You are ready to register for a competition, but when you go to checkout, you receive an error about your payment being declined. Why is this happening?

If your payment is declined, there is unfortunately nothing that Strongest.com can do to force a payment through. However, in many cases, the error codes can be helpful in troubleshooting what is causing the payment decline.

Payment Declined: The transaction was declined by the bank. This can happen for a variety reasons, but it usually tied to the bank rejecting the transaction for fraud prevention reasons. Please try a different card or call your bank to approve the transaction.

Insufficient Funds: The transaction failed due to a lack of funds in the card's account. Please ensure that your card has enough funds/credit to cover the transaction and try again.

Incorrect Zip/Postal Code: The postal/zip code used for the card does not match what the bank has on file for that card. Please try again or confirm with your bank that your postal/zip code is updated and correct.
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Incorrect Security code (CVC): The provided 3 digit security code (known as the CVC) did not match for the card provided. Please check that the CVC code you used matches the code on the card.
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If a particular card is giving you trouble, you can always try a different card if you have one available. We have found that often times, debit cards will have strict fraud protection, particularly for international purchases. We recommend that you complete registration using a credit card rather than a debit card if you are outside the United States.
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If using another card simply isn't an option, you will have to reach out to your bank to understand why the payment is being declined.

If your purchase was declined, you have already spoken with your bank, and are still having issues, please send support@strongest.com a screenshot of the error message you see, along with the competition name and division that you are trying to sign up for. We can take a look for you and assist!