High-Risk Rejected Payments
Sometimes a buyer tries to pay and Mercado Pago rejects the transaction with a "high risk" or "high risk card" message. This guide explains where that rejection comes from, what happens to the reserved tickets, and what options the buyer and you have.
Where the rejection comes from
A high-risk rejection is decided by Mercado Pago's anti-fraud system, not by Fanz. Mercado Pago analyzes every payment (card, buyer, device, history, among other signals) and, if it detects risk, rejects it before charging.
Fanz only receives the payment result and reports the reason Mercado Pago returns. In the dashboard, in the detail of a failed purchase, you will see the reason High risk card.
Note: Fanz cannot approve, force or retry a payment that Mercado Pago rejected for risk. It also has no access to the internal criteria used by the anti-fraud system.
What happens to the reservation and stock
When a buyer starts the payment, the tickets are held for 10 minutes. If the payment is rejected:
- The purchase is recorded with status Failed and reason High risk card.
- The tickets remain held until the reservation time runs out. During that window the buyer can try again with another payment method.
- If the time runs out with no approved payment, the reservation expires and the tickets return to stock automatically so others can buy them.
You do not need to release anything manually.
What the buyer can do
| Option | Detail |
|---|---|
| Use another card | The rejection is often tied to that specific card; another card may go through without issues. |
| Pay with their Mercado Pago account balance | If they have funds in their account, it is an alternative to a card. |
| Contact their bank or Mercado Pago | They can tell the buyer whether there is a block on their card or account. |
| Try again | If the reservation already expired, they must restart the purchase from your site. |
Note: The buyer was not charged. A payment rejected for high risk generates no debit.
What you can do as an organizer
Inside Fanz, nothing: the rejection is external and there is no option to reverse it.
What you can do:
- Check the reason for the rejection in the failed purchase detail under Reports, so you can explain to the buyer what happened.
- Offer an alternative sale: if the buyer is on site or you can charge them another way, record the sale from Sell or set the tickets aside for them from Reserve.
- Contact Mercado Pago support if you notice that high-risk rejections are systematic (many different buyers, in a short time, on your account). Only Mercado Pago can run that analysis on your account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask Fanz to approve the payment? No. Fanz does not take part in Mercado Pago's anti-fraud decision and cannot change it.
Does the rejection affect my Mercado Pago account? A one-off rejection does not. If they are systematic, check with Mercado Pago.
Are the tickets blocked forever? No. They are released on their own when the reservation expires.
Is it the same for other rejection reasons? The reservation and stock behavior is the same for any rejected payment (insufficient funds, wrong card details, etc.). What changes is the reason shown in the purchase detail.