If a payment is declined, the cause is usually straightforward. Work through the table below before contacting support.
Common decline reasons and what to do
| Reason | What it means | Recommended action |
| 3D Secure not completed | Your client did not complete the one‑time passcode (OTP) step for card payments — they may have missed a text or app notification from their bank | Ask your client to check for a message from their bank, then retry and complete the OTP step when prompted |
| Insufficient funds or daily limit | The card or bank account does not have enough funds, or a daily spending/transfer limit has been reached | Ask your client to check their balance or limits, or try a different payment method |
| Card expired | The card has passed its expiry date | Ask your client to use a valid in‑date card |
| Card type not supported | The card type is not currently accepted | Remind your client of accepted card methods: Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| Bank security block | The client's bank has blocked the transaction or transfer as a precaution | Ask your client to contact their bank to authorise the payment, then retry |
| Incorrect bank details (Bank Transfer) | For bank transfers, the client may have entered incorrect account details or cancelled the transfer | Ask your client to review and correct their bank transfer details, or complete the transfer in their banking app/site |
How do I check the decline reason?
Decline reasons are shown in the Payments Manager tab against the relevant transaction. Depending on the method:
- For card payments, you will see a decline code or message.
- For bank transfers, you may see status information such as “cancelled”, “failed”, or “rejected”.
What if the issue persists?
Contact BrightBooks support at brightbookssupport@brightsg.com with:
- Your Vendor ID
- The Payment ID
- Payment date and amount
- Your client's email address
- A description of what happened
- Screenshots of any error messages (portal or client side)
Payments failing even though my account shows “Approved”
In rare cases, collections may be paused following an internal risk review by Unipaas. You will be contacted directly by their team if this applies. Contact BrightBooks support immediately if you believe your account should be active and payments are still failing.