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Decline code

Restricted Card

Stripe declined this payment because the card carries a restriction placed on it by the issuing bank, closely related to a lost or stolen card block but framed as a card-level limitation rather than a physical pickup instruction. Stripe's official definition reads: "the customer can't use this card to make this payment (it's possible it was reported lost or stolen)." Functionally, `restricted_card` and `pickup_card` describe the same underlying situation from slightly different angles. Where `pickup_card` is the network's instruction to physically retrieve the card, `restricted_card` is the issuing bank saying the card itself is restricted from further use. The practical result is identical: this card will not work.

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restricted_cardNever retried
Draft content: this page's explanatory copy is Pass 3 template writing pending a dedicated content pass. The classification badge above and the recovery behavior described below are live, not draft: both come directly from the recovery engine.

Why it happens

As with `pickup_card`, this shows up on recurring billing when a card that previously worked has since been reported lost or stolen, or has otherwise been flagged by the issuing bank for a restriction (a security concern, a compliance hold, an account-level issue on the cardholder's side). The customer's subscription itself is usually unaffected in intent, they still want the service, but their specific card has been cut off by their own bank.

How to fix it

No. This is a hard restriction from the issuer, not a temporary hold. Retrying the same card will keep failing and offers no path to success. Stop retrying immediately. Given the overlap with lost and stolen card scenarios, run the same quick account check before reaching out: account age, how recently the subscription started, whether other cards on the account were also declined, and whether usage looks normal. If nothing looks off, ask the customer to add a new card with a straightforward, non-accusatory message. If something looks off, route it to manual review before any customer contact goes out.

How Foxhound recovers it

Fraud and security declines are never retried, silently or otherwise. Foxhound sends a gentle, clearly worded email sequence across 30 days that names the situation plainly and points the customer to their card issuer, rather than repeating the same charge against a flag the issuer already raised.

Questions

  • They describe closely related situations. `pickup_card` is the network's instruction tied to physical card retrieval, while `restricted_card` is the issuer describing a restriction on the card itself. Both point to a card that will not work again.

  • It's possible in principle, but from the merchant side there is no reliable way to tell a temporary restriction from a permanent one through this code alone. Treat it as a hard stop and ask for a new payment method rather than waiting it out.

  • Yes. Because this code overlaps with lost and stolen card scenarios, look at account age, subscription start date, and whether other cards on file were also declined before reaching out.

  • No. The restriction comes from the issuing bank and won't resolve itself through repeated attempts from the merchant side.

  • No. `restricted_card` sits in the fraud bucket, so Foxhound suppresses the automated retry and dunning sequence and flags the case for careful handling instead.

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