Card Declined or 3-D Secure Failed

Why a top-up payment fails, what 3-D Secure verification is, what to try next, and why Discover and Diners Club card payments are refunded automatically.

When a top-up fails, it's almost always your bank refusing the payment or a 3-D Secure check that wasn't completed. Approve the payment in your banking app if asked, then try again or use another card. Discover and Diners Club cards are the exception: we don't accept them, and payments made with them are refunded automatically.

A payment that doesn't go through adds no credit. If you return from the payment page without paying, you'll see Payment cancelled: "Your payment was not processed. No charges have been made."

What 3-D Secure is

3-D Secure is an extra check run by the bank that issued your card. Before it approves an online payment, your bank may ask you to confirm it's you.

• How it looks. Your bank shows a confirmation step on the payment page, or sends a request to its banking app or a code by SMS.
• When it's asked. Your bank decides. Some payments go through without a visible step, others need your approval.
• If you don't finish it, the payment fails. Closing the page, letting the request time out or rejecting it in the banking app all count as a failed check.

Keep the payment page open until your bank confirms. If the approval request never arrives, open your banking app yourself and look for a pending request, or ask your bank to resend the code.

Why banks decline a payment

The decision comes from your bank, not from BubblyPhone. Common causes are:

• Not enough funds, or the card's spending limit has been reached.
• The card isn't enabled for online or international payments. Every BubblyPhone top-up is charged in US dollars, so a card issued outside the US may treat it as a foreign payment. The local-currency amount on the Top Up page is only a guide.
• The 3-D Secure check wasn't completed.
• A mistyped card number, expiry date or security code, or an expired card.
• Your bank's own security checks held the payment.

What to try

Work through these in order, trying the top-up again after each step.

1. Approve it in your banking app. Open the app, accept any pending request, then try the top-up again.
2. Ask your bank to allow the payment. Tell them it's an online payment in US dollars. Many banks let you turn on online or international payments in the app.
3. Check the card details, then try again.
4. Use a different card. Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit and debit cards are accepted. Apple Pay and Google Pay are offered where your device and browser support them.
5. On an iPhone, you can buy credit through the App Store instead. See Buying Credit in the iPhone & Android Apps.

Discover and Diners Club cards

We don't accept Discover or Diners Club cards, and the Top Up page says so above the payment options. If you pay with one anyway, the payment goes through at first and is then refunded automatically.

• The full amount goes back to the same card.
• The credit from that payment is removed from your balance, so it can't be used for calls.
• We email you with the subject "About your refunded payment on BubblyPhone". The refund usually appears on your card within 3 to 5 business days.

Some RuPay cards are processed as Discover, so they're refunded the same way. Use a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card instead.

Amounts you can pay

Top-ups start at $5. A custom amount can be anything from $5 to $500. Packages give bonus credit on larger amounts. See Billing, Credits & Pricing.

Charged but no credit?

Credit is added as soon as the payment completes. Refresh the Top Up page or check Billing & Activity first.

If the money left your account and your balance still hasn't changed, email hello@bubblyphone.com from your account email with the date, the amount and the last 4 digits of the card. To ask for unused credit back, see Refunds & Reporting Call Issues.