Terminal Responses At the End Of A Transaction

Here are some common responses the merchant will see at the end of a transaction

APPROVAL CODE
This is the response that the card used has enough credit, the sale will complete and the card is not stolen or lost. The merchant records the message on the sales draft. THE APPROVAL CODE DOES NOT GUARANTEE PAYMENT.

DECLINED
This is the response when the card issuing bank will not approve the charge. This can happen for many reasons, one being there is not enough credit line on the card to approve the sale. The merchant needs to ask the customer for another form of payment when the DECLINED response comes up. If the customer wants to know why the transaction is declined they need to contact their card issuing bank.

DECLINED PICK UP
This response is given when the card issuing bank wants the card returned for some reason. The merchant is not required to keep the card and it should only be kept if it can be done safely. The merchant should refer the cardholder to the card issuing bank.



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