This guide covers common payment failures in the Open Tab process with Adyen, usually caused by the customer's bank or card issuer, not the restaurant.
Important: If the customer has consumed items, payment fails, and they leave, record the transaction as a Walkout Discount.
How Open Tabs Work
1. Customer starts an open tab
2. A small preauthorization is taken of £1
3. Customer orders food and drinks without paying or adjusting the amount.
4. Once done the payment can be taken manually by the server with a payment terminal, or by capturing payment on Arch. If no action is performed, Arch will try to capture the payment automatically and attempt to close the check.
Below is a list of the most common payment error messages and some suggested actions. Keep in mind that specific error codes might vary a bit, but the issue usually means the same or something very similar.
Refusal Reasons and Actions
51 - Insufficient Funds / Over Credit Limit
This refusal occurs when the bank declines the transaction because the customer’s account does not have enough funds or the credit limit has been exceeded. The bank will not authorize the payment under these conditions.
✅ In such cases, politely ask the customer if they can provide an alternative payment card or if they can transfer funds to their account. Once the customer provides a new payment method or funds have been transferred, retry the payment.
❌ It is important to note that this type of refusal cannot be overridden by IT support or the payment processor Adyen.
If the customer decides to leave without completing the payment, make sure to record the incident as Walkout Discount for accurate tracking and reporting.
1A - Failed Authentication / 3DS Not Completed
This refusal is triggered when the customer fails to complete the required bank authentication process, such as 3D Secure (3DS) verification.
✅ In this situation, kindly ask the customer to approve the transaction through their banking app or authentication method. If they are unable to complete this, suggest retrying the payment or using a different card or try a manual order.
If the customer leaves without completing the authentication, record the case as Walkout Discount.
65 - Exceeds Withdrawal Count Limit
This refusal happens when the bank blocks the transaction because the customer has reached their daily withdrawal or transaction count limit.
✅ Advise the customer to use another card or an alternative payment method. They may also need to contact their bank to resolve the limit issue.
❌ This refusal cannot be overridden under any circumstances.
If the customer leaves without completing payment, ensure you record the incident as Walkout Discount.
Refunded Incremental
This refusal occurs when the bank rejects an authorization increase after an initial pre-authorization has been approved.
✅ In this case, request an alternative payment method from the customer and avoid adding any new items to the order. Attempt to settle the payment immediately without increasing the authorization.
If the customer leaves without completing the payment, record the incident as Walkout Discount.
Authorization Adjustment Failed
This situation arises when the initial authorization was successful, but a subsequent attempt to increase the authorized amount was refused by the bank.
✅ Attempt to process immediate payment for the authorized amount, request an alternative payment method, and verify the authorized amount to avoid discrepancies.
If the customer leaves without completing payment, make sure to record it as Walkout Discount.
82 - Policy
This refusal is due to the bank blocking the transaction based on their internal policies.
✅ Encourage the customer to contact their bank to resolve the issue. Suggest retrying the payment with another card or payment method once the restriction is lifted.
If the customer leaves without completing payment, record the case as Walkout Discount.
03, 34, 59, Fraud Detection / Unauthorized Transaction
The bank suspects fraudulent activity and therefore blocks the payment for security reasons.
✅ Advise the customer to contact their bank to clear any restrictions. Suggest using another card and retrying the payment after the bank has lifted the block.
If the customer leaves without completing the payment, record the refusal as Walkout Discount.
Unknown Card
This error occurs when a processing issue prevents the system from validating the customer's card.
✅ Attempt to retry the payment, ask the customer to use another card, and if the error happens repeatedly, escalate it to the appropriate technical support for investigation.
If the customer leaves without completing payment, record the incident as Walkout Discount.
Other Issues
Customer Adds Items After Payment Failure
Sometimes, even after a payment capture failure, the customer's tab remains open, allowing them to add more items to their order.
✅ Always confirm the payment status before serving any additional items. If payment has failed, close the tab immediately and request a new payment method from the customer to prevent further complications.
100% Discount After Pre-Authorization
In cases where the final bill totals £0 due to discounts, the pre-authorization hold on the funds should be released automatically by the issuer.
✅ Inform the customer that the hold on their funds will clear according to their bank’s timing and reassure them if funds appear to be held temporarily.
Partial payments made but there is still balance
In some cases customer share the tab with other guest and each one makes separate payments but there is still balance on the bill.
✅ Use the "Manage payments" option in Arch to check the status of payments of each one, sometimes you will finds that one of the payments was not captured such as "no funds available". Depending on the issue, use the resolutions above to determine next step.
Summary Table
| Response | Cause | Can Restaurant Fix? | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insufficient Funds | No available balance | Sometimes | Ask for another card |
| Failed Authentication | Customer did not complete 3DS | Yes | Retry payment |
| Refunded Incremental | Adjustment rejected | Usually No | Request alternative payment |
| Exceeds Withdrawal Count Limit | Bank transaction limit | No | Alternative payment |
| Policy | Bank restriction | No | Customer contacts bank |
| Fraud Detection | Bank blocked payment | No | Alternative payment |
| Unknown Card | Integration/payment error | Sometimes | Retry then report |
| Authorization Adjustment Failed | Bank rejected increase | Usually No | Alternative payment |
Any other acquirer error code reason can be found in Adyen DOC: Raw responses | Adyen Docs
Final Rule: If the customer consumed items and payment fails after reasonable attempts, record as Walkout Discount
Double charges: For open tab orders often customers will claim that they have been charged twice, but what tends to happens is that many banks have different ways to handle the visibility of bank statements, and in many cases the final adjustment is shown as duplicate transaction. They may also need time to release the authorized amount, the recommended thing to do from Adyen is to provide the customer with PSP reference and ask them to contact the bank to check the transaction.
Payment terminals are rebooting automatically every day due to PCI requirements.
If you do not unlock payment terminals in the morning Kiosk payments will be affected and result in error, ensure you unlock terminals and check that they are initializing correctly before using kiosks.