Error C101C400 occurs when adding a credit card or making a purchase on Xbox 360

You see the following error code when you try to make a purchase or add a credit card on your Xbox 360 console:

C101C400

This means one of the following:

• Your credit card could not be authorized.
• We have detected suspicious activity and are preventing charges on the card.

Solution 1: Verify the information in your Microsoft account

To verify the information in your Microsoft account, follow these steps:

Step 1: Verify your payment options

To resolve this issue, check your payment options to make sure that the information is up to date, and that your payment information, including capitalization, matches the information used by your credit card company. Here’s how:

• To verify your payments online, see Manage your payment options online.
• To verify your payment options on Xbox 360, see Manage your payment options on Xbox 360.

Step 2: Verify your billing information

Check your billing information to make sure it’s up to date. Be sure to verify that the billing information matches the billing address used by your credit card company. Here’s how:

•  To verify your billing information online, see Update your billing information online.
•  To verify your billing information on Xbox 360, see Update your billing information on Xbox 360.

After you verify your payment option and your billing information, sign out of your Microsoft account, and then sign in again. Then, sign in to Xbox Live and try to make a purchase or add a credit card.

Solution 2: Confirm that you’re using an approved payment option

You can use Visa, MasterCard, or American Express cards as long as they allow international purchases. Even if your card displays a Visa or MasterCard logo, it may not be approved by your bank or financial institution for international use.

Note Prepaid cards, debit cards, and gift cards (even those with a Visa or MasterCard logo) do not qualify as international cards and are not currently accepted.

If your credit card is an approved form of payment, try the next solution.

Solution 3: Contact your bank or financial institution

The purchase might have failed for the following reasons: 

• The credit card has not been activated.
• The credit card was declined because of insufficient funds.
• The credit card cannot accept online purchases or automatic billing.
• The credit card company is preventing the card from being used.

Contact your credit card company or bank and make sure that the payment option you’re using was activated, that it has available funds, and that the transaction is not being blocked for some reason.

If your bank or financial institution is not blocking the transaction, try the next solution.

Solution 4: Try your purchase again later

The purchase might be blocked for one of the following reasons:

• Too many recent declined purchase attempts.
• The payment option is being used from an invalid location.
• The payment option has a violation for nonpayment that’s preventing it from being used for new purchases.

Wait and try the transaction again in 24 to 48 hours. When a number of purchase failures occur, this can prevent transactions from being processed until no purchase attempts have been made for a short period (usually 24 to 48 hours).

If the problem still occurs after you’ve waited 48 hours, try the next solution.

Solution 5: Try a different payment option

If you’re still having trouble, try using a different payment option. For example, try using PayPal or a different credit card.

For information about how to change your payment option, see Manage your payment options online.