Use card payment transaction simulators to troubleshoot future customer payment issues with realistic responses. These simulators prepare you for handling potential errors in the Sandbox before going live. By simulating errors and edge cases, you can prepare for real-world scenarios and ensure your system responds appropriately.
Get Started
Each simulator is triggered by entering a specific transaction amount. These amounts simulate different error responses, such as insufficient funds or expired cards.
To activate any transaction simulator, always use the following test card data:
Number: 4242 4242 4242 4242
CVV: Any three-digit number. For example, 123.
Expiration: Any valid future date values in MMYY format. For example, 1234.
Activate Transaction Simulators
Trigger each simulator by entering a specific test transaction amount. Enter the associated trigger amount to simulate the platform error using the following Portal methods:
Important!
Do not use values outside the specified triggers to activate Sandbox simulators. Non-trigger values return standard successful server responses for normal testing.
The following sections detail the different transaction error response outcomes by platform:
Vantiv (VAP)
Vantiv transaction simulators use Authorization (Auth), Sale, or Void transaction types to simulate different responses at different points of the transaction lifecycle without changing the transaction type.
Use each amount as the transaction amount to trigger each simulator. For example, using $500.04 returns an “Insufficient Funds” simulator response message.
To trigger a Vantiv transaction simulator:
Set the transaction type to Auth, Sale, or Void.
Enter the test card data.
Provide one of the following trigger amounts and process the transaction to simulate a potential Vantiv platform credit card sale processing error:
Trigger Amount
Simulator Response Message
$95.87
Declined
$378.78
The submitted surcharge exceeds the maximum allowed limit
$500.01
Exceeds Approval Amount Limit
$500.03
Total amount not approved.
API Note: If a transaction is initiated with an amount of $500.03 and the
allowPartialfield is either omitted or set to 0, the transaction will be declined as expected. To enable partial approval, setallowPartialto 1. In that case, the transaction will be approved for a partial amount of $110.25.$500.04
Insufficient Funds
$501.99
The account was closed
$565.56
Transaction not supported by issuer.
$566.56
Blocked by cardholder/contact cardholder.
$848.00
Processing Network Unavailable
$848.01
Issuer Unavailable
$848.02
Re-submit Transaction
$848.03
Call Issuer
$848.04
Merchant not certified/enabled for IIAS.
$848.05
Issuer Generated Error
$848.06
Restricted Card
$848.07
Card Not Active
$848.08
Illegal Transaction
$848.09
Duplicate Transaction
$848.10
System Error
$848.11
System Error (cannot process)
$848.12
Lost/Stolen Card
$848.13
Expired Card
$848.14
Restricted Card
$848.15
No such issuer
$848.16
Transaction not allowed at terminal.
$848.17
Cardholder transaction not permitted.
$848.18
Cardholder requested that recurring or installment payment be stopped.
$848.19
Do Not Honor
$848.20
Decline - Request Positive ID
$848.21
Processing Network Error
$848.22
Soft Decline - Primary Funding Source Failed
$848.23
Soft Decline - Auto Recycling In Progress
$848.24
Internal System Error - Call Vantiv
$848.25
Generic Decline
$995.99
Invalid Credit Account
$996.99
Invalid Checking Account
$997.99
Invalid Savings Account
Result: The transaction simulator returns the platform simulator response message aligned with the amount.
Vantiv Core (VCore)
VCore transaction simulators are divided into Authorization (Auth), Capture, and Void transaction categories:
Auth: Credit card authorization responses.
Capture: Credit card sale or authorization transaction settlement batching responses.
Void: Credit card transaction cancellation responses for unsettled authorizations or sales.
Sale transactions combine the Auth and Capture processes into one step. This process seeks immediate authorization while assigning the transaction to the daily batch. Using Sale transactions works for VCore simulators and eliminates the need for a second manual capture after a prior Authorization transaction.
Trigger Auth, Sale, and Void Transaction Simulators
Merchants use Auth transactions to collect payment information and get approval from a cardholder's financial institution to hold and capture funds. Merchants use Capture transactions to collect payment after a prior Auth approval from a cardholder's financial institution. Merchants use Void transactions to cancel a previously approved Auth before the transaction is settled by the cardholder's financial institution.
To trigger a VCore transaction simulator:
Set the transaction type to Auth, Sale, or Void.
Enter the test card data.
Provide one of the following trigger amounts and process the transaction to simulate a potential VCore platform credit card error:
Amount
Simulated Error
$101.03
Invalid Merchant ID
$101.05
Generic Authorization Decline
$101.10
Total amount not approved.
