Why are my customers card declining the first time I swipe but going through the second time?

[Shelbylp]

Hi! All of a sudden just about every customer I take a card payment from, their card declines. I swipe it again and it goes through. Why is this happening?

I have been taking payments through my android phone for a year and never had an issue.. I do not have internet but I have service where I'm located. This started happening 3 weeks ago.

[JK_Fiber_Art · Accepted solution]

One possible cause - the magnetic head may need cleaning.  (You can purchase cleaning cards at office supply store but, a pack of cards may cost more than a Reader replacement.)   Understand that the volunteer Community Members are not the same as Tech or Customer Support however, from hands-on experience - we do try to help.    Down the road, you may want to consider the Contactless and Chip Reader - there's less card acceptance liability and it connects to your smart device via BlueTooth.