Why is a gift card is declining when there are funds on the card?

Ziggy1504 — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:42:57 GMT

Hi, a customer tried to pay with a gift card, when he swiped it declined but there’s funds in the card.

Re: Why is square declining my transaction

Summer2024 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 15:04:14 GMT

Hi @Ziggy1504 ! Welcome to the Square Community!

I'm sorry that you were having difficulty with a gift card transaction. I'm going to list some common troubleshooting steps/best practices when it comes to gift cards below. Please let me know if you have any further questions. You can use the "@" and then my username (Summer2024) to tag me. I know some of these steps you might have tried already, but I want to post them for visibility in case other Sellers come across this post. 😁

Check Card Balance:

→ Menu

→ Gift Cards
→ Check Balance
→ Swipe or manually enter card number

Verify Card Type:

→Confirm it's a Square gift card

→Confirm it's from your business

Troubleshooting Steps

Connection Problems:

Check internet connection

Force close and restart Square app

Ensure system is updated

Card Reading Issues:

1. Clean card magnetic stripe
2. Try manual entry
3. Try different swipe speed
4. Test reader with different card

If the problem persists, please contact Square Support. I have included the number below with information to have ready for them.

1-888-627-4449
Have gift card number ready
Note any error messages
Record transaction attempts

I hope this helps!

thread Why is a gift card is declining when there are funds on the card? in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

Why is a gift card is declining when there are funds on the card?

Re: Why is square declining my transaction