System errors

This error means there was a downtime when the transaction was attempted.

You can have the customer retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team (via email at support@paystack.com or our contact form) if the error persists.

This means that Paystack or a Paystack business has blacklisted the customer due to suspicious activity.

Kindly escalate this to the Paystack support team (via email at support@paystack.com or our contact form.

This means you are trying to charge them in a currency that your business on Paystack is not enabled for.
By default, your business is enabled for the official currency of your country.
For example, NGN is the default currency for Nigerian businesses, and GHS is the default currency for Ghanaian businesses.

If you would like to process payments in other currencies, you will need to ensure the currency is available for your business and then make a request for it to be activated.

This error means that the customer's transaction attempts have been denied by our fraud prevention system due to certain activities surrounding their transaction attempt.

The error typically clears after 24 hours so that they can retry the transaction exactly 24 hours after the last transaction attempt.
If the error persists after waiting for 24 hours to retry the transaction, kindly reach out to the Paystack support team for further assistance.

This means we were experiencing a downtime when the customer attempted the transaction.

They can retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team (via email at support@paystack.com or our contact form) if the error persists.

This means there was a bank or processor downtime when the transaction was attempted.

You can have the customer retry the transaction later and escalate to the Paystack team if the error persists.

This means that we do not route USD payments to the processor used for the transaction.

Kindly escalate this error to the Paystack support team (via email at support@paystack.com or our contact form) if the error persists.

This means that the transaction failed due to a network or processor downtime.

Please have the customer ensure they're using a strong network connection and retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team if the error persists.

If your customers are getting an 'Invalid Merchant selected' error when trying to make payments, it means you haven't properly entered your API keys while setting up your website.
This could have happened by putting in the wrong API keys or putting in the Secret Keys in place of the Public Keys.

To resolve this, kindly follow these steps:

1. Simply go to your Dashboard settings and click on the API Keys & Webhooks tab.

2. Copy your API keys, noting the Public and Secret Keys (Live Keys if your website is Live).

3. Replace them on the payment settings on your website or app, placing the correct key in the correct field.

4. If using the API, ensure only the ‘pk_domain_xxxxxx’ part of the public key is used. Do not append anything to the string.

This means that your business cannot receive international transactions via Paystack, and your customer is trying to pay you using an international card.

You'll need to make a request for your business to be enabled for International Payments.

This is a Paystack-generated error.
It happens when a customer tries to use the Pay with Bank option at checkout, but the service is temporarily down.

The customer needs to retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack team if the error persists. The customer can also use alternative channels on the checkout to complete the transaction.

This response implies that Paystack has tried to charge the customer's card multiple times, and it has returned an "insufficient funds" error.

Please advise your customer to fund their card and retry the transaction after a 24-hour window. If you're attempting the charge from your end, please advise the customer to fund their card and retry it after 24 hours.

This error means there was a downtime as of when the transaction was attempted.

The customer needs to retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team if the error persists.

This error typically occurs when we are unable to validate the outcome of a transaction.

Kindly advise your customer to wait for a few minutes and retry the transaction.

This means that the transaction could not be completed for various reasons. It could be due to downtime or due to incorrect transaction information.

The customer needs to retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team if the error persists.

This error is most often generated when we try to requery (determine the final status — whether successful or failed — of a transaction) a transaction that was attempted during a period when a processor is experiencing a timeout.

The customer will need to retry the transaction at a later time.

This error means there was a brief downtime as of when the transaction was attempted.

The customer needs to retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team (via email: support@paystack.com or our contact form) if the error persists.
The customer can also use alternative channels on the checkout to complete the transaction.

This means that the customer has either used multiple cards to attempt the transaction in a short period of time, or their transaction attempts have failed multiple times in a short period of time, and our fraud prevention system has hotlisted their card.
This error will appear as 'Denied by Fraud System' on your dashboard.

The hotlist typically clears after 24 hours so that the customer can retry the transaction from 24 hours after the last transaction attempt.
If the error persists after waiting for 24 hours to retry the transaction, kindly reach out to the Paystack support team (via email at support@paystack.com or our contact form) for further assistance.

This means that the customer used a card that isn't acceptable on Paystack. Currently, Paystack only supports transactions attempted with Verve, Mastercard and Visa cards.
We also support American Express cards for businesses in South Africa and Nigeria.

The customer will need to retry the transaction with a Mastercard, Verve card or VISA card.
Alternatively, the customer can try another payment channel on the checkout.

This means the transaction cannot be completed at that time due to downtime.

The customer needs to retry the transaction later or escalate to the Paystack support team (via email: support@paystack.com or our contact form) if the error persists.
The customer can also use alternative channels on the checkout to complete the transaction.