connection and follow the retry instruction shown on screen.

If the machine still can't connect, see Card machine troubleshooting.

The machine is not linked

A card machine that has not linked successfully can't take payments. If the linking status is unknown, retry linking. If the machine is not assigned or fails to link, use Card machine troubleshooting before trying another payment.

If the machine needs to be linked or re-linked, see Set up your card machine.

The bank or card issuer declined the payment

Follow the message shown on the card machine and ask the customer to try another supported card or available card-entry method if appropriate. iKhokha card machines accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express, but the customer's bank can still decline a payment. The customer may need to contact their bank or card issuer if the card continues to be declined.

A foreign-card currency choice timed out

If the machine shows Transaction timed out because a currency was not selected in time, the transaction was not completed. Select Try again to start the choice again or Cancel to stop. To learn how the currency choice works, see Accept foreign-card payments with DCC.

The result is unclear

If the customer says their bank shows a debit but your card machine doesn't show a successful payment, do not take a second payment until you've checked the result of the first one. Record the time, amount and message shown, then contact iKhokha Support on 087 222 7000 or support@ikhokha.com so the attempt can be checked.

Before you retry

Check whether the first attempt was declined, cancelled, timed out or failed. Only ask the customer to try again when you are sure the first attempt did not complete. If the problem is with the card machine itself rather than the payment result, see Card machine troubleshooting.

Card machine error codes

Use the code and reason on your card machine to understand why a payment failed. Your machine may also show “timed out” without an error code.