Since October 25, retrying a Visa code 57 decline can trigger Visa's reattempt fees, which processor notices put at USD 0.10 on US-issued cards and USD 0.25 on international cards. In Canada, Mastercard now charges for the decline itself.
Who this is for: acquirers and processors that retry declines, and issuers that set response codes.
October added network fees (also known as scheme fees) to declined transactions on both networks, and one of Visa's response code changes reaches issuers.
What changed for acquirers
- Visa, October 25. Response code 57 (transaction not permitted to cardholder) moved into Visa's "Issuer Will Never Approve" category (TabaPay), which brings it under Visa's reattempt System Integrity Fees. TabaPay's fee schedule lists USD 0.10 on US-issued cards, starting with the second Category 1 decline within 30 days. For international cards, J.P. Morgan and TabaPay put the fee at USD 0.25, an amount Visa set in April; TabaPay's general fee schedule still shows USD 0.15.
- Mastercard in Canada, October 19. The new NABU fee is charged on every authorization. The fee it replaced applied only to cleared transactions, so a decline used to carry no clearing fee. TabaPay says declines are now charged the same as approvals, and each retry is charged again.
- Mastercard in the US, October. Fiserv lists the Decline Service Fee rate doubling from 0.03% to 0.06%, with the cap cut from USD 0.12 to USD 0.06 and the minimum removed. On a USD 100 decline, the percentage charge rises from USD 0.03 to USD 0.06. On a USD 500 decline, the lower cap brings it down from USD 0.12 to USD 0.06. Fiserv doesn't give the old minimum, so small declines are harder to compare.
What changed for issuers
Since October 23, Visa returns code 05 in place of certain issuer response codes on some transaction types, and code 83 instead of 59 when it declines for fraud on the issuer's behalf. SoFi Galileo notes that these reclassified codes count toward Visa's generic response code thresholds, which can carry system integrity fees for issuers.
What to check
- Acquirers: whether retry logic treats code 57 as final, and how many declined authorizations Mastercard now bills you for in Canada.
- Issuers: which situations your host returns code 57 for. If any of them are temporary, merchants will now treat the decline as final. Also check where your use of generic response codes sits against Visa's thresholds.
The full October tracker, by region and with sources: October 2026 Visa and Mastercard fee changes