stripetestingpayments

Stripe Test Cards: The Complete Reference (2026)

July 1, 202612 min read·ShopMonitor Team

If you accept payments with Stripe, you need Stripe test cards - special card numbers that let you simulate every payment scenario without moving real money. This reference covers every test card you'll realistically need: successful payments, specific decline codes, 3D Secure challenges, international cards and fraud triggers. Every number has a one-click copy button, so you can stop hunting through the Stripe docs mid-checkout.

Bookmark this page - and if you run a WooCommerce store, read the checkout troubleshooting guide. Testing with these cards once is easy; the hard part is knowing your checkout still works next week.

Quick answer: the universal Stripe test card number is 4242 4242 4242 4242 . Use any future expiry date (e.g. 12/34), any 3-digit CVC and any postal code. It always succeeds in test mode.

How Stripe test cards work

Stripe test cards only work in test mode - when your site uses test API keys (pk_test_ / sk_test_). They simulate real payment behavior without charging anyone.

Expiry

any future date; 12/34 is the unofficial standard

CVC

any 3 digits, or any 4 for American Express

Name & address

anything, unless you're testing AVS/postal checks

The two classic mistakes

Test cards never work in live mode - if 4242… is declined, your site is running live keys.
Real cards never work in test mode and are never charged - if a real customer's card "doesn't work" right after a deployment, verify you didn't ship test keys to production.

Basic test cards for successful payments

These cards always produce a successful payment in test mode:

Brand	Card number	CVC
Visa	4242 4242 4242 4242	Any 3 digits
Visa (debit)	4000 0566 5566 5556	Any 3 digits
Mastercard	5555 5555 5555 4444	Any 3 digits
Mastercard (2-series)	2223 0031 2200 3222	Any 3 digits
Mastercard (debit)	5200 8282 8282 8210	Any 3 digits
Mastercard (prepaid)	5105 1051 0510 5100	Any 3 digits
American Express	3782 822463 10005	Any 4 digits
American Express	3714 496353 98431	Any 4 digits
Discover	6011 1111 1111 1117	Any 3 digits
Diners Club	3056 9300 0902 0004	Any 3 digits
JCB	3566 0020 2036 0505	Any 3 digits
UnionPay	6200 0000 0000 0005	Any 3 digits

Test cards for declined payments

Decline handling is where revenue is lost - customers abandon carts when errors are unclear. Test each scenario:

Scenario	Card number	decline_code
Generic decline	4000 0000 0000 0002	generic_decline
Insufficient funds	4000 0000 0000 9995	insufficient_funds
Lost card	4000 0000 0000 9987	lost_card
Stolen card	4000 0000 0000 9979	stolen_card
Expired card	4000 0000 0000 0069	expired_card
Incorrect CVC	4000 0000 0000 0127	incorrect_cvc
Processing error	4000 0000 0000 0119	processing_error
Incorrect number	4242 4242 4242 4241	incorrect_number
Attaches OK, charge fails	4000 0000 0000 0341	Fails at charge time

Card 4000 0000 0000 0341 attaches to a customer successfully but fails when charged - perfect for testing subscriptions, dunning, and retry logic.

3D Secure & SCA test cards

In the EU and UK, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is mandatory for most online payments. Use these cards to test the 3DS flow:

Behavior	Card number
3DS required - authentication succeeds	4000 0025 0000 3155
3DS required - off-session/setup flows	4000 0027 6000 3184
3DS authentication fails / declined	4000 0084 0000 1629
3DS supported but not required	4000 0000 0000 3055

What to check during a 3DS test

Does the authentication modal actually open? Aggressive caching/JS-optimization plugins are the #1 killer.
What happens if the customer closes the modal without completing it? Order should be failed or pending, never silently processing.
After successful auth, does the customer land on the order confirmation page with a created order?

International test cards by country

Card country affects fees, Radar scoring, tax, and currency handling. Test with country-specific cards:

Country	Card number
🇺🇸 United States	4242 4242 4242 4242
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	4000 0082 6000 0000
🇩🇪 Germany	4000 0027 6000 0016
🇫🇷 France	4000 0025 0000 0003
🇦🇺 Australia	4000 0003 6000 0006
🇨🇦 Canada	4000 0012 4000 0000
🇧🇷 Brazil	4000 0007 6000 0002
🇯🇵 Japan	4000 0039 2000 0003
🇮🇳 India	4000 0035 6000 0008

Stripe maintains cards for dozens more markets (pattern 4000 + country numeric code); full list in Stripe's testing docs.

Fraud & dispute test cards (Radar)

Stripe Radar uses these cards to simulate fraud signals and disputes:

4100 0000 0000 0019

Always blocked as highest risk. Customer should see a decline, not success.

