Chip Card Declined Transaction Message
Overview
When trying to process an EMV transaction via the Applet, the message “The chip card declined the transaction. Please try again” is displayed. This could be happening just after a new operating system install or potentially when the time changes.
Clues
When looking for what is occurring, press the Debug button and then expand the Log window. Are there any “red” errors on the screen?
Error: “JAVASCRIPT UNCAUGHT ERROR – Unable to get property ‘Lookup’ of undefined or null reference – URL – …. Line Number 1650”
In this case, the application is showing there was a failure to successfully look-up the Country list, but that could be the clue we need to determine why the chip is failing to process.
Debug Process
BFC’s first step in debugging this error was to open an Internet Explorer window and access the URL with the “Developer Tools” open (to capture the network activity when accessing the site).
Right click on the GatewayAPI.asmx Name/Path and select “Copy Response Payload”
Take the response data into a new Notepad window and paste the data
In the warning message, there is a message about “Please check your clock.”
Correction Steps
To correct the problem, right click on the Time & Date in the bottom right corner of your task bar and select “Adjust date/time”
On the time configuration page, please verify the following are set:
- Set time Automatically is set to “On”
- Set time zone automatically is set to “Off”
- Time zone drop down matches your current time zone.
- Adjust for daylight saving time automatically is configured as you need for your location.
Cancel the current transaction screen and then re-enter the payment acceptance page again by clicking on the appropriate card type presented. Once the EMV transaction starts, it should complete without issue.
Time Zone option is Greyed Out
What happens if the Time Zone is greyed out and you cannot change it? We will need to edit the registry as found on the article at https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/set-time-zone-automatically-greyed-out-in-win-11.html. In summary:
Step 1: Press the Win + R keys and type regedit to launch Registry Editor. Then Click Yes at the UAC prompt.
Step 2: In the window, follow the path below and press Enter:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\tzautoupdate
Step 3: In the list, double-click a value called Start and set the Value data to 4 to enable Set time zone.
Step 4: If the location feature is off, it is recommended to enable it. To do so, follow the path below in Registry Editor.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CapabilityAccessManager\ConsentStore\location
Step 5: Find Value in the list and double-click it, then enter Allow in the Value data box.
Step 6: After that, click OK to save the value.
Video Describing the Process
See Also
This problem is very similar to the “Authorize credit card” screen is frozen at “processing” article in the solution and the source of the problem. Both are related to the “time window” that a generated server token is allowed to be in. When the token being used is outside the window, it is declined. This protects the merchant from “replay” attacks and from attacks where the malicious person tries to run additional transactions with that previous token.