I kept getting transaction declined errors when using a test DPS/Payment Express account for processing credit cards on a website I’m working on. (DPS or Direct Payment Solutions is the biggest player in New Zealand for providing credit card processing gateway services). This post looks at why I got the error message and the solution.
Reason for the error
When I was running my initial tests, I got transaction declined errors every single time I attempted to process the credit card. I was using a real credit card number to test with and this, as it turns out, was the reason for the error. When using a DPS test account you can only use special card numbers and not real credit cards.
Card numbers to use
Instead of using a real credit card number with a DPS test account you need to use one of the following test/example card numbers:
VISA: 4111111111111111
MasterCard: 5431111111111111
American Express: 371111111111114
Diners Club: 36000000000008
Any future expiry date is valid, and of course you won’t be able to use those numbers to make real transactions with.
