My card isn't working

There may be a simple reason why your card isn’t working when you try to use it in a shop, at a cash machine or online. Take a look at our suggestions below to help get your card working again.

Is there enough money available in your account?

Is there enough money available in your account to cover the payment? You can check your account balance:

You can also set up Quick Balance, which allows you to see the balances of up to 5 accounts on your device without needing to log on to Mobile Banking.

Are you using your latest card?

If you’ve recently received a new card, double check you’re using the latest one, and not one that’s expired.

Check our service status page

If you’re having problems with card payments or cash machines, check our service status page to see if it’s part of a wider known issue. This page will be updated when issues are being investigated, and when they’ve been fixed.

Making your payments more secure

To help protect you and your money, all UK banks are now introducing more frequent verification checks to let us know it's you when making a purchase online.

You'll need to make sure that your mobile number is up to date so we can send you a One Time Passcode (OTP) or ask you to log on to the mobile app to verify your transaction.

If your card payment is declined, the retailer may not have updated their functionality to allow this authentication to take place, which means you may need to check if they offer an alternative payment method.

To learn more about these checks, please visit our Strong Customer Authentication page.