Few things frustrate payment managers more than the cryptic “Do Not Honor” decline code.
Decline codes are meant to tell you why a payment was unsuccessful and give you insights to help recover it or prevent future occurrences. Unfortunately, Do Not Honor decline codes do the complete opposite. They fail to provide clear or actionable information. To make matters worse, these codes are frustratingly common.
Let’s examine “Do Not Honor” decline codes, explain what they are, why they’re such a nightmare for payment managers, and what you can do about them.
What are Do Not Honor decline codes?
(05) Do Not Honor is one of the 100-plus issuer decline codes you receive when a customer payment is unsuccessful.
It’s a catch-all code indicating that the issuing bank (i.e., your customer’s bank) is unwilling to approve the transaction without specifying a reason. Reasons that could range from insufficient funds to suspicious activity.
In other words, Do Not Honor declines are broad, ambiguous, and frankly useless. Receiving them is a nightmare for payment managers because without knowing the underlying reason for the decline, there isn’t much you can do to find a resolution and improve payment performance.
That said, there are steps you can take to mitigate this issue. Let’s look at the underlying reasons first.
Underlying reasons for a Do Not Honor Decline
When a bank decides not to approve a transaction, it may issue a Do Not Honor decline code. Although this code doesn’t specify the exact reason for the refusal, there are numerous potential factors depending on the situation.
Here are five common reasons:
Insufficient funds
Issuing banks may return a Do Not Honor decline code when a cardholder's account has insufficient funds for the transaction.
Incorrect card details
An issuing bank may return a Do Not Honor decline code when a customer makes a mistake entering their card details at the checkout. That might be the wrong card number, expiry date, or card verification code (CVV).
Suspected fraud
If an issuing bank suspects fraudulent activity, it may decline the payment and return a Do Not Honor response code. This typically occurs when the bank considers the transaction unusual or if there have been prior instances of fraud associated with the customer’s card.
Blocked card
If an issuing bank has blocked the customer’s card, it may decline the payment and return a Do Not Honor code. This typically occurs when the customer has exceeded their credit limit or when suspicious activity has prompted the bank to prevent further transactions.
Exceeded daily spending limit
Each card comes with a daily spending limit set by the issuing bank. If a customer attempts a purchase that exceeds this limit, the bank may decline the transaction with a Do Not Honor response.
Why do issuing banks supply Do Not Honor decline codes?
In a payment ecosystem with over 100 specific decline reasons that clarify why a transaction fails, it raises the question: why do banks still issue generic Do Not Honor responses? Especially when the underlying reasons above all have their own dedicated issuer decline codes. For instance, Visa and Mastercard also use the issuer decline code (51) Insufficient Funds.
The root of the issue is technological limitations. Many issuing banks haven’t invested in advanced systems that can accurately identify and communicate the reasons for payment declines to merchants.
Even banks that have upgraded their technology may have misconfigurations, data mapping inaccuracies, or flawed logic. This means you still receive uninformative Do Not Honor responses instead of more precise, actionable decline codes.
Card networks have taken steps to address this. Both Mastercard and Visa have now introduced formal monitoring programs that set limits on how frequently issuers can use generic Do Not Honor responses. Mastercard's Data Integrity Monitoring Program specifically monitors response code 05, targeting situations where it makes up more than a set threshold of an issuer's card-not-present declines per month. Visa has introduced a similar program.
As a result of these programs, you should start to see a gradual reduction in Do Not Honor codes from issuers. That said, they remain common enough that having a clear strategy for handling them is still essential.
Dealing with Do Not Honor Declines using Primer
Do Not Honor decline codes are a real challenge when you’re trying to optimize the payment process, but there are steps you can take.
Utilize fallbacks
Since the 05 Do Not Honor code is classified as a soft decline, you’re permitted to retry the payment under scheme rules.
The most effective way to do this is to attempt the transaction through an alternative processor. Each payment processor typically partners with an acquiring bank for the region it operates in, so different processors work with different acquiring banks.
