Errors

AccruPay uses the standard GraphQL error envelope for all API-level failures. Transaction declines are a separate concern and are not represented as GraphQL errors.

GraphQL error envelope

When an operation fails at the API level, the response includes an errors array and data is null (or the failing field is null).

{
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "Unauthorized",
      "extensions": {
        "code": "UNAUTHENTICATED"
      }
    }
  ],
  "data": null
}

The extensions.code field is the machine-readable error code. Always branch on extensions.code, not on message — message text may change without notice.

`extensions.code` values

Code	Triggers	Recommended action
`UNAUTHENTICATED`	Missing or invalid `accrupay-api-secret` header	Verify the API secret is set correctly and is not expired
`FORBIDDEN`	Valid credentials but insufficient permissions for the requested resource	Check that the API key belongs to the correct merchant account and has access to the requested operation
`NOT_FOUND`	The requested resource (transaction, payment method, plan, etc.) does not exist or does not belong to this merchant	Verify the ID is correct and was created under this merchant account
`VALIDATION_ERROR`	Required field is missing, a value is out of range, or a field fails format validation	Check the `message` field for field-level detail; fix the input and retry
`INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR`	Unexpected server-side failure	Retry with exponential backoff; if the issue persists, contact AccruPay support with the full error response

Transaction declines are not API errors

warning

A payment that is declined or fails at the provider level does not produce a GraphQL errors entry. The mutation resolves successfully and returns a transaction object. You must check transaction.status in the response data.

{
  "data": {
    "merchantApiServerPaymentMethodTransactionCreate": {
      "id": "txn-uuid",
      "status": "DECLINED",
      "providerError": "Insufficient funds"
    }
  }
}

Transaction terminal statuses

Status	Meaning	What to show the customer
`SUCCEEDED`	Payment completed successfully	Confirmation — order fulfilled
`DECLINED`	Card network or issuer declined the charge	Ask the customer to try a different payment method
`FAILED`	Provider-side processing failure (e.g. timeout, invalid card data)	Generic error — try again or contact support
`CANCELED`	Authorization was released without capture	No charge was made
`SUCCEEDED` (action: `REFUND`)	Refund processed	Confirm refund amount in `refundedAmount` field

Check the providerError field for the raw decline reason returned by the provider. This is useful for logging and support, but should not be shown verbatim to customers.

`providerError` field

Most transaction return types include a providerError field:

{
  id
  status
  providerError
}

providerError is populated when status is DECLINED or FAILED. It contains the provider's raw reason string (e.g. "Do not honor", "Insufficient funds", "Invalid card number").

Use providerError for:

Internal logging and alerting
Support ticket context
Reconciliation when a statement entry is unclear

Do not expose providerError directly to end customers. Map it to a user-friendly message in your application layer.

Network errors vs GraphQL errors

HTTP-level failures (5xx, network timeouts, DNS failures) do not produce a GraphQL errors array — the response body may be empty or non-JSON. Handle these separately:

Scenario	Behavior	Recommendation
HTTP 200 with `errors[]`	GraphQL error — parseable JSON	Branch on `extensions.code`
HTTP 200 with `data`	Successful response	Check `transaction.status` for declines
HTTP 401	Authentication rejected at the HTTP layer before GraphQL	Same as `UNAUTHENTICATED` — check the API secret
HTTP 5xx	Server error before GraphQL processing	Retry with backoff
Network timeout / no response	Transport-level failure	Retry; use `merchantInternalTransactionCode` as idempotency key to avoid duplicate charges

Idempotency and retries

merchantInternalTransactionCode is your idempotency key for charge mutations. If a request times out and you are unsure whether it was processed, do not retry with a new code — first query the transaction by merchantInternalTransactionCode to check whether it was created.

GraphQL Overview
Server Payments — where transaction status matters most
Error Reference — complete lookup table including SDK error classes

GraphQL error envelope​

extensions.code values​

Transaction declines are not API errors​

providerError field​

Network errors vs GraphQL errors​

Idempotency and retries​

Related​