Have you ever gone to pay for your shopping, only to hear (or see if you’re shopping online) the dreaded words ‘card declined’? Well don’t worry, you’re not alone.
According to Nationwide data, of the 64 million point of sale authorisation attempts which took place in May 2016, 4.77% were declined – that’s over 3 million times.
But why are cards sometimes declined? It isn’t always because there’s no cash in the account – although low funds are behind almost half of declines. We take a closer look at the reasons why cards can be declined and, in some cases, what you can do to prevent it.