Due to differences in inter-bank communications, the issuing bank may approve the payment when it’s routed to a different acquiring bank. If the transaction is still not approved, the bank or processor may still provide a more detailed reason for the decline, giving you better insights into the issue.
At Primer, we simplify this process. Our Fallbacks solution enables seamless retries with alternative processors, increasing the likelihood of approval. You can also set up Monitors to track Do Not Honor decline rates across processors in real time, so you're immediately alerted if a spike occurs rather than discovering it at month end.
Learn more about why every merchant needs a payment fallback strategy.
Handle incorrect card details
For Do Not Honor declines caused by incorrect card details, giving the customer immediate feedback and asking them to re-enter their card information can lead to a successful payment and minimize drop-off.
Primer's Checkout automatically displays an error message if a card is declined, letting customers correct any input errors and retry the payment immediately.
Prompt the customer to use an alternative payment method
Another option when you receive a Do Not Honor decline is to prompt the cardholder to use an alternative payment method. That could be a different card, digital wallet, open banking, or Buy-Now-Pay-Later solution.
Of course, you need to offer these payment methods to accept them. With Primer, that’s straightforward. You can switch on new payment methods and display them dynamically to your customers in just a few clicks.
Analyze Do Not Honor Decline trends
While resolving Do Not Honor declines may be more challenging than addressing other decline codes, it’s not impossible.
A practical starting point is to analyze where these declines originate by examining Bank Identification Number (BIN) data. If you find that declines are concentrated among a few specific banks, you and your processor can contact them to understand the underlying issues.
Primer’s Observability gives you a comprehensive payment data dashboard, letting you cross-analyze information across processors and drill into granular details. With that level of visibility, you can identify patterns, proactively address issues, and optimize your payment strategy to improve approval rates. Through Primer, you can also trigger an automated email to a customer every time a payment is declined due to insufficient funds, prompting them to retry, without any manual intervention from your team.
Solve Do Not Honor declines and sleep soundly with Primer
Do Not Honor declines are a persistent challenge for payment managers, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Card schemes are already actively working to limit their use through formal monitoring programs, and the tools and tactics to handle them on your end have never been stronger.
Primer's approach goes further than just classifying declines as soft or hard. Our advised actions give you a finer-grained recommended action for each payment outcome, so you always know the best next step. Between smart retries, real-time error handling, alternative payment method prompting, and BIN-level analysis, you have everything you need to fight back.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does a “Do Not Honor” decline code mean?
A “Do Not Honor” (05) decline code means the issuing bank has rejected the transaction but has not provided a specific reason for the refusal. It is a generic response that can cover a wide range of issues, such as insufficient funds, suspected fraud, or card restrictions. Because it lacks detail, it can be difficult for merchants to determine the exact cause of the failed payment.
Are “Do Not Honor” declines soft or hard declines?
In many cases, “Do Not Honor” declines are treated as soft declines, meaning the transaction may succeed if retried. Merchants often retry the payment through a different processor or prompt the customer to try again or use another payment method. However, repeated retries without a clear strategy can lead to unnecessary costs or customer frustration.
Why are “Do Not Honor” declines so common?
“Do Not Honor” declines are common because some issuing banks use them as a catch-all response when their systems cannot provide a more detailed decline reason. Legacy infrastructure, incomplete data mapping, or internal risk policies can all contribute to the use of this generic code instead of a specific explanation.
How can merchants reduce “Do Not Honor” declines?
Merchants can reduce the impact of “Do Not Honor” declines by implementing strategies such as retrying transactions through alternative processors, offering customers different payment methods, and analyzing decline patterns by issuing bank or BIN. Monitoring payment performance and optimizing routing strategies can also help improve approval rates and recover otherwise lost transactions.
Can payment orchestration help recover “Do Not Honor” declines?
Yes. Payment orchestration platforms can help merchants recover some declined transactions by automatically retrying payments through different processors or routing them based on predefined rules. By analyzing decline data across providers and implementing smart retry strategies, merchants can improve authorization rates and reduce revenue lost to ambiguous decline codes.
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