Content: This article provides a brief introduction to the meaning of "Acquirer Response" and the codes associated with it. The table below lists the individual codes along with their specific explanations. This is intended to help merchants better understand payments, evaluate them correctly, and respond appropriately.
In the “Shift4 Customer Hub (formerly Lighthouse),” the “Acquirer Response” is displayed in various places:
- In the transaction overview as a separate column titled "Acquirer Response."
- In the transaction details.
- In the “Auth Insights” section under “Breakdown of Declined Transactions” as “Reason for Decline.”
What are “Acquirer Response Codes”?
"Acquirer Response Codes" are standardized numeric or alphanumeric codes that are transmitted to the merchant by the card issuer or acquirer (Shift4) with every card payment. They provide real-time information about the status of a transaction—that is, whether a payment was approved or the reason it was declined (e.g., insufficient funds, incorrect PIN, or expired card).
These codes are generated during the payment verification process by the card-issuing bank, which checks the card, limit, and security features, among other things. They typically follow the international ISO 8583 standard and are often translated into understandable messages by payment platforms.
For merchants, "Acquirer Response Codes" serve an important purpose: they enable transactions to be correctly assessed and responded to appropriately—such as prompting the cardholder to try again or offering an alternative payment method. At the same time, they contribute to security by providing information about potential fraud and helping to prevent errors and chargebacks.
Shift4 Acquirer Response Code Guide
Within the "Shift4 Customer Hub (formerly Lighthouse)," the Acquirer Response Code is displayed in different ways:
- In the transaction overview, the "Acquirer Response" column displays the direct response information without a code, e.g., "Approved" or "Insufficient Funds." The same applies to the transaction details.
- In the "Auth Insights" section, specifically in the "Breakdown of Declined Transactions" area under the "Reason for Decline" column, the response code is displayed in combination with the Shift4 Customer Hub Acquirer response information, e.g., S4005 - Declined or S4075 - PIN entry attempts exceeded.
The following table presents the individual pieces of information that make up the Acquirer Response Code within " Shift4 Customer Hub (formerly Lighthouse)" in clear columns. The "Additional Information" column contains a detailed description of the respective response code. The "Recommended Action" column contains specific recommendations for you or the cardholder in each case.
Note on Acquirer Response Codes
For merchants and customers, the transaction status is the primary factor in day-to-day business—that is, whether a payment was successful or not.
Some Acquirer Response Codes include notes such as “Card picked up.” However, in practice, this information is only available later in the “Shift4 Customer Hub (formerly Lighthouse)” and is not part of the immediate decision-making process during the payment transaction.
This means:
- If a transaction is declined, the focus should be on offering the customer alternative payment methods.
- There is no obligation to implement measures such as card retention or escalation based on such response codes.
- The specific reasons for rejection or codes are generally not transparent to the customer and are not decisive for the merchant in the operational process.
In summary: For operational purposes, the only relevant factor is whether a transaction was successful or not. The detailed response codes are primarily intended for subsequent analysis and have no direct relevance to behavior at the point of sale.
| Response Code | Raw Acquirer Response | Shift4 Customer Hub Acquirer Response Information | Additional Information | Recommended Action |
| S4000 | Approval | Approved and Completed | The transaction has been approved and successfully completed. | None |
| S4001 | Call | Refer to issuer | Transaction declined by card issuer. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4002 | Call | Refer to issuer - Special Condition | Transaction declined by card issuer. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4003 | Term ID Error | Invalid Merchant ID | Transaction declined by card issuer. | Contact your authorized partner. There is an error in the merchant configuration. |
| S4004 | Hold-call or Pick Up Card | Pick up card (no fraud) | The card issuer requests that the card be retained. *After another try without making changes, additional fees from the issuer will apply. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4005 | Declined | Do not honor | The card issuer does not accept the transaction. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4006 | Error XXXX | General Error, Invalid State Code or Province Code sent (Authorization and Capture) | The issuer does not report an error, but the transaction is not completed. | The cardholder can try again or provide a different card. If the error persists, the customer should contact the issuing bank. |
| S4007 | Hold-call or Pick Up Card | Pick up card, special condition (fraud account) | The card issuer requests that the card be retained. *After another try without making changes, additional fees from the issuer will apply. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4008 | Approval | Honor MasterCard with ID | The transaction was approved and successfully completed. | None |
| S4010 | Partial Approval | Partial approval for the authorized amount returned in Group III, versions 022 | Transaction approved for a partial amount. The card is valid, but the balance is insufficient to cover the full payment amount. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank, present a different card, or pay the remaining amount using a different card or payment method. The merchant can collect the remaining amount via another payment method or cancel the transaction and settle the total amount using another card from the customer or another payment method. |
| S4011 | Approval | VIP approval | The transaction was approved and successfully completed. | None |
| S4012 | Invalid Transaction | Invalid transaction | Declined due to an invalid format or field (card data is incorrect). Invalid character or invalid currency. *After another try without making changes, additional fees from the card issuer will apply. | The cardholder must correct the card information before trying again, or provide a different card. |
| S4013 | Amount Error | Invalid amount | Declined due to an invalid format or field (the card details are incorrect). | Please check whether the specified currency is accepted. The merchant should try again with the correct currency or recheck the card details. If the error persists, the cardholder should contact their card-issuing bank. |
