Payment Failure Error Codes

When a payment fails and triggers dunning in BillHive, the failure comes with an error code from the payment gateway. Understanding these codes helps you diagnose why payments are failing and take the right recovery action — whether that’s an automatic retry, customer outreach, or escalation.

BillHive classifies every failure into one of three decline types:

Decline Type	Meaning	Dunning Action
Soft Decline	Temporary issue — likely to succeed on retry	Auto-retry with smart scheduling
Hard Decline	Permanent issue — retry won’t help	Skip to customer notification or escalation
Fraud Decline	Security/compliance block	Escalate; do not auto-retry

Account Issues

Errors related to the customer’s bank account being closed, blocked, or invalid.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`ACCOUNT CLOSED`	The account has been closed and all associated mandates were deactivated	Hard	Notify customer to update payment method
`Account Blocked or frozen`	Account is temporarily blocked (e.g., KYC not updated)	Hard	Notify customer to contact their bank
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST (REMITTER)`	Account verification failed — incorrect details	Hard	Notify customer to update account details
`Not a CBS act no.or old act no.representwithCBS no`	Account is old, non-CBS, or invalid	Hard	Notify customer to use a valid account
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| REMITTER CBS OFFLINE`	Core Banking System is offline at customer’s bank	Soft	Auto-retry after a few hours
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|YE\|REMITTING ACCOUNT BLOCKED/FROZEN`	Remitting account is blocked or frozen	Hard	Notify customer to resolve with their bank

Insufficient Funds & Limits

The most common category — the customer doesn’t have enough balance or has hit a transaction limit.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`Balance Insufficient`	Insufficient funds in customer account	Soft	Auto-retry on next salary cycle (smart timing)
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| INSUFFICIENT FUNDS IN CUSTOMER (REMITTER) ACCOUNT`	Insufficient balance in customer account	Soft	Auto-retry with smart scheduling
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|Z9\|INSUFFICIENT FUNDS IN CUSTOMER (REMITTER) ACCOUNT`	Insufficient funds in remitter account	Soft	Auto-retry after 2–3 days
`Amount Exceeds E-mandate Limit`	Transaction amount exceeds the e-mandate limit	Hard	Notify customer to increase mandate limit or create new mandate
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| PER TRANSACTION LIMIT EXCEEDED AS SET BY REMITTING MEMBER`	Per-transaction limit exceeded	Hard	Notify customer to adjust bank limits
`U29\|ADDRESS RESOLUTION IS FAILED\|QL\|MANDATE DEBIT IS BEYOND PSP SPECIFIED AMOUNT CAP`	Amount exceeds PSP-specified cap	Hard	Reduce charge amount or split into multiple charges
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| MANDATE REQUEST LIMIT HAS BREACHED`	Mandate request limit breached	Hard	Wait for limit reset period
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|QK\|MANDATE REQUEST LIMIT HAS BREACHED`	Mandate request limit exceeded	Hard	Wait for limit reset or contact support
`Not Arranged For`	Bank account isn’t set up for debit transactions	Hard	Notify customer to enable debit facility

Mandate Issues

Problems with the UPI or e-NACH mandate that authorizes recurring debits.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`Invalid UMRN or Inactive Mandate`	Mandate deactivated by NPCI or cancelled by customer/merchant	Hard	Create new mandate; send payment link
`Mandate Cancelled`	Mandate cancelled by customer or merchant	Hard	Create new mandate; send payment link
`Record Level Error: Invalid Mandate Info`	Mandate cancelled by customer from bank	Hard	Create new mandate
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| MANDATE HAS BEEN REVOKED`	Mandate has been revoked	Hard	Create new mandate; send payment link
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| MANDATE SIGNATURE IS TAMPERED OR CORRUPT (REMITTER)`	Mandate signature is corrupted	Hard	Customer must contact bank; create new mandate
`DUPLICATE MANDATE REQUEST FOR SAME ITEM`	Duplicate mandate request submitted	Soft	Check existing mandates before creating new one
`Mandate Qr tampered`	Mandate QR code has been tampered	Hard	Generate fresh mandate
`U29\|ADDRESS RESOLUTION IS FAILED\|QB\|MANDATE IS ALREADY HONOURED`	Duplicate transaction attempt — mandate already honoured	Soft	Verify transaction isn’t already successful
`Invalid frequency`	Invalid frequency for LOAN category mandate	Hard	Update mandate with correct frequency per NPCI guidelines

