However, there have been a lot of complaints lately about people being unable to use their credit, debit, or gift cards to make purchases on Shein. Many users receive errors such as:

Sorry, your payment has failed, please try with another payment method An unexpected error occurred during the authorization process, please try with another payment method Sorry, payment could not be processed

These errors usually occur when you are using credit, debit or gift cards to pay. Before exploring the possible causes and solutions to the error, it is important to note that each Shein geographical location has its own officially accepted payment method. And, even though you are encouraged to use other payment methods and gateway in some locations, there is usually little support and no guarantee that they will work. For example: In the US, officially accepted payment methods are:

VISA MasterCard Maestro American Express Discover Network Diners Club PayPal Afterpay Klarna ZiP

In the EU, officially accepted payment methods are:

VISA MasterCard Maestro American Express IDeal (for Netherlands) Klarna Bancontact (for Belgium) EPS (for Austria) PayPal

In the UK, officially accepted payment methods are:

VISA MasterCard Maestro American Express ClearPay Klarna Google Pay

In India, officially accepted payment methods are:

VISA MasterCard Maestro American Express Discover Network Diners Club PayUbiz Cash On Delivery Paytm

Using any payment method outside of the officially designated ones usually results in payment errors as outlined earlier. However, if you are using the correct payment method for your area and are still experiencing issues, then read on to find out how to resolve them.

Shein Payment Issues? Here’s Why

1. Shein is Down

Shein offers retail services to about 220 countries across the globe. With its business model, it has garnered a very huge customer base, with millions of transactions processed daily. Because of this large traffic, activities on Shein can sometimes overwhelm their servers and cause a temporary outage, resulting in the payment errors that you experience. Apart from high traffic, other issues like datacentre power outage, configuration errors, bugs on their systems could all cause Shein to be temporarily down. When this happens, the site would be unable to process payments at the time. Please note that this could affect certain locations and not others, as Shein runs a location-based business model. So, it is sometimes not easy to get status reports particular to your own location. Fix – Wait for Shein Servers to Resolve The best thing to do when you encounter payment issues on Shein is to wait for a while, especially if you have previously successfully completed a transaction on the site using the same payment method. When this is the case, it is likely that issue is from Shein and will resolve with time. To find out if there are known issues on Shein servers or if other users are experiencing similar payment difficulties, you could check Shein server status on Down Inspector.

2. Incorrect Card Details or Billing Address

If you are trying to use Shein for the first time, or you are trying a new payment method, it is possible that you are entering the wrong card details. When setting up a card payment, all the details on the card must be correct and exactly how they are on your account. These details include:

Card Holder’s Name (if required) Card PIN (if required) Card PAN (the long number on the front of your card) Card Expiration Date Card CVV (this is the 3- or 4-digit number at the back of your card) Billing Address as registered on your card.

If any one of these details is even slightly wrong, your payment will be declined. Fix – Make Sure Details Are Correct

The card holder’s name, if required, ties your identity to your bank Your PAN is the unique identifier of your debit or credit card CVV is a security measure that ensures that you are physically present with your card

All of these details should be entered with extra care and precision. For CVV, please note that the following are all iterations of the same thing:

Card Security Code (CSC) Card Verification Code or Value (CVV) Card Identification Number CVV2

All of these represent the 3- or 4-digit number at the back of your card.

3. There’s A Bug

If you are using the Shein mobile app to make a purchase, it is possible that the payment error is a result of a bug in the application. Sometimes, whether due to coding error, user traffic, payment gateway integration, or another unknown glitch, the Shein app may be unable to complete processing your payment and thus return the payment has failed error. To fix a bug on the app, please try the fixes below in the order provided Fix – Try Again The first thing to do when you encounter any payment error on the Shein app is to wait a minute and then try again. This works whether the issue was from the Shein app or from a temporary integration problem with the payment gateway you are using, or even from your bank’s servers. Such issues are usually temporary and resolved within a few minutes. Fix 2 – Delete Basket and Try Again If waiting a few minutes and trying again does not clear the payment error for you, then you should try deleting the shopping basket and adding the products to the basket again. When trying this fix, we recommend moving the items to your Wishlist rather than deleting them. This makes it a lot easier to find the products again rather than going back to the shopping gallery to look for them. To add a product in your shopping basket (or bag as Shein calls it) to Wishlist

