Why was my payment declined?

There are instances in which card payment may be declined when you pay online. Unfortunately the University is not given any reason why this may have happened. The card holder will need to contact their bank directly for more information. To assist with this we have listed below some of the most common problems.

Common reasons for declined payment

Incorrect cardholder details

The majority of declined payments are a result of the billing name and address that is entered differing from the name and address to which the card is registered.

Insufficient funds

If there is not enough credit available in the account the card is associated with the payment will usually be declined.

Fraud check

If the payment you are making appears out of the ordinary compared to your normal usage it may be declined to protect you from what could have been a fraudulent transaction. Common reasons are because you are paying to a merchant in a different country, it is an unusual time of day or is higher value than your transactions are usually. To resolve this issue the card holder will need to contact their bank for pre-approval before attempting the payment again.

Daily limit exceeded

Most credit and debit cards put a limit on the name and value of transactions it is used for in a single day so if this is exceeded further payments may be declined. Similar to the above, if the same card still needs to be used to make further payments that day, the cardholder will need to advise their bank in order to get the hold removed from their account.

3D Secure

3D Secure (3DS) is an authentication scheme that requires the cardholder to enter an additional password when they make an online purchase. There are a number of reason why you may experience issues with 3D Secure, none of which the University has control over, but the most common is that you have a pop-up blocker installed which is restricting the additional 3D Secure page from opening. If you disable the pop-up blocker for a few minutes you may then be able to complete your payment.

Unable to Log In

If you are attempting to log into one of the University's payment platforms but your ID is not recognised, please raise an enquiry on the StudentHUB or call the Accounts Receivable team on +44 (0)20 8417 3333.