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Stripe decline code: incorrect_cvc

Incorrect CVC — The CVC code didn't match what the issuer has on file.

Common cause

Cardholder mistyped, or the card has been replaced and the new CVC wasn't updated.

Recovery strategy

Retry strategy	Don't retry
Customer-facing action	Send a card-update flow
Recovery rate (retry only)	~5%
Recovery rate (with customer flow)	~70%

What to do, in order

Don't retry without new input — the CVC won't change between retries. Email the customer to re-enter their card details (which usually means a card-update flow).

Code example

The recommended Stripe Customer Portal session for the recovery flow:

session = stripe.billing_portal.Session.create(
    customer=customer_id,
    return_url="https://yourapp.com/billing/thanks",
    flow_data={"type": "payment_method_update"},
)
update_link = session.url

Where this fits in the bigger picture

incorrect_cvc is one of dozens of decline codes Stripe returns; recovery rates vary by code by 5x or more. The recovery-rate reference covers the full set; the card-update flow article covers the customer-facing side; dunning emails covers how to write the messages.

DunningKit's open-source CLI parses your Stripe failed-charges CSV and gives you the breakdown by code, with recoverable-revenue estimates. pip install dunningkit.