Beginning October 23, 2026, issuers in the United States can issue Visa Installment Credential cards, a Visa credit card product for paying in installments. Visa allows these cards only for purchases, refunds, and loyalty and offers payments, and declines other transactions with response code 12 (Invalid transaction).

What Visa will decline

On a Visa Installment Credential card issued in the United States, Visa declines with response code 12:

• Every AFT, in any merchant category.
• Every OCT except those categorized with business application identifier LO (loyalty and offers). See Business Application Identifier.
• Any transaction in merchant category code 4829, 5542, 6010, 6011, 6012, 6051, 6211, 7322, 7800, 7801, 7802, 7995, or 9406.

Purchases and refunds in other merchant categories are allowed.

What this means for you

• Do not retry these declines. Response code 12 is Category 1: Visa does not allow a reattempt and charges a System Integrity Fee on each one. See Visa Response Code Updates.
• When a pull from or push to one of these cards is declined with 12, ask your customer for a different card.
• Cards issued outside the United States are not affected.

Interchange

Visa has also introduced interchange programs for these cards. Purchases of US$50.00 or less, and purchases above US$50.00 in certain merchant categories, carry a rate of 1.10% (minimum US$0.04). Other purchases on these cards follow Visa's U.S. consumer credit programs, some at rates specific to these cards.

Frequently asked questions

For questions, contact [email protected].