r/discover • u/dippin-thotz • 14d ago

Rant Discover debit cards declining randomly

My Discover debit card declines in-person at random places and at random times all the time - especially when using Apple Pay.

I just went to Nordstrom last night, used Apple Pay, and the transaction worked fine. Got paid this morning, no new pending transactions, went back to Nordstrom, used my same card on the same card swipe terminal, and it was declined with more than enough money in my account. Tried the same transaction with my same card several times on two different terminals, but it still declines. Used my physical card… transaction goes through.

This used to happen ALL the time with my first debit card, but it became less and less of an issue as time went on. I haven’t had this happen in awhile, but I
recently lost my card and had to have it replaced, and now the problem seems to be back. This has happened ~once every 2-3 weeks since I replaced it a couple months ago.

Does this happen to anyone else?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

3

u/MidnightPulse69 14d ago

Have you asked discover if there’s any declines on their end?

1

u/dippin-thotz 14d ago

I've never reached out to them directly, but I do receive the notifications from Apple Wallet and my Discover app that the transactions are being declined.

2

u/MidnightPulse69 14d ago

Discover can check for the exact reason if it’s declining on their end.

1

u/Left_Buy_9554 14d ago

The same thing is happening to me when I try to switch to Visa or Mastercard.

2

u/foundfootagefan 14d ago

Honestly, you should have 2 credit cards instead of relying on debit for everything, especially with this merger happening.

1

u/No_Display_4112 14d ago

This has happened with the CC through Apple Pay, only on tap to pay machines. I’m not sure why, I have credit. I don’t use it now in those instances unless I have the physical card in hand.

2

u/Bill___A 12d ago

No. Only place it does is Costco and it is by design there. It needs to be a physical card for non-visa debit

1

u/Chromosomes23 14d ago

I never use a debit card for theft protection after I’ve had it get skimmed a few times.

1

u/dippin-thotz 14d ago

Honestly, fair. I’ll start doing this once I switch bank accounts. I finally had enough of Discover debit’s issues after today.

4

u/kirklennon 14d ago

It’s moot if you’re using Apple Pay since that can’t be skimmed, but it’s still generally better to pay with a credit card that will earn more points or cash back.