API Note: If a transaction is initiated with an amount of $101.10 and the
allowPartialfield is either omitted or set to 0, the transaction will be declined as expected. To enable partial approval, setallowPartialto 1. In that case, the transaction will be approved for a partial amount of $10.10.$101.13
Invalid Amount
$101.14
Invalid Account Number
$101.30
Message Format Error
$101.39
No Credit Account
$101.51
Insufficient Funds
$101.54
Expired Card
$101.82
Invalid CVV
$101.83
Unable to Verify PIN
$101.96
System Error
Result: The transaction simulator returns the platform simulator response message aligned with the amount shown in the table.
Trigger Capture Transaction Simulators
Merchants use Capture transactions to collect payment after a prior Auth approval from a cardholder's financial institution.
To trigger a VCore Capture transaction simulator:
Set the transaction type to Sale.
Enter the test card data.
Provide one of the following trigger amounts and process the transaction to simulate a potential VCore platform credit card capture error:
Amount
Simulated Error
$201.00
Non-numeric transaction date or invalid month or day in transaction date
$201.01
Transaction date is greater than today's date
$201.02
Invalid authorization source code
$201.03
Invalid check digit, invalid card type, or invalid cardholder account number
$201.04
Invalid or missing entry mode
$201.05
Invalid or missing Worldpay merchant number for non-Visa/Mastercard card type for this store location
$201.06
Invalid or missing network (external) merchant number for non-Visa/Mastercard card type for this store location
$201.07
Invalid or missing merchant number for non-Visa/Mastercard card type (non-presented)
$201.08
Non-numeric transaction amount or amount greater than $99,999.99
$201.09
American Express transaction with invalid or missing American Express batch header addendum
$201.10
Invalid or missing merchant category code (MCC)
$201.11
Invalid or missing transaction number
$201.12
Invalid or missing merchant number presented by the merchant
$201.13
Invalid or missing Federal Tax ID and/or merchant type for Mastercard purchasing card transaction
$201.14
Test card rejected for settlement
$201.15
Diners Club transaction is older than 32 days
$201.16
Settled batch presented (BIN) with non-settled external account number set up on Worldpay merchant file
$201.17
Fleet Card Transaction more than 180 days old
$201.18
Mastercard/Visa BIN lookup on card indicates invalid
$201.19
Last 8 digits of Discover reference number must be numeric
$201.20
Transaction amount exceeds network limit
$201.21
The transaction amount exceeds the internal limit. Transaction pending further review
$201.22
Non-debit merchant USB
$201.23
Blocked merchant
$201.24
Fleet voyager transaction amount and addendums unbalanced
$201.25
Transaction amount, foreign transaction amount in the DCC addendum, and foreign exchange rate do not balance
$201.26
Error on Mastercard PVTLBL addenda
$201.27
Discover cash back is greater than or equal to transaction amount
$201.28
Visa real time clearing error
$201.29
Card number detokenization failed
$201.30
Transaction declined
$201.31
Return not allowed on cash advance
$201.32
Pended for fraud or risk review
$201.33
Reward amount invalid, or equal to or greater than transaction amount
$201.34
The checkpoint key is missing from the incoming EMD record
$201.35
Retry or resubmission not permitted for this Visa transaction
$201.70
AMX EDI auth-no, type, chdr-no, amt or date missing
$201.71
AMX EDI exp-date missing
$201.72
AMX EDI pos-data missing
$201.73
AMX EDI invoice-date missing
$201.74
AMX EDI crp-req-name or invoice-num1 missing
$201.75
AMX EDI item-quantity, unit price not numeric
$201.76
AMX EDI item-description missing
$201.77
AMX EDI ship_to address missing a component (name, address, street, zip)
$201.78
AMX EDI country/currency can only be USD/840, others not certified
The following codes do not reject transactions when trying to be captured, but are warning codes:
Amount
Simulated Warning
$201.90
Duplicate transactions
$201.91
Invalid authorization code
Important!
You can’t view Capture simulator responses until the transaction status is Captured. Capture simulator responses appear after the daily settlement batch closes at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.
Result: The Capture transaction simulator returns the platform simulator response message aligned with the amount shown in the tables.
Check Simulator Responses
When triggering the transaction simulator with a relevant amount, an artificial platform response is returned with a message explaining the reason.
To find the platform transaction simulator response messages:
Select Payment History in the left navigation panel.
Select the relevant transaction to access the Transaction Details page.
Select Alerts on the Transaction Details left menu.
Result: The Alerts menu displays a list of all platform responses to the transaction. For transactions using simulator trigger amounts, the Alerts menu shows the simulator response message from the applicable platform.