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PEX Declines vs. Merchant Declines PEX Declines Transactions that are blocked or declined by PEX are based on spend parameters set by the Administrator.
  • All PEX declines can be verified by viewing the Declines section in the Cardholder’s record. Here you’ll see all merchant/transaction detail, and the reason for the decline.
Merchant Declines When the merchant declines a transaction, the reasons are not visible to PEX, and therefore are not listed on the PEX Administrator site.
  • In many cases, however, the PEX support team can help determine the reason for the merchant decline.
Most declines can be remedied by adding funds to cards or by changing the spend permissions. Most Common Reasons for Card Declines These are the most common reasons for declines. The Administrator can see the exact reasons for transaction declines on the Cardholder’s Decline tab on the Administrator Site.
1
There is a Spend Rule block
2
The card is not in Active status
3
The card has an insufficient available balance
4
The card has reached its daily spend limit
5
The card’s expiration date was manually entered incorrectly
6
The cardholder is attempting to spend at an unauthorized merchant
7
The merchant does not accept prepaid debit cards
8
The cardholder is attempting to spend at a non-US based merchant
9
The cardholder selected DEBIT at the point of sale, but there is no PIN assigned to the card
10
The merchant’s system automatically processes transactions as PIN required and there is no PIN set on the card
11
The cardholder attempted to access cash, via ATM, at a financial institution or through a merchant
12
The Zip Code entered does not match the card profile
13
Gas pump purchase - PEX authorizes and holds $49 for gas pump purchases. The merchant can hold up to $120.00, which may cause a decline due to insufficient funds

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How to View Card Decline Details

1
Log in to dashboard.pexcard.com
2
Click the “Cards” page
3
Locate the cardholder’s name and Click on it
4
Click “Declines” tab on the card details page
5
Click on the description to see transaction details
If the Cardholder tells you that a transaction was declined, but you do not see it in the Decline section, the reason could be:
1
The Cardholder entered the 3-digit number on the back of the card (CVV2/CVC2) incorrectly during an online purchase
2
The card was approved for a partial amount of the transaction total which would be equal to the card’s available balance
  • Check the Transactions tab to see if there is a pending transaction for the merchant in question
3
The merchant does not accept prepaid debit cards
Last modified on April 22, 2026