  1. Click on the icon of a heart with a single arrow through it to the right of each product
  2. You will be asked if you want to move the product to Wishlist. Select Yes
  3. When your shopping bag is empty, you will see a heart icon at the top right of the screen
  4. If you do not see this, go back to the home of the app, on the Shop tab, you will see the heart icon at the top left
  5. Click on it to open your Wishlist
  6. Click on the bag and plus icon under each product to add the product back to your shopping basket and then retry the payment Fix 3 – Restart App The next fix to try is to restart the app. This is the app equivalent of restarting your phone or PC. It allows the app to clear glitches that may be preventing it from completing payment requests. Restarting the Shein app also allows it to reload data from the temporary memory that may have been missing or corrupt in your current session. Please follow the steps below to restart the Shein app:
  7. Exit the Shein app
  8. Swipe it away from recent or background items
  9. Wait one full minute, then open the app again After opening it, please try making payment again and see if the error clears. Fix 4 – Log Out Then In Similar to restarting the app is logging out of Shein and logging back in. This time, however, you will be clearing bugs that are associated with your current login session. As you may well know, after your first login on the Shein app, your login details are stored and you are logged in automatically every time you open the app. Over time, issues may develop with your login session. This is usually a result of a glitch on Shein servers or a security procedure that requires you to refresh your session. In any case, logging out of Shein and logging back in has resolved the payment error issues for many users. To log out of Shein on the app:
  10. Click the Me tab on the Shein app
  11. Select Settings (the gear icon to the top right of the screen)
  12. Scroll down and select Sign Out
  13. Select again to confirm Sign Out
  14. On the same screen, select Log in to log back into your account To log out on Shein website:
  15. Hover your mouse over the profile icon to the top right of the screen
  16. Select Sign Out
  17. On the next screen, select Log in to log back into your account The products on your shopping basket are preserved when you log out and log back in. Try to check out and see if the payment issue has been resolved. Fix 5 – Clear Apps Cache A common reason why payment issues occur on apps like Shein is that the app’s cache may have become corrupt or acquired a bug that makes it malfunction. As we stated earlier, when you sign in to Shein for the first time on the app, you do not need to sign in again each time you open the app until you manually log out. This is because your login details are stored in a memory called Cache. But it’s not just your login details that are stored in this cache. Your shopping preferences and importantly, your payment details are also preserved in the cache memory. So, if this memory has issues, the app may not be able to complete your payment. The same applies to using Shein website. Web browsers also use cache to store user data and a corrupt cache on the browser can cause the payment issues on Shein. To resolve this issue, you need to clear the Shein app cache if you are using the mobile app, or your browser cache if you are using a web browser to shop. To clear cache directly in Shein app:
  18. Click the Me tab on the Shein app
  19. Select Settings (the gear icon to the top right of the screen)
  20. Select Clear Cache
  21. Confirm to clear cache To clear Shein app cache on Android:
  22. Long-press the Shein app
  23. Select App Info
  24. Select Clear Data
  25. Select Clear Cache
  26. Confirm to clear cache On iOS
  27. Navigate to Settings on your device
  28. Select General
  29. Select iPhone Storage
  30. Select Shein
  31. Select Offload app
  32. Confirm the action
  33. Select Reinstall app To Clear Cache on Chrome and other similar browsers:
  34. Click the menu button at the top-right of the browser
  35. Select History
  36. Select Clear Browsing Data
  37. On the page that opens, ensure that only the Cached Images and Files option is checked. In the time range, select All time
  38. Click Clear Data For Safari:
  39. Open Safari
  40. From the Menu Bar, click Safari
  41. Select Preferences
  42. Select Advanced from the top bar
  43. Check to Show Develop menu in the bar and close
  44. Back on the Menu Bar, click Develop
  45. Click Empty Caches After clearing the cache, please try to complete the transaction on Shein again. Fix 6 – Contact Shein The final step to take in resolving a bug on Shein is to contact Shein support. Please note:
  46. If the issue is on your card, Shein will not provide any support
  47. You will be connected with a robot first. If you request to reach an agent, you will be asked to submit your query and wait 24 hours To contact Shein on the mobile app:
  48. Click the Me tab on the Shein app
  49. Select Settings (the gear icon to the top right of the screen)
  50. Click on Support under More Services
  51. Under Can’t Find The Answer You Are Looking For, select Customer Service
  52. Enter a brief message in the message bar and click enter
  53. You will be provided with an automated response by a robot
  54. Click on Contact Agent at the bottom of the response
  55. Click on Submit a Ticket
  56. Select your question type (we recommend selecting Payment Method)
  57. Enter your complaint and click Submit To contact Shein on the web:
  58. Make sure you are signed into your account
  59. Click on Customer Service (the headset icon at the top right of the screen)
  60. Enter a brief message in the message bar and click enter
  61. You will be provided with an automated response by a robot
  62. Click on Contact Agent at the bottom of the response
  63. Click on Submit a Ticket
  64. Select your question type (we recommend selecting Payment Method)
  65. Enter your Complaint and click Submit Fix 7 – Wait For the Problem to Go Away The 24-hour wait for customer service is just the right amount of time needed to wait for the problem to go away on its own anyway. As we stated earlier, there are several possible causes of a bug on Shein that could result in the payment error. It could be issues on Shein servers, the payment gateway, or even your Bank during authorization. These institutions are usually aware of such issues and work to resolve them as quickly as possible. So, you may just wait several hours and then try to complete your payment again.

