Argh! Sorry about that. 😖

GMBill.com partners with European Union merchant banks who are generally reliable, stable, robust and secure.

When GMB receives an instruction from you to bill your card, our merchant bank – called the Acquiring bank – contacts your bank (who issued your credit card) – called the Issuing bank – and asks for their permission to make the charge.

Your bank chooses to approve or deny our request. Typically they approve… but sometimes they don’t. Usually, they provide a reason for the decline (though it can be vague).

Sometimes, our bank stops the transaction (usually because it suspects the transaction is fraudulent, as it matches a pattern usually associated with fraudulent behaviour). We can usually fix that.

When you log in to GMBill.com Account Lookup, we show failed transactions on the Transactions tab, along with the reason your bank provided to us. This page explains what those reasons mean, and suggests actions to take.

Known reasons for customer banks not letting us charge a credit card

“Issuer declined”

The “Issuer” is your bank. They declined our attempt to charge your card. It might work again tomorrow, but most likely, you’ll need to contact you bank to resolve this (see below).

Your bank may deny our request to charge your card if they perceive the risk to be too high. Every bank sets their own risk levels that are largely inscrutable.

Invalid expiry date

When your credit card expires, most Issuing banks make a new credit card with the same sixteen-digit card number, but a changed expiry date. If you got a new card and did not update the expiry date with us, you’ll need to let is know before we can charge your card.

Here’s how to update your card details with us. Only takes a moment. 😌

Insufficient funds

All credit cards have a credit limit, the maximum amount of money your bank is willing to loan to you via this card. If you instruct us to charge your card and it’s over that limit (or, our transaction would put your card over that limit), a “Not sufficient funds” message is shown.

You’ll need to pay-down your credit card, then tell us to charge your card again (or, add a different credit card in GMB).

Invalid card number

When we tried to charge your card, your bank said the card number you provided us was not valid. Maybe they issued you a replacement card? You’ll need to contact your bank to discuss this (or, add a different credit card in GMB).

Transaction not permitted on card

When we tried to charge your card, your bank said the transaction was not permitted. There’s nothing we can do about this, so please contact your bank to ask for assistance.

Suspected fraud

We tried to bill your credit card, but your bank thought our transaction looked like fraud. Some banks are very sensitive to this, and becasue our merchant bank is in Europe, that can cause some banks to be “extra sensitive” becasue it’s different to your usual spending (even if previous transactions with us have worked fine).

Follow the process described below to contact your bank and let them know it’s all good, then let us know so we can attempt to charge your card again.

Do not honour

We tried to charge your card, but your bank said the card should not be honoured – that is, there’s a problem with it (perhaps they think it has been stolen). You can add a different credit card in GMB, or follow the process described below to contact your bank and let them know it’s all good, then let us know so we can attempt to charge your card again.

Exceeds Frequency Limit

Your bank requires you to manually approve a transaction we’re attempting to make (probably on your smart phone).

See our FAQ on Exceeds Frequency Limit.

Known reasons for our bank not letting a charge go through

Exceeds max amount per card per month

Sometimes, our merchant bank limit how much you can charge by your card in a given month (if there are a lot of transactions, it can look like someone stole your card and is going on a shopping spree).

Let us know if you see this error, and we can likely get the limit raised for you.

Contacting your bank (“Issuer”) to resolve an issue

If we report that your credit card issuer (that is, your bank) is not allowing us to charge your card, it’s worth contacting your credit card company by phone. They can make changes on their end to allow charges from our bank.

Use the phone number on the back of the credit card, and ask to allow charges from GMBill.com – they should be able to look at recent attempts to charge your card, and see the line items from GMBill.com they rejected. They will also be able to see the reason for rejection (usually, some sort of over-sensitive fraud protection).

Let the operator know the charge from GMBill.com is all good, and – if you wish – to allow charges from GMB in the future (or you might have to call them up again!).

Banks are unlikely to ask what the charge is for, but if they do, you might wish to say it’s simply for “digital goods”. 🤫

Typically, this involves short on-hold times (if at all), and just a few minutes of talking on the phone, so it’s worth a try!

Any changes they make will only apply from then on, so you need to attempt the transaction again (or ask us to).

Can’t get it to work? Let us know.

We want to help you enjoy what you’re trying to pay for, so let us know if you’re stuck. We’ll get back to you by the next business day (be sure to check your spam folder for our response).