Why did a transaction fail?

Credentials

Based on our data, it's almost always a credentials issue - a case of not providing the proper authentication parameters to the production gateway. Each gateway requires different credentials and they’re often called different things. The best way to ensure you are entering in the correct credentials is to verify with the gateway and then use the `update` call if you do need to edit what you entered when you created the gateway.

Gateway Response

If your credentials are correct, the best way to debug production issues is to look at the communication Spreedly had with the remote party (either a gateway or receiver). Spreedly provides full transparency via the transaction transcript.

You can also use the Spreedly token to get the transcript for any transaction here:

https://support.spreedly.com/

If you see `gateway_processing_failed` or `gateway_processing_result_unknown`, the next steps would be to copy the transaction transcript and send it to the gateway to inquire as to why they responded the way they did in the `message` field.

The gateway messages are numerous and they are also subject to change without notification, so it does require you - as their customer - to inquire with them directly. 

The transcript is the full conversation we had with the gateway and it includes how the gateway responded. It should help the gateway assess why they responded like they did which will help determine whether the request we’re making needs to be changed, whether a setting needs adjustment in your gateway UI, or whether it was a specialized type of decline.

If, after reviewing the transcript, the gateway advises a change in the underlying code, we'd just need to receive the technical documentation and we'd be happy to make an adjustment if needed.

Debugging Guide

You can view our full debugging guide here:

https://docs.spreedly.com/guides/debugging/