What it means
The customer bank was temporarily unavailable.
← All Stripe decline codes
RetryableRetryable decline
issuer_unavailable
Issuer temporarily unavailable
Category
Retryable decline
Retryable
Yes, with timing
Suggested retry
~1 day
Why it happens
The issuer had a short outage or maintenance window.
How to recover the payment
Retry later once the bank is back online.
Category tip: Retryable with exponential backoff.
Recovery email preview
Subject: Action needed — your payment did not go through
Your bank was temporarily unavailable. We will retry your payment.
Update payment methodSent automatically by churnguardian the moment this code appears.
How churnguardian handles it
churnguardian retries on an exponential backoff schedule and escalates to a payment-update email if it keeps failing.
- Decline-aware retries timed to recovery odds
- Branded recovery emails with a one-click card update
- Stops automatically the moment the charge clears
At a glance
- Retryable
- Yes
- Retry window
- ~1 day
- Card must be replaced
- No
Frequently asked
What does the Stripe decline code issuer_unavailable mean?+
The customer bank was temporarily unavailable.
Is the Stripe decline code issuer_unavailable retryable?+
Retry later once the bank is back online.
How do I recover a payment declined with issuer_unavailable?+
Retry later once the bank is back online.
What should I send the customer for issuer_unavailable?+
Your bank was temporarily unavailable. We will retry your payment.
Related retryable decline codes
authentication_required3D Secure authentication requiredconfiguration_errorConfiguration errorduplicateDuplicate transactionnetwork_errorNetwork errorprocessing_errorPayment processor errorrate_limitRate limited by processor
Browse the full list of Stripe decline codes or look one up with the free lookup tool.
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