| S4014 | Card No. Error | Invalid card number | Rejected by the card issuer. Incorrect card number or card does not exist. | The cardholder can verify the card details and try again, or provide a different card. |
| S4015 | No Such Issuer | No such issuer | The issuer of the customer card does not exist *After another try without making any changes, additional fees from the issuer will apply. | The cardholder must correct the card details before trying again, or specify a different card. |
| S4019 | RE Enter | Re-enter transaction | The transaction was not executed. | The cardholder can check the card details and try again, or provide a different card. |
| S4021 | No Action Taken | Unable to back out transaction | The card issuer indicates that there is a problem with the card number. | The cardholder can check the card details and try again, or provide a different card. |
| S4028 | No Reply | File is temporarily unavailable | An unspecified error occurred during the transaction. | The cardholder can check the card details and try again, or provide a different card. |
| S4030 | Format Error | Discover format error | The card issuer does not accept the transaction data. This is due to a format error. This is a technical issue. Format errors can be caused, for example, by connection issues between the terminal and the network operator, or because the card’s chip or magnetic strip was not read correctly. | Reinsert the card or tap it contactlessly. The cardholder should provide a different card. |
| S4034 | Transaction Canceled | MasterCard use only, Transaction Canceled; Fraud Concern (Used in reversal requests only) | The card issuer has declined the transaction due to suspected card fraud. | Check the transactions posted after the error for fraudulent activity. The cardholder may provide a different card. |
| S4039 | No Credit Acct | No credit account | The card issuer declined the transaction because the card used is not a credit account. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4041 | Hold-call or Pick Up Card | Lost card, pick up (fraud- -account) | The card issuer has declined the transaction and requests that you retain the card, as it has been reported lost. *After another try without making changes, additional fees from the issuer will apply. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present another card. |
| S4043 | Hold-call or Pick UP Card | Stolen card, pick up (fraud account) | The card issuer has declined the transaction and requests that you retain the card, as it has been reported stolen. *After another try without making any changes, additional fees from the issuer will apply. | The cardholder should use a different payment method. |
| S4051 | Declined | Insufficient funds | The card issuer declined the transaction because there were insufficient funds on the card. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4052 | No Checking Account | No checking account | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the card is linked to an incorrect or non-existent checking account. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4053 | No savings account | No savings account | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the card is linked to an incorrect or non-existent savings account. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4054 | Expired Card | Expired Card | The card has expired and the card issuer has declined the transaction. | The cardholder can verify the card details and try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4055 | Wrong PIN | Incorrect PIN | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the customer entered an incorrect PIN. | The cardholder can check the card details and try again, contact the card issuer, or use a different card. |
| S4056 | No Card Record | No card record | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the card number does not exist. | The cardholder can verify the card details and try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4057 | Service not allowed | Transaction not permitted-Card | The card issuer has declined the transaction because this type of transaction is not permitted with this card. *If you try again without making any changes, additional fees from the card issuer will apply. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4058 | Service not allowed | Transaction not permitted-Card | The card issuer has declined the transaction because this type of transaction is not permitted with this card. | The cardholder can verify the card details and try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4059 | Suspected Fraud | Suspected Fraud | The card issuer has declined the transaction due to suspected fraud. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4061 | Declined | Exceeds withdrawal limit | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the card's withdrawal limit has been exceeded. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4062 | Declined | Invalid service code, restricted | The card issuer has declined the transaction because restrictions apply to the card. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4063 | Sec Violation | Security violation | The card issuer has declined the transaction. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4065 | Declined | Activity limit exceeded | The card issuer declined the transaction because the activity limit was exceeded. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4075 | PIN Exceeded | PIN attempts exceeded | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the customer entered the PIN incorrectly more than three times. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4082 | Incorrect CVV | CVV data is incorrect | The card issuer has declined the transaction because the CVV number is incorrect. | The cardholder can verify the CVV number and try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4091 | No Reply | Issuer or switch is unavailable | The card issuer could not be reached to authorize the transaction. | The cardholder should try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4092 | Invalid Routing | Destination not found | No card issuer can be found to route the transaction. | This often occurs with test credit cards. The cardholder should verify the card details and try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
| S4093 | Declined | Violation, cannot complete | The card issuer has declined the transaction. | The cardholder should contact the issuing bank or present a different card. |
| S4094 | Duplicate Transaction | Unable to locate, no match | The card issuer has declined the transaction because it appears to be a duplicate. | Check whether the transaction is actually a duplicate, and if necessary, perform the transaction again. |
| S4096 | System Error | System malfunction | The card issuer cannot process the transaction. | The cardholder should try again, contact the card issuer, or provide a different card. |
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