Fraud & Compliance

Transactions blocked due to suspected fraud or regulatory compliance violations.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| SUSPECTED FRAUD`	Transaction flagged as suspected fraud	Fraud	Escalate; do not auto-retry
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|K1\|SUSPECTED FRAUD, DECLINE / TRANSACTIONS DECLINED BASED ON RISK SCORE BY REMITTER`	Risk-based decline by remitter bank	Fraud	Escalate; customer must contact bank
`ADDRESS RESOLUTION IS FAILED \| TRANSACTION CANNOT BE COMPLETED. COMPLIANCE VIOLATION (REMITTER)`	Compliance violation detected	Fraud	Escalate; ensure regulatory compliance
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| DO NOT HONOUR (REMITTER)`	Debit transaction rejected by issuing bank	Hard	Customer must contact their bank

Bank Unavailable & Timeouts

Temporary technical issues at the customer’s bank or payment network. These are the best candidates for auto-retry.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`REMITTER BANK NOT AVAILABLE`	Remitter bank system is unavailable	Soft	Auto-retry after 1–2 hours
`DEBIT TIMEOUT \| REMITTER/ISSUER UNAVAILABLE (TIMEOUT)`	Bank system timeout	Soft	Auto-retry after 1–2 hours
`U67\|DEBIT TIMEOUT\|UT\|REMITTER/ISSUER UNAVAILABLE (TIMEOUT)`	Timeout from remitter or issuer	Soft	Auto-retry after 1–2 hours
`REMITTER BANK DEEMED HIGH RESPONSE TIME CHECK DECLINE`	Bank experiencing high traffic or technical issues	Soft	Auto-retry during off-peak hours
`U90\|REMITTER BANK DEEMED HIGH RESPONSE TIME CHECK DECLINE`	High response time from remitter bank	Soft	Auto-retry during off-peak hours
`U91\|BENEFICIARY BANK DEEMED HIGH RESPONSE TIME CHECK DECLINE`	Beneficiary bank system issues	Soft	Auto-retry during off-peak hours
`No response received from bank within the prescribed API time limit`	Bank API timeout	Soft	Auto-retry after a few minutes
`ADD_RESLN_DISPATCH_FAILED`	Address resolution dispatch failure	Soft	Auto-retry; contact support if persistent

Customer Action Required

The customer needs to complete an action (authorize a mandate, respond to a collect request, etc.).

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`No action performed by customer`	Customer didn’t complete the authorization process	Soft	Send reminder notification to customer
`COLLECT EXPIRED`	Customer didn’t complete auth after entering VPA	Soft	Resend collect request with reminder
`RESPMANDATE TIMEOUT AT REMITTER END`	Customer didn’t honour the mandate within time	Soft	Send reminder; re-initiate if needed
`RESPMANDATE DECLINED BY REMITTER BANK`	Remitter bank declined the mandate	Hard	Customer must contact their bank
`RESPAUTHMANDATE EXPIRED`	No action performed on collect request — expired	Soft	Resend authorization request
`RESPAUTHMANDATE DECLINED BY PSP`	PSP declined the authorization mandate	Hard	Contact support
`Transaction Open Status`	Customer closed page before completing or retried a failed transaction	Soft	Send payment link to customer
`No Details available for Requested MandateReqID`	Customer cancelled mandate before reaching NPCI page	Soft	Re-initiate mandate creation

Invalid Data & Validation

Issues with the payment request data — wrong VPA, invalid amount, missing fields.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`U29\|ADDRESS RESOLUTION IS FAILED\|ZH\|INVALID VIRTUAL ADDRESS`	Invalid VPA used	Hard	Notify customer to update VPA
`ADDRESS RESOLUTION IS FAILED \| INVALID VIRTUAL ADDRESS`	Invalid Virtual Address during VPA validation	Hard	Notify customer to update VPA
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| INVALID TRANSACTION OR IF MEMBER IS NOT ABLE TO FIND ANY APPROPRIATE RESPONSE CODE (REMITTER)`	Invalid transaction or unrecognized response	Soft	Retry; escalate if persistent
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|XB\|INVALID TRANSACTION OR IF MEMBER IS NOT ABLE TO FIND ANY APPROPRIATE RESPONSE CODE (REMITTER)`	Invalid transaction from remitter	Soft	Retry; escalate if persistent
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| INVALID RESPONSE CODE`	Invalid response from bank	Soft	Auto-retry
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|XD\|INVALID AMOUNT (REMITTER)`	Invalid amount specified	Hard	Fix amount format and retry
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| RegIdDetails must be present`	Required registration details missing	Hard	Ensure all required fields are provided
`U30\|DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED\|V1\|RegIdDetails must be present`	Registration details missing	Hard	Include all required registration info
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| Id name must be present`	Required ID name field missing	Hard	Include ID name field

