Payments can be declined for different reasons. Check the transaction in the Pemo app or on desktop to see why it failed and what action to take.
Almost every decline sends the cardholder a push notification and an in-app notification. The exceptions are declines because the card is inactive or deactivated, and any decline on a card whose status is inactive, suspended or terminated: these notify nobody.
The company Admin is notified as well, but only for five decline reasons and only when the cardholder is not an Admin: insufficient funds (the Admin and the internal accountant, and only for the first three insufficient-funds declines), per-transaction limit exceeded (the one reason that also sends the Admin an email, subject to the Admin's communication preference), card suspended, ATM not allowed and restricted merchant category. Every other decline, including wrong CVV, wrong PIN, expired or incorrect expiry date, country not allowed, fraud flags, cardholder not verified, card limit reached, missing fields and suspicious card, goes to the cardholder only.
On desktop, use the Declined quick filter to view declined transactions. On mobile, use the Declined filter. Select a transaction to see why it failed and what action is needed.
How to fix a declined payment
In the left sidebar, select Transactions, select the Declined quick view, then select the declined transaction. Its status shows why it failed.
Follow the action shown on the transaction. For a low wallet balance, you are prompted to top up or request funds. For a policy issue, request approval from your Admin. For a card limit, wait until the limit is changed or raised.
Once the issue is resolved, spend again with the card.
Why transactions fail and how to fix them
Decline reason | What it means | Action for team member | Action for Admin |
Insufficient funds | Wallet balance was too low. | Ask your Admin for a top-up, then retry after funds land. | Top up the wallet or move budget to this card. |
Card is expired | The card's expiry date has passed. | Use another card or request a replacement. Update saved cards. See how to request a card. | Issue a replacement card and notify the user to update saved details. |
Card frozen | The card is locked by you or an Admin. | Unfreeze it in the app, then retry. See how to unfreeze your card. | Unfreeze the card in the app. |
Transaction limit exceeded | The amount exceeds the per-transaction cap. | Split the purchase or request a higher per-transaction limit. | Raise the card or policy's per-transaction cap. |
Max amount limit reached | You reached a daily, weekly or monthly spend or count limit. | Wait for the reset or request a higher limit. | Adjust the cardholder's cycle limits. |
Card terminated | The card is permanently closed. | Use another card and request a new one if needed. | Issue a new card and review the termination reason. |
Suspicious charge blocked | The fraud engine flagged the payment as risky. | Confirm the merchant and amount, then retry once. If it's blocked again, contact Support with the merchant, amount and time. | Review fraud alerts, verify the payment and coordinate with the issuer or Support to allow it if appropriate. |
Card holder not active | Emirates ID isn't updated. | Update the Emirates ID in the system. | Ensure the Emirates ID is updated in the records. |
Incorrect expiry date | The entered expiry doesn't match the card. | Re-enter MM/YY and update saved cards. See how to view card details. | No configuration change is needed. Confirm the card is active and advise the user. |
Incorrect CVV | The CVV entered was wrong. | Enter the CVV exactly as shown. See how to view card details. | If issues persist, consider reissuing the card or rotating the virtual card details. |
Restricted merchant category | The merchant's MCC is blocked by policy. | Use a permitted merchant or request access for this MCC. | Allow the MCC for the card or team policy if compliant. |
Card not active | The card hasn't been activated. | Activate it in the app. For physical cards, complete a first chip-and-PIN transaction if required. See how to activate your card. | Confirm the activation pathway and ask the user to complete activation. |
Country not allowed | Purchases from this country are blocked. | Request country access from your Admin. See how to request a change to your card limits. | Enable the country in the card or policy controls as appropriate. |
Wrong card details | The number, name, expiry or CVV doesn't match. | Re-enter the details exactly and update saved cards. See how to view card details. | No configuration change is needed. Confirm the correct details were used. |
Transaction paused for review | The issuer held the payment for manual review. | Avoid repeated attempts. If urgent, contact Support with the merchant, amount and timestamp. | Check the issuer portal or logs and contact Support. Advise the user when to retry. |
ATM not allowed | Cash withdrawals are disabled for this card. | Pay online or at a point of sale, or request ATM access from your Admin. See how to request ATM access. | Enable ATM withdrawals for the card or policy if permitted. |