Steam is the ultimate hub for both gamers and developers alike. People prefer Steam not only because of the rich source of games that it offers but also due to the enhanced gaming experience it delivers.
Steam lets you broadcast your streams live, chat with friends while playing your favorite games online, or join discussions on the Steam community. Regardless, Steam adds more convenience and fun to gaming, allowing you to enjoy every minute of your gaming sesh.
The payment process is also seamless on Steam and secure. In fact, the platform offers a plethora of payment methods, allowing you to pay via your most preferred gateway. However, your steam payment transaction often gets stuck, causing the platform to display the dreadful ‘steam pending transaction’ error.
If talking to their Help Center doesn’t help and things are getting continuously frustrating, check out our guide and fix this problem without pulling your hair out.
5 Common Causes Behind Steam Pending Transaction Error
Firstly, not every Steam user faces annoying pending transaction errors. This means that there must be some conditions or circumstances under which the error occurs. Identifying those causes will allow you to prevent them in the future.
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Here is a list of some common causes as reported by some Steam users.
- There may be some past transactions that can result in the ‘pending transaction’ error, rendering you unable to start the game. You can check your Purchase History to identify if any previous transaction is causing the error.
- Your credit card may also be the culprit behind the error. If your credit card gives out during a transaction due to any reason, it may end up with this error, making it difficult for you to redo the transaction. You can attempt to remove the pending transaction and use a different card.
- If you haven’t restarted your Steam client for a while, it can result in issues like the pending transaction error.
- Sometimes neither of the reasons mentioned above causes the error. Instead, the error may be occurring due to an unavailable server, or the server went down while you made the transaction.
- Lately, Steam hasn’t been supporting any anonymous proxies, mainly due to privacy and security concerns. Chances are that your proxy service may be causing the transaction error on Steam.
5 Tried-and-Tested Ways to Fix Steam Pending Transaction Error
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Check the Steam Server Status
As mentioned earlier, transaction errors may occur if the server isn’t available. You can check out Steam’s official server status page to check out if the server in question is running normally or not.
If you are unable to access the server, you can troubleshoot the problem via adding Steam’s executable files to the Exception List or running the client as an Administrator.
If the server is working fine and you are still getting the error, proceed to the next method.
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Disable Proxy Services
Make sure that you are not running any proxy services while accessing your Steam client to make transactions. Steam doesn’t support proxy services, especially when it comes to game purchases.
So, turn off your proxy service, restart your system, and then try Steam again.
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Cancel Previous Pending Transactions
The pending transaction may occur when you are making a new purchase while your previous purchase is still in pending status. This problem occurs when your past transaction wasn’t completed. As a result, Steam clients will not allow you to carry out any more purchases unless you fix the past pending transactions.
- Run Steam client
- Go to Account Details
- Click Purchase Help Page
- Now, click View Purchase History
- Select the pending transaction, and click Cancel this Transaction
- Click Cancel my Purchase
- Restart Steam client
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Switch to the Steam Website
If you have recently moved to a different ISP since your last purchase on Steam client, then you may be getting the error due to closed ports. You can troubleshoot the issue by checking out the status of Steam clients’ ports if they are open on your network or not. You can try port forwarding to fix the issue, or you can just do that later and switch to Steam’s website.
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Switch to a Different Payment Gateway
If you are facing a transaction error on Steam, it is recommended that you switch to a different payment vendor. Sometimes, the payment gateway isn’t supported by the platform, or there is an error from the vendor side.
Restart your Steam client, and use a different payment method, such as credit card or PayPal, to avoid bumping into the pending transaction error.
We hope that the fixes we listed here will be helpful in resolving the pending transaction error. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.