Why was my transaction declined?

You can now see declined transactions in your Chime app, helping you understand why they didn’t go through and what you can do next.

Declined transactions appear in your transaction history with a “Declined” label. They will appear alongside approved ones in the Settled section of the app, ordered by authorization time and sorted by the most recent transaction.

Tapping a declined transaction opens a details screen for most transactions. This screen will show:

The reason the transaction was declined
The most relevant next step to fix the issue

There are several reasons why your transaction may have been declined.

Reason	Resolution
Card isn’t active	If your card hasn’t been activated yet, transactions will decline. See How do I activate my card?
Transactions are disabled	If you've turned off transactions in the app, purchases will not go through. See How can I enable or disable transactions on my card?
Card is closed (lost, stolen, or expired)	If you reported your card as lost or stolen, it will be deactivated and any transactions will decline. If your card is close to expiring, we’ll send you a new one a few weeks in advance.
Account doesn’t have enough money	To add money to your account, go to Move in the app.
Limits are exceeded	Transactions can decline if you exceed the spending or withdrawal limit on your Checking Account, or the available-to-spend limit in your Credit Builder or Chime Card account. See What are my account limits?
Wrong PIN	If you forgot your PIN, you can reset it by following the steps in How do I set or change my PIN?
Incorrect CVV code	Check the three-digit code on the back of your card (next to the signature box) and try again.
Incorrect expiration date	Make sure you’re using the expiration date from your current card.
Incorrect billing address	If the billing address doesn’t match your Chime account, the transaction may decline. See How do I update my address? Alternatively, verify that the address you entered during checkout matches your Chime account.
Country is blocked	Chime cards don’t work in certain countries. This can’t be changed. For more information, check Can I use my card outside of the United States?
Issue with the merchant	The issue may be with the merchant’s system. Try a different method (swipe, chip, or manual entry) if contactless doesn’t work.