# Authenticated payment declined with an `authentication_required` decline code

### If an authenticated payment is declined with the decline code `authentication_required`, the customer should contact their card issuer for more information, or retry with a different form of payment.
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### What this decline code means
Since 2019, card issuers can provide an `authentication_required` decline code when declining an attempted payment. Typically, this means that a customer should retry the payment using 3D Secure authentication. The bank may request authentication to comply with regulation, such as [Strong Customer Authentication](/questions/strong-customer-authentication-%28sca%29-preparation-and-resources) in Europe, or to validate that the customer is legitimate.
However, card issuers occasionally provide an `authentication_required` decline code on a payment that has already gone through 3D Secure. This usually occurs on Mastercard branded cards where the card issuer has not yet updated their systems, and occurs because the indicators for the `authentication_required` code previously signaled a different decline code (`withdrawal_count_limit_exceeded`).