KYC & Verification

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`Aadhaar number does not have mobile number registered with uidai`	Mobile number not linked with Aadhaar	Hard	Customer must link mobile with Aadhaar at UIDAI
`Payer Account Validation Failure`	TPV (Third-Party Validation) verification failed	Hard	Notify customer to verify account details

System & Processing

Internal processing issues on the gateway side.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`Internal Payment Failed`	Internal system error during payment processing	Soft	Auto-retry after a few minutes
`Charge couldn't happen on time`	Previous charge was in progress, preventing next charge	Soft	Wait for previous charge to complete, then retry
`Previous request in progress`	Previous request for the same action still being processed	Soft	Wait before retrying
`debit has been failed`	Bank didn’t send any failure reason	Soft	Retry; escalate if persistent

Notification Failures

Pre-debit notification delivery failures. These prevent the mandate debit from executing.

Error Code	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`Notification couldn't be sent to the customer`	Pre-debit notification failed to send	Soft	Verify customer contact details; retry
`DEBIT HAS BEEN FAILED \| Unable to Notify the Customer`	Pre-debit notification delivery failed	Soft	Update customer contact information; retry

Non-Payment (Manual / Offline Invoices)

These are not gateway errors — they occur when an invoice is raised for manual or offline payment (bank transfer, cheque, cash) with a due date, but the customer simply doesn’t pay. There is no mandate to debit, so BillHive must rely entirely on communication and escalation.

Scenario	Description	Decline Type	Recommended Action
`INVOICE_OVERDUE`	Invoice due date has passed with no payment received	Soft	Send payment reminder with invoice link
`INVOICE_OVERDUE_GRACE_EXPIRED`	Invoice overdue and grace period has also expired	Hard	Send urgent reminder; restrict service access
`INVOICE_PARTIAL_PAYMENT`	Customer made a partial payment; remaining balance is still due	Soft	Send reminder for remaining balance with updated invoice
`PAYMENT_PROMISE_BROKEN`	Customer promised to pay by a date but didn’t follow through	Hard	Escalate; send final notice before hard action
`MANUAL_PAYMENT_NOT_RECEIVED`	Manual payment (bank transfer, cheque) expected but not received or not reconciled	Soft	Send payment confirmation request; verify with finance team
`OFFLINE_PAYMENT_DISPUTED`	Customer claims payment was made but it hasn’t been reconciled	Soft	Verify with bank/finance; request proof of payment from customer

Key difference from gateway errors: There is no auto-retry possible for manual payments. The dunning flow relies on:

Escalating reminders — Friendly reminder → Urgent reminder → Final notice
Payment link generation — Send a hosted checkout link so the customer can pay online instead
Grace period management — Keep service active for a configured grace period after due date
Escalation — Flag for manual review or sales team follow-up for high-value accounts
Hard action — Pause or cancel subscription if all recovery attempts are exhausted

API Errors

Errors returned by the Cashfree Subscription API during programmatic operations.

Error Code	Description	Resolution
`subscription_id_missing`	Subscription ID is required but missing in the request	Include subscription ID in API request
`plan_id_missing`	Plan ID is missing, invalid, or not found	Verify plan ID exists and is correct
`payment_id_missing`	Payment ID is missing or not found	Provide valid payment ID
`invalid_payment_type`	Invalid payment type specified	Use supported types: `E_MANDATE`, `UPI`, `CARD`
`subscription_does_not_exist`	Subscription doesn’t exist for the provided reference ID	Verify subscription reference ID
`authorization_payment_info_mismatch`	Authorization payment info doesn’t match subscription creation info	Match payment details between creation and authorization
`tpv_not_supported`	TPV not allowed for Intent and QR auth flow	Use alternative auth flow

How BillHive Uses Error Codes in Dunning

BillHive’s AI-powered dunning system uses these error codes to make intelligent recovery decisions:

Decline Classification — Each error code is mapped to a decline type (soft/hard/fraud) to determine whether auto-retry is appropriate
Smart Retry Scheduling — Soft declines like Balance Insufficient trigger retries timed to salary cycles; timeouts trigger quick retries
Action Routing — Hard declines skip retries and go straight to customer notification with a payment update link
Fraud Handling — Fraud declines are escalated immediately without retry attempts
AI Context — The error code and its history are passed to the AI dunning engine, which uses them alongside customer behavior patterns to decide the optimal next action

Dunning Overview — How dunning works in BillHive
Configure Dunning — Set up retry schedules and actions
Dunning for Payment Types — How dunning differs by payment method
AI-Powered Dunning — How AI uses error codes for smart recovery

AI-Powered Dunning Debt Collection Agencies