Why has my debit card transaction been declined?

Most declined payments come down to one of a handful of reasons, and most are quick to sort out.

The most common one is simply not having enough money in your account to cover the payment. 

Check your balance first, including anything you've set aside in pots, as money in a pot isn't available to spend until you move it back to your main balance.

Other reasons a payment might be declined:

• Your card isn't activated yet. If your card is new, you'll need to activate it before you can use it.

• It's your first in-store payment. The first time you pay in a shop with your Zopa card, you'll need to enter your PIN. After that, contactless is switched on.

• You've reached a contactless limit. Contactless payments are capped at £100 each, and once your contactless spending adds up to £300 you'll be asked to enter your PIN. Paying by chip and PIN resets this.

• Your card is frozen. If you've frozen your card in the app, or reported it lost or stolen, payments will be declined until you unfreeze it or your replacement arrives.

•  Your account is restricted. Sometimes we place a temporary restriction on an account, which can stop payments going through.

• We've flagged the payment for security. If a payment looks unusual, we may stop it to check it's really you. You might get a notification asking you to confirm it was you.

• The card details are wrong. For online payments, a mistyped card number, expiry date or security code will cause a decline. Double-check the details and try again.

If you've ruled all of these out and your payment is still being declined, get in touch and we'll take a look.