4000 0000 0000 9235

Flagged as elevated risk, but succeeds. Good for manual-review workflows.

4000 0000 0000 0259

Charge succeeds, then is disputed as fraudulent. Test chargeback handling.

4000 0000 0000 2685

Disputed as product not received.

Testing your WooCommerce checkout with Stripe test cards

Copy a card number above and run through your real checkout - not the Stripe dashboard alone. Here's a practical test sequence:

Enable test mode in your Stripe plugin (WooCommerce → Settings → Payments → Stripe) or use a staging site with test keys.

Add a product to the cart and go through the entire checkout - don't jump straight to payment; cart fragments, shipping and coupons have their own failure modes.

Pay with 4242 4242 4242 4242 and verify order created, stock reduced, confirmation email sent, webhook received.

Repeat with decline card 4000 0000 0000 0002 - customer must see a clear error, no order marked paid.

Repeat with 3DS card 4000 0025 0000 3155 - the test that most often exposes caching/JS conflicts.

This test is only valid until the next change - a plugin update, new caching rule, expired API key or theme deploy can break checkout silently with no error notification; Stripe reports nothing, WooCommerce reports nothing, orders just stop. See our guide on diagnosing a broken WooCommerce checkout.

Testing manually with these cards? ShopMonitor does it automatically - every hour.

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Frequently asked questions

The standard Stripe test card is 4242 4242 4242 4242 (Visa). Combine it with any future expiry date, any 3-digit CVC and any postal code, and it always produces a successful payment in test mode.

Any future date and any 3-digit CVC (4 digits for American Express). Stripe test cards only validate the number itself - name and address can be anything unless you're testing AVS checks.

Use 4000 0000 0000 0002 for a generic decline, 4000 0000 0000 9995 for insufficient funds, or 4000 0000 0000 0069 for an expired card. Each returns a distinct decline code so you can verify your store's error handling.

No. Test card numbers are rejected as invalid in live mode, and real cards are never charged in test mode. If a test card is being declined, your site is almost certainly running live API keys.

Use 4000 0025 0000 3155 to trigger an authentication challenge that succeeds, and 4000 0084 0000 1629 to simulate a failed authentication. Testing both paths is essential for stores selling to EU/UK customers.

Yes - 4000 0000 0000 0341 attaches to a customer successfully but fails when charged. It's the go-to card for testing subscription renewals, retries and dunning emails.

About the author

Written by the Winning Solutions team - the agency behind ShopMonitor, automated WooCommerce checkout monitoring.

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Brand

Card number

CVC

Visa

4242 4242 4242 4242

Any 3 digits

Visa (debit)

4000 0566 5566 5556

Any 3 digits

Mastercard

5555 5555 5555 4444

Any 3 digits

Mastercard (2-series)

2223 0031 2200 3222

Any 3 digits

Mastercard (debit)

5200 8282 8282 8210

Any 3 digits

Mastercard (prepaid)

5105 1051 0510 5100

Any 3 digits

American Express

3782 822463 10005

Any 4 digits

American Express

3714 496353 98431

Any 4 digits

Discover

6011 1111 1111 1117

Any 3 digits

Diners Club

3056 9300 0902 0004

Any 3 digits

JCB

3566 0020 2036 0505

Any 3 digits

UnionPay

6200 0000 0000 0005

Any 3 digits

Scenario

Card number

decline_code

Generic decline

4000 0000 0000 0002

generic_decline

Insufficient funds

4000 0000 0000 9995

insufficient_funds

Lost card

4000 0000 0000 9987

lost_card

Stolen card

4000 0000 0000 9979

stolen_card

Expired card

4000 0000 0000 0069

expired_card

Incorrect CVC

4000 0000 0000 0127

incorrect_cvc

Processing error

4000 0000 0000 0119

processing_error

Incorrect number

4242 4242 4242 4241

incorrect_number

Attaches OK, charge fails

4000 0000 0000 0341

Fails at charge time

Behavior

Card number

3DS required - authentication succeeds

4000 0025 0000 3155

3DS required - off-session/setup flows

4000 0027 6000 3184

3DS authentication fails / declined

4000 0084 0000 1629

3DS supported but not required

4000 0000 0000 3055

Country

Card number

🇺🇸 United States

4242 4242 4242 4242

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

4000 0082 6000 0000

🇩🇪 Germany

4000 0027 6000 0016

🇫🇷 France

4000 0025 0000 0003

🇦🇺 Australia

4000 0003 6000 0006

🇨🇦 Canada

4000 0012 4000 0000

🇧🇷 Brazil

4000 0007 6000 0002

🇯🇵 Japan

4000 0039 2000 0003

🇮🇳 India

4000 0035 6000 0008

Testing manually with these cards? ShopMonitor does it automatically - every hour.

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