GitHub Pro Payment Declined – Mastercard 3DS / No Authorization Request

[hkhakzad]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Body

Hi GitHub Community,
I'm trying to upgrade my personal account to GitHub Pro ($4/month) using an HPX Global Travel Virtual Mastercard.
During checkout, the Mastercard 3D Secure verification window appears, but the payment is subsequently declined with the following error:
"The credit card was declined by the payment processor."
I contacted my card provider (HPX), and they confirmed with the issuing bank that GitHub did not submit any transaction authorization request.
The same card works successfully for online purchases and recurring subscriptions on other websites.
Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Could this be caused by GitHub's payment processor or 3D Secure integration?
Is there a way to have GitHub's billing team investigate this issue even though my account is currently on the Free plan?
Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

[yashganorkar005]

Solution: GitHub Pro Payment Declined After 3D Secure Verification

Hi,

Based on your description, the most useful clue is that HPX and the issuing bank cannot find a transaction authorization request from GitHub. This suggests the payment may be failing before it reaches the issuer's authorization stage, although the available information is not enough to confirm the exact cause.

I would troubleshoot it in the following order.

Step 1: Verify the virtual card's eligibility

Check with HPX whether your Global Travel Virtual Mastercard supports all of the following:

• International online payments.
• Recurring subscription payments.
• Merchant-initiated transactions after the initial verification.
• The billing country and currency used for your GitHub account.

A card that works for ordinary online purchases may still be restricted for particular subscription transactions.

GitHub documents accepted payment methods in its [official payment methods guide](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/supported-payment-methods). It explicitly excludes prepaid cards for usage-based billing; however, that restriction alone does not establish why this GitHub Pro subscription attempt failed.

Step 2: Check your GitHub billing information

Open [GitHub Billing & Licensing settings](https://github.com/settings/billing/payment_information) and verify your payment and billing details.

Check that:

• The card has sufficient available funds.
• The expiry date and security code are correct.
• Your billing address and postal code match the information registered with the card issuer.
• The card is enabled for the relevant international and recurring payment types.

If the details are correct, avoid repeatedly submitting the same payment without changing anything.

Step 3: Try a clean browser session

Try the checkout process in a private or incognito window. Temporarily disable browser extensions that may interfere with redirects or payment verification.

Complete the 3D Secure flow and check whether the same error appears.

This is a low-risk troubleshooting step, although it will not fix a restriction imposed by the issuer or GitHub's payment processor.

Step 4: Ask HPX for the detailed payment status

Since HPX says it cannot find an authorization request, ask it to investigate the payment attempt using the exact date, time, amount, and currency.

Specifically, request confirmation of whether:

• The 3D Secure authentication completed successfully.
• An authorization request was received by the issuing bank.
• The card network recorded an authorization attempt or decline.
• Any merchant, recurring-payment, or transaction restrictions apply.

If the bank confirms that no authorization request ever reached it, that is useful evidence for investigating the payment flow before issuer authorization.

Step 5: Try another supported payment method

GitHub Pro checkout supports credit cards and PayPal, subject to availability for the account and region.

If PayPal is offered at checkout, try it with an eligible funding source. Otherwise, try a conventional bank-issued credit or debit card that supports international recurring subscriptions.

Official guide: [Upgrading your GitHub account's plan](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/how-tos/manage-plan-and-licenses/upgrade-plan).

Step 6: Contact GitHub through the appropriate channel

There is one important limitation here: GitHub's current support policy says that accounts on the Free plan generally use GitHub Community Discussions for most issues. Direct support tickets are available to accounts using paid GitHub products, while Free accounts can still contact support for account, security, and abuse issues.

Consequently, you might not see an option to open a billing support ticket while you remain on Free.

You can continue the discussion here and include:

• The exact error message.
• The date and approximate time of the failed attempt.
• The fact that the issuing bank found no authorization request.
• Confirmation that 3D Secure was displayed.
• Confirmation that the same card works on other subscription services.

Never post your full card number, CVV, OTP, or other payment credentials publicly.

Reference: [Contacting GitHub Support](https://docs.github.com/en/support/contacting-github-support/creating-a-support-ticket).

Conclusion

I would first establish whether the card is eligible for GitHub Pro's recurring payments. If it is, the next step is to determine where the payment flow stops.

The bank's confirmation that it received no authorization request makes it reasonable to ask GitHub to investigate the checkout or payment-processing path, but it does not by itself prove a GitHub-side 3D Secure defect.

It would be helpful to hear whether anyone has successfully subscribed to GitHub Pro using the same HPX Global Travel Virtual Mastercard, or whether switching to another supported payment method resolved a similar error.