PaymentRetryAlertMerchant Advice Code 21: recurring payment cancelled (stop billing)
What merchant advice code 21 means
The cardholder has asked their bank to stop this recurring payment. Continuing to charge is treated as a compliance problem and attracts a fee per attempt.
Should you retry?
Stop billing this card immediately. Reach out to the customer to confirm whether they intended to cancel.
Retrying hard declines costs money. Visa limits reattempts on a card to 15 in 30 days, and Mastercard charges for attempts beyond its thresholds and for every retry after a Merchant Advice Code 03 or 21. Route this decline to account updater or customer outreach instead. See soft vs hard declines.
Frequently asked questions
Is merchant advice code 21 a soft or hard decline?
Hard decline (do not retry). The cardholder has asked their bank to stop this recurring payment. Continuing to charge is treated as a compliance problem and attracts a fee per attempt.
Should I retry a payment that failed with merchant advice code 21?
Stop billing this card immediately. Reach out to the customer to confirm whether they intended to cancel.
Other Merchant Advice Codes
01New account information available02Cannot approve at this time, try again later03Do not try again04Token requirements not fulfilled for this token type22Merchant does not qualify for product code24Retry after 1 hour25Retry after 24 hours26Retry after 2 days- All decline codes
Reference information for merchants. Network rules and fee schedules change; confirm current figures with your acquirer. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated, which does not sponsor or endorse this service.