4. There’s An Issue With Your Card

We outlined all the officially supported cards and payment methods for different regions. You could always find out the ones that apply to you by selecting your location on the Shein website.

If you are using a card that is not listed on the site, it is likely to have processing issues on Shein. If your card is not provisioned for international transactions by your bank, you will not be able to make payment on Shein.

There are other factors that could cause you to be unable to use your card for payment on Shein. And this can happen whether it’s your first time making a payment or you have been paying with the card before now. The best way to bypass such issues is to use another card or payment method. Fix – Use Another Card If you have access to another card, please try to use it as an alternative and see if it works. If you want to change your payment method, please use the steps below:

  1. Login to your account
  2. Click the Me tab on the Shein app
  3. Select Settings (the gear icon to the top right of the screen)
  4. Click My Payment Options
  5. Click on Change Payment Method
  6. Follow the instructions To change payment method on the web browser:
  7. Log into your account
  8. Click on the profile icon to the top right
  9. Select My Payment Options
  10. Select Change Payment Method
  11. Follow the instructions Fix 2 – Use PayPal as An Option The issues encountered with payment on Shein are usually with debit and credit cards. If you cannot find a card alternative, you need to transfer funds to your PayPal account and authorize payment through PayPal. When you place an order with PayPal you will be redirected to the PayPal payment page, where you can confirm your payment by logging in with your PayPal username and password. Depending on your location, there are other alternatives to cards such as AfterPay, Klarna, ZIP, and so on.

5. Issue With Your Bank

When you try to make a payment on Shein, there are 3 main parties that have to interact for the transaction to be complete. They include:

Shein The payment gateway provider like Visa, MasterCard, etc Your local bank

If the integration fails at any of the above points, the transaction will not go through. A lot of the time, the issue is with your local bank where their servers are unable to process international payment requests from the payment gateway provider. When this happens, you will receive errors like “sorry, your payment has failed. Please try with another payment method”. Fix – Contact Your Bank So, if so far, you are still unable to make payment, please contact your bank and let them know the details of the issue you are facing. Be sure to tell them the platform you are trying to buy from and the exact error message you are facing. We recommend using emails with screenshots for more detailed troubleshooting rather than voice calls.

6. You’ve Reached Your Credit Card Spending Limit

If you are using a credit card, it is possible that you have reached your credit card limit. If you are using a debit card, you may have an insufficient balance in your bank account. Normally, in any of the above cases, you should get an error like this, “Insufficient funds/over the credit limit, please try another card or use another payment method”. However, due to a glitch or bug, you may get a more generic error like any of the ones listed at the start of this article. Fix – Try and Complete the Purchase Another Day

If you are using a credit card, please check with your bank or credit card provider to know if you have reached your spending limit. If you are using a debit card, please check your account balance to be sure that you have sufficient funds for the transaction. If you are making payment in international currency, be sure to give enough room for currency conversion differences across institutions.

7. Your Card Has Expired

Another common reason why you may be encountering errors when trying to make payment on Shein is that your card may have expired. Your card has a validity period written on the front of the card in 4 digits – month and year. This validity period means that your card is active until the end of the month on the card. Beyond this, your card is no longer valid for any kind of transaction and you will always receive error messages if you try to use it. Fix – Check The Expiry Date and Request A Replacement Check the expiry date on your card written in the format 11/23 or something similar. In this example, the card expires at the end of November 2023. If your card has expired, request a new one from the issuing institution.

8. The Transaction Hasn’t Been Authorized

Finally, the payment error on Shein may just be because your local bank is yet to authorize the transaction. When you initiate payment on Shein, the payment gateway provider such as Visa will send an authorization request to your local bank. Authorization may be immediate but it may also sometimes take a long while, especially for international transactions using MasterCard. Fix – Wait For Your Bank to Authorize the Transaction Some international transactions take up to 24 hours to be authorized. If you are receiving a payment error when trying to complete a transaction on Shein, and you have reported to your bank, just give it time and see if your bank authorizes the payment after all.

Shein Payment Issues 8 Reasons Why - 27