Card decline code
processing_error: Processing error
Something went wrong while processing the card, on the network or the issuer side. It is temporary and usually succeeds on retry.
What processing_error means
processing_error means the payment failed because of a technical problem rather than anything to do with the customer or their account.
Stripe recommends trying the payment again, and only if it keeps failing, asking the customer to contact their bank.
Should you retry the payment?
Retry within hours or by the next day. There is usually no need to bother the customer unless it fails again.
How to recover a subscription payment declined with processing_error
- Retry the payment within a few hours to a day.
- If it fails a second time, email the customer with a link to update their card.
What to tell the customer
Usually no message is needed for the first failure. If it repeats, say there was a problem processing the card.
"Hi Sam, we had trouble processing your $49 Acme payment. We'll try again shortly. If you'd like to use another card, update it here."
More wording for every situation is in our dunning email templates.
How Revnio handles processing_error
Revnio treats processing_error as temporary and schedules the next retry about a day earlier than your normal retry schedule, at 10:00 UTC on a weekday. At the same time the customer gets a recovery email with a secure link to pay or update their card, followed by WhatsApp (Pro plan) if the email is not clicked. On Paddle, Paddle runs the payment retries itself and Revnio handles the customer outreach.
Decline codes are returned by the card issuer through your payment processor. Code names here follow Stripe's; Chargebee and Paddle surface the same issuer reasons with their own wording. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.
Frequently asked questions
What does decline code processing_error mean?
Something went wrong while processing the card, on the network or the issuer side. It is temporary and usually succeeds on retry.
Should I retry a payment declined with processing_error?
Yes, soon. Retry within hours or by the next day. There is usually no need to bother the customer unless it fails again.
Can Revnio recover payments declined with processing_error?
Revnio picks up the failed payment from Stripe, Chargebee or Paddle, adjusts retry timing to the decline code, and reaches the customer by email and WhatsApp (SMS is coming soon) with a secure link to pay or update their card.
Recover failed payments on autopilot
Revnio retries failed payments at the right time and reaches customers by email and WhatsApp until the card is fixed. Works with Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle.
Related
- issuer_not_availableThe card issuer could not be reached to authorize the payment. It is an outage, not a problem with the card, and normally succeeds on retry.
- reenter_transactionThe issuer could not process the payment for an unknown reason and asks for it to be submitted again. A retry usually works.
- try_again_laterThe issuer declined for now and indicated a later attempt could succeed. Stripe has deprecated it as a decline code in favour of the try_again_later advice code, but older charges still show it.
- All decline codesEvery common card decline code, grouped by what to do next.
- Dunning email templatesCopy-ready emails for each kind of failed payment.