Shopify POS "Payment declined. There was an issue with Shopify"

What does “Payment declined. There was an issue with Shopify” mean in Shopify POS?

“Payment declined. There was an issue with Shopify” means POS couldn’t complete the card payment, and the wording points at Shopify rather than the customer’s card. Shopify’s help doesn’t list it or a cause. Merchants have reported it in waves that Shopify staff or Support tied to incidents, in October 2023, June 2024 and September 2024.

The full message reads “Payment declined. There was an issue with Shopify and the payment couldn’t be processed”, and some merchants see “Shopify couldn’t process the payment”. See a Community thread on the 2023 and June 2024 waves and a thread on the September 2024 incident. If checkout won’t open at all, see when Shopify POS can’t load checkout.

Was the customer charged even though Shopify POS said the payment was declined?

Possibly. A failed payment attempt can show on the customer’s account as a pending charge (some banks show it as a regular charge), and a merchant reported two pending charges after two declined attempts. So check before you tap the card a second time: search POS Orders, then ask the customer to check their banking app.

1. In POS, tap the order icon, then the search icon, and enter the last four digits of the card.
2. If an order comes up, tap its order ID. Paid means the sale went through. On POS Pro, Shopify Payments by default captures card sales up to 15 minutes after the sale (except in Germany and Italy, where capture is immediate), so until then the order shows Authorized (what each status means). Either way, don’t charge again.
3. No order? Ask the customer to check their banking app. A pending amount with no matching order is most likely the failed attempt, which their bank reverses.

Is Shopify down, or is it my card reader?

Check shopifystatus.com and look at Point of Sale and Checkout. Shopify notes that issues affecting a small percentage of stores may not show there, so an all-clear doesn’t rule Shopify out. If every card fails on every device, the problem is likely wider than your reader. If one reader fails, start there.

Merchants have reported POS refusing payments outright, in one case even cash. Others report a related Tap & Chip message, “There was an issue with the network connection”. Start with the steps below either way.

How do I fix the “There was an issue with Shopify” error in POS?

Shopify’s documented fixes start with your connection, the POS app, the device and the reader, then your Shopify Payments settings. If the error persists, send Shopify Support a diagnostics report from POS, then contact them.

1. Check the internet connection.
2. Force close Shopify POS, turn the device off and on, wait for the reader to connect, then retry once.
3. In the admin, confirm Shopify Payments setup is complete, charges aren’t on hold and test mode is off.
4. Send a diagnostics report: tap the Connectivity icon > This device > View diagnostics > Send report.
5. Contact Support from the horizontal menu: Support > Contact support.

Don’t delete and reinstall POS: Shopify says it removes logs and may erase saved carts. Reset Account, suggested in one past incident, isn’t in Shopify’s troubleshooting steps.

How else can I take the payment while the customer is at the counter?

Try another device or reader first, then swipe if a chip card fails, then key in the card with Manual card entry. Manual entry is card-not-present, so with Shopify Payments it’s charged at a different rate and carries more fraud risk. Cash, split payment and, for local payment methods, Pay by link are other options.

1. Another device or reader. A Tap & Chip reader pairs with one device at a time, so unpair it before you move it.
2. Swipe. Shopify says to swipe only for cards without a chip or when a chip card fails to process.
3. Manual card entry. At Checkout, tap Manual card entry, enter the details, then Charge. Your provider and device must support it, and it doesn’t work offline. See the risk of keyed-in cards and how the rate differs.
4. Pay by link (where local methods are offered). If your store takes iDEAL, Klarna, Swish, TWINT or MobilePay, the customer pays on their own device with a QR code or link while in the store (how Pay by link works).
5. Cash or split payment. Take cash, or split the total across payment methods.

How do I save the sale when Shopify POS keeps declining and the customer can’t wait?

Save the cart as a draft order so nothing has to be rung up again. When the customer comes back, load the draft to the cart, or send them a checkout link so they can pay later. For a regular you trust, Mark unpaid lets them take the goods now and pay later.

• Save it: from the cart’s horizontal menu, tap Create draft order (POS Pro). Later, tap Load draft order > Load to cart (more on POS drafts).
• Email a link (POS Pro): More actions > Send cart emails a checkout link; the order stays a draft until they pay.
• Text a link: in the admin, open the draft and use Share > Copy link, then send it by text. Don’t mark it Paid before the money arrives. Errors at checkout are covered in payment errors on a payment link.
• Settle later: Mark unpaid records the order as a zero-value payment, to be paid later (when to use Mark unpaid, and where it isn’t available).

What do I tell a customer who sees a charge after a declined payment?

First check for a matching order. If there’s none, tell them it’s most likely a pending authorization from the failed attempt, which their bank should reverse automatically, on the bank’s timing. If the sale did go through, the pending and final charge are one payment, not two.

For example:

“The payment didn’t go through, so there’s no order on our side. What you see is a pending hold from that attempt. Your bank releases it on its own; most banks do this within 3 to 5 business days. If it’s still there after that, tell us and we’ll chase it.”

If the charge is still there after more than 5 business days, there’s no matching order and the bank can’t identify it, contact Shopify Support. If the sale did go through and was then cancelled, the authorization hold can show for up to 30 days. Don’t promise an exact date: the timing is the bank’s.

Can I turn the POS cart into a payment link?

Yes. From POS, Shopify’s Send cart sends the checkout link by email; for a link you can paste into a text, someone has to open the draft in the admin and use Share > Copy link. Pay Link, from Countermade, turns the POS cart into a payment link instead. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, so staff never see or type card details, and Pay Link shows staff the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping.

A double tap makes one payment link, not two. Staff can see whether the link has been paid. Pay Link takes full payment and needs Shopify POS Pro; turn on local pickup at your store so the customer can choose pickup at checkout. Compare Shopify’s own payment link options.

Whatever happens next, search Orders for the last four digits before you tap a card again.

Get early access to Pay Link

Pay Link isn’t on the Shopify App Store yet. Join early access and we’ll email you when it’s ready to try.