HomeBrandsStripePayments APIcard_decline_rate_limit_exceeded
S
card_decline_rate_limit_exceeded
Moderate
Stripe · Payments API
Card has been declined too many times in a short period.
Quick Answer
Error code card_decline_rate_limit_exceeded on your Stripe Payments API means: Card has been declined too many times in a short period.. This is usually fixable — see the step-by-step guide below.
Affected Models
Applies to all models
STRIPE-BILLINGSTRIPE-CHECKOUTSTRIPE-CONNECTSTRIPE-PISTRIPE-TERMINALSTRIPE-WEBHOOKS
Likely Causes
  1. Request throughput exceeded per-token, per-endpoint, or per-account rate budget.
  2. Burst traffic pattern lacks backoff and pacing controls under provider limits.
  3. Concurrent workers retried aggressively, amplifying throttling conditions.
How to Fix It
1
Stripe: Read response headers/body for retry window and current rate-limit counters.
2
Apply exponential backoff with jitter and centralize retry policy across workers.
3
Throttle batch jobs and fan-out workers to stay under documented request ceilings.
4
Cache idempotent reads and coalesce duplicate requests where possible.
5
Monitor throttling metrics and request quota increases if sustained traffic requires it.
Pro Tip
This fix requires some technical knowledge. If you're unsure about any step, consider contacting support or a qualified technician.
Related Error Codes
account_closedaccount_country_invalid_addressaccount_error_country_change_requires_additional_stepsaccount_invalidaccount_number_invalid
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