Also can be displayed as $0 verification failed, authentication failed, and card invalid
Card verification is a process whereby a $0 transaction is rolled through your account, and when successful, your card is verified, and the transaction goes through. Unfortunately, some banks and card merchants will not recognize a $0 transaction and will return a specific error, at which point our payment service provider will automatically attempt (and immediately void) a $1 transaction. This is usually enough to establish that the card details are correct and are totally invisible to the customer.
However, not all banks return an error that is specific enough about not accepting $0 transactions, and Braintree will not attempt a $1 in case the card has been declined for different reasons. The message we get back from that is simply "card verification failed". Unfortunately, this is totally out of The Sims Resource's hands. We cannot do anything about it. All we can advise is to first check that the following are correct:
- you have entered the correct address or card details
- the card can be used for international transactions (The Sims Resource banks in Canada and Sweden)
- the card is a type our payment services can accept
If you have used your card with us before but cannot purchase a new subscription with it, delete your card or PayPal address from our service, then re-add it and complete the form asking for your address details. We never used to ask for full address details, but cards now require more verification than they used to. Re-adding your card AND supplying your address with the card details can often be enough to have your card verified again. If your card meets all those conditions and you have tried re-adding your card to no avail, try asking your bank to permit a $0 verification check, or try another payment method if you have one.
If this still fails, please consider adding your card to a PayPal account instead. PayPal is fast and secure, and it is they who will validate your card, which might improve its chances of verification. If you prefer, you can link a bank account to PayPal instead and transfer funds in advance, which cuts out banks from the process altogether, and your transaction will succeed.