Error codes
Soft decline
Adyen
Adyen code 91 – Issuer or Switch is Inoperative
The card issuer or switch is inoperative. The shopper should try again later or use another payment method.
What does Adyen refusal code 91 mean?
Adyen refusal code 91 Issuer or Switch is Inoperative is returned when the issuing bank's authorization system or the card network's switch is temporarily offline or unreachable. It maps to Stripe's issuer_not_available. The card is valid — the infrastructure that would normally respond is just unavailable right now.
Is it a soft or hard decline?
Code 91 is a soft decline and one of the most retry-friendly codes in card processing. Once the upstream service recovers, transactions authorize normally.
Common root causes
Scheduled maintenance windows at the issuer
Temporary network outages between acquirer and issuer
Card-network switch instability
Issuer system capacity issues during peak processing
Recommended recovery steps
Retry after a delay — not immediately. Most issuer outages clear within minutes to hours.
Use issuer-aware retry timing since different issuers have different typical recovery windows.
If 91 rates spike across many cards, check for a broader network incident before retrying en masse.
How FlyCode handles Adyen code 91
FlyCode's ML models recognize 91 as a transient infrastructure issue and schedule retries for the typical recovery window on each issuer. Because the card is valid, recovery rates on 91 declines are among the highest of any decline code when handled well.
What does Adyen refusal code 91 mean?
Adyen refusal code 91 Issuer or Switch is Inoperative is returned when the issuing bank's authorization system or the card network's switch is temporarily offline or unreachable. It maps to Stripe's issuer_not_available. The card is valid — the infrastructure that would normally respond is just unavailable right now.
Is it a soft or hard decline?
Code 91 is a soft decline and one of the most retry-friendly codes in card processing. Once the upstream service recovers, transactions authorize normally.
Common root causes
Scheduled maintenance windows at the issuer
Temporary network outages between acquirer and issuer
Card-network switch instability
Issuer system capacity issues during peak processing
Recommended recovery steps
Retry after a delay — not immediately. Most issuer outages clear within minutes to hours.
Use issuer-aware retry timing since different issuers have different typical recovery windows.
If 91 rates spike across many cards, check for a broader network incident before retrying en masse.
How FlyCode handles Adyen code 91
FlyCode's ML models recognize 91 as a transient infrastructure issue and schedule retries for the typical recovery window on each issuer. Because the card is valid, recovery rates on 91 declines are among the highest of any decline code when handled well.
What does Adyen refusal code 91 mean?
Adyen refusal code 91 Issuer or Switch is Inoperative is returned when the issuing bank's authorization system or the card network's switch is temporarily offline or unreachable. It maps to Stripe's issuer_not_available. The card is valid — the infrastructure that would normally respond is just unavailable right now.
Is it a soft or hard decline?
Code 91 is a soft decline and one of the most retry-friendly codes in card processing. Once the upstream service recovers, transactions authorize normally.
Common root causes
Scheduled maintenance windows at the issuer
Temporary network outages between acquirer and issuer
Card-network switch instability
Issuer system capacity issues during peak processing
Recommended recovery steps
Retry after a delay — not immediately. Most issuer outages clear within minutes to hours.
Use issuer-aware retry timing since different issuers have different typical recovery windows.
If 91 rates spike across many cards, check for a broader network incident before retrying en masse.
How FlyCode handles Adyen code 91
FlyCode's ML models recognize 91 as a transient infrastructure issue and schedule retries for the typical recovery window on each issuer. Because the card is valid, recovery rates on 91 declines are among the highest of any decline code when handled well.
Understanding This Decline Code
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Adyen code 91 a soft or hard decline?
When should I retry Adyen 91?
Not immediately. A delay of several minutes to several hours (depending on the issuer) works best. Issuer-aware retry timing — not a flat retry schedule — meaningfully improves recovery on 91.
How does FlyCode recover Adyen 91?
FlyCode's ML models recognize 91 as transient and schedule retries after the issuer's typical outage window, recovering the majority of these declines without any customer contact.
