Dive Brief:

• In the U.S., 17% of shoppers have their credit cards declined when trying to complete their transactions, according to a survey of more than 1,000 shoppers by e-commerce fraud prevention firm 41st Parameter. 

• Two-thirds of those consumers said they knew why their card was declined, and even more report being upset by it. The most common reasons were financial reasons (36%), suspicious activity or fraud (16%), and invalid account information (16%).

• When a card is declined for an attempted purchase online, nearly half of shoppers say they call their card issuers, 14% end their shopping there, and 10% shop elsewhere. The remainder try different cards or payment methods.

Dive Insight:

It might be less embarrassing than the public humiliation that comes with having a credit card declined in person, but it's a drag when it happens online, too. That, however, is not the interesting information from this survey -- it's that so many people find the problem discouraging enough to end the transaction or go to another site to shop.

Note that many people blame the merchants rather than their banks, or themselves, when something goes wrong, and therein lies an area of improvement. Retailers could make it easier, for example, for customers to update their credit card information when it’s expired. Or they could make the declined card encounter a friendlier, more solution-seeking experience.