Why Was My Credit Card Declined?

There are a few possible reasons why your credit card might have been declined; our credit card processing service does not specify the cause. We recommend contacting your credit card provider by telephone for further information.

Possible Reasons for Declined Cards:

Only your credit card issuer or financial institution can confirm the specific reason that your card was declined.  However, we can offer a few of the reasons we see most often. When speaking with your credit card provider, it is a good idea to ask specifically about each of these possibilities to rule them out:

  •  The credit card number or the expiry date was incorrect.

  •  There were insufficient funds on your credit card.

  •  Your bank or credit card company was having technical issues when the bookseller tried to update the order.

  •  AbeBooks or the company that processes our credit card transactions was having technical issues when the bookseller tried to update the order.

  •  Some credit card companies will reject international charges. AbeBooks is located in Canada.

  •  If you've made a large number of online purchases within a short period of time, particularly from one place, some banks will reject some of the charges as a fraud prevention measure.

Next Steps:

When a credit card has been declined, regardless of the reason, AbeBooks cannot reinstate the order nor re-process the credit card transaction. The book is automatically re-listed for sale on AbeBooks.

You can quickly verify the credit card details on your account to make sure they are correct and up to date and then re-order, or you can try purchasing the book using a different payment method.

Verifying your credit card details on AbeBooks:

1. Sign on to your AbeBooks account with your email address and password.

2. Click [Your Personal Information].

3. Click [Update your saved Credit Card Information].

The Credit Card Information page displays the details of the cards you have stored, and allows you to edit, add or delete credit cards on your account. For security reasons, the full credit card number will not be displayed; if you are concerned that the number itself might contain errors, you will need to delete the card and enter it again.

Once you have confirmed that your card details are correct, please re-order the book at your convenience.