ACH Payment Returns

Updated on 07 Feb 2025
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Managing the risks of ACH payments

ACH payments are generally considered more secure than credit card payments because of their authorization and clearing process, along with bank fraud detection. However, unlike credit card transactions, ACH payments can take 1-3 business days to process.

During this processing time, issues like insufficient funds, authorization errors, or fraud can be discovered, potentially leading the bank to reverse the payment (an ACH return). This means you might not receive the payment even if the initial transaction seemed successful.

Here are some tips to minimize your risk.

Tips for minimizing risk for ACH payments
Create clear refund policies	Balance the desire for quick refunds (within 1-3 days of an ACH sale) with the higher risk of payment returns during this period. Consider waiting 3-5 days after the payment batch settles before issuing refunds, allowing the ACH transaction to fully clear and deposit into your account.
Build strong customer relationships	Trust between you and your customers reduces the risk of fraud and errors. It also helps when dealing with situations where a customer might withdraw authorization during ACH processing. Customers with a positive payment history with your business are less likely to have returned payments.
Monitor Transactions and Funds	Keep a close eye on incoming ACH payments and maintain a sufficient buffer of available funds before issuing any refunds. Because of the processing time, ensure the initial payment has fully cleared before refunding to avoid overdrafts or negative balances if a return occurs.

How to handle an ACH return

If your bank payment fails (is returned), we'll email you. The email will include a return code and a brief explanation of why the payment didn't go through, along with instructions on how to fix it.

If the returned payment has already been processed (settled), we will automatically withdraw the amount from your bank account. This will also be noted in the return email.

Each return code has a specific meaning from the banking network that explains the failure in more detail. You can find a list of these return codes for both Canadian and US bank payments in the Bank Payment Return Codes section below.

As per our terms of service (CA/US), any ACH payment that is returned or rejected by the bank network will incur a $5 fee.

Bank Payment Return Codes

US Return Codes

Return Code	Code Description	Additional Details
R01	Insufficient Funds	The available and/or cash reserve balance is not sufficient to cover the payment request.
R02	Account Closed	The bank account has been closed.
R03	No Account or Unable to Locate	The bank account appears to be valid but does not correspond to the individual identified in the payment request or the account number designated is not an open account.
R04	Invalid Account Number	The bank number account structure is not valid - may contain an incorrect number of digits.
R05	Unauthorized Debit to Consumer Account	This bank payment is not authorized by the customer.
R06	Returned per ODFIs Request	The bank of the merchant initiating payment has requested a return as erroneous.
R07	Authorization Revoked by Customer	The customer who previously authorized payments from their account has now revoked this authorization.
R08	Payment Stopped	The customer has placed a stop payment order on this payment which may be placed on one or more payment requests.
R09	Uncollected Funds	Although the ledger balance of the account indicates sufficient funds to cover the payment request, the available balance is not sufficient.
R10	Customer Advises Not Authorized, Improper, or Ineligible	This bank payment is not authorized by the customer.
R11	Check Truncation Entry Returned	No other return reason is applicable. Please reconfirm bank details with the customer
R12	Account Sold to Another DFI	Please reconfirm bank details with customer - this account may have been moved to another financial institution
R13	Invalid ACH Routing Number	Please reconfirm bank details with customer - invalid ACH routing number
R14	Representative Payee Deceased or Unable to Continue in that Capacity	Representative payee is deceased
R15	Beneficiary or Account Holder (Other than a Representative Payee) Deceased or Unable to Continue in that Capacity	Beneficiary or account holder is deceased
R16	Account Frozen/Entry returned per OFAC instruction	Access to this account has been frozen by either the customer's bank, legal action or OFAC.
R17	File Record Edit Criteria (Fields can't be processed by RDFI)	Information in the bank payment request can't be processed by the customer's bank.
R18	Improper Effective Entry Date (The effective entry date for a credit entry is more than two banking days after the banking day of processing as established by the originating ACH operator or the effective date is after the window of processing.)	Issue with date of payment - please try again
R19	Amount Field Error	Amount field is non-numeric, zero, or exceeding $25,000
R20	Non-Transaction Account	Payment request was sent to a non-transaction account (where transactions are limited or prohibited).
R21	Invalid Company Identification CIE	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R22	Invalid Individual ID Number	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R23	Credit Refused by Receiver	Bank payment not authorized
R24	Duplicate Entry	Duplicate Entry
R25	Addenda Error	Addenda record indicator value is incorrect, with code invalid, out of sequence, or missing.
R26	Mandatory Field Error	Erroneous data or missing data in a mandatory field
R27	Trace Number Error	Original entry trace number is not present or does not correspond correctly in the addenda record on a return or notification of change entry.
R28	Routing Number Check Digit	Please reconfirm bank details with customer - invalid routing number
R29	Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized CCD	Bank payment not authorized
R30	RDFI Not Participant in Check Truncation	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R31	Permissible Return Entry - CCD or CTX entry that the ODFI agrees to accept	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R32	RDFI Non-settlement	Customer's bank is not able to settle the payment request
R33	Return of XCK entry	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R34	Limited Participation DFI	Customer's bank participation in ACH has been limited by federal or state supervisor.
R35	Return of improper Debit entry	Payments not permitted from requested account.
R36	Return of Improper Credit entry	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
R37	Source Document Presented for Payment ARC	Please reconfirm bank details with customer

Less Common US Return Codes

The following return codes are less common but we have included them for your reference.

Return Code	Code Description
R38	Stop Payment on Source Document ARC
R39	Improper Source Document ARC
R40	Return of ENR Entry by Federal Govt
R50	State law Affecting RCK
R51	Item related to RCK Entry is Ineligible or RCK Entry is Improper
R52	Stop Payment on Item Related to RCK Entry
R53	Item and RCK Entry presented for Payment
R61	Misrouted Return
R62	Return of Erroneous or Reversing Debit --OR-- Incorrect Trace Number
R63	Incorrect Dollar Amount
R64	Incorrect Individual Identification
R65	Incorrect Transaction Code
R66	Incorrect Company Identification
R67	Duplicate Return
R68	Untimely Return
R69	Field Error --OR-- Multiple Errors
R70	Permissible Return Entry Not Accepted
R71	Permissible Return Entry Not Accepted
R72	Untimely Dishonored Return
R73	Timely Original Return
R74	Corrected Return
R75	Return Not a Duplicate
R76	No Errors Found
R77	Non Acceptance of R62 Dishonored Return
R80	IAT Entry Coding Error
R81	Non-Participant in IAT Program
R82	Invalid Foreign RDFI Identification
R83	Foreign RDFI Unable to Settle
R84	Entry Not Processed by Gateway
R85	Incorrectly Coded Outbound International Payment

Canadian Return Codes

Canadian businesses, or businesses accepting bank payment from Canadian customers will need to re-send the bank authorization form to the customer to request authorization before trying to withdraw the funds again.

Return Code	Code Description	Additional Details
900	Edit Reject	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
901	NSF	The available and/or cash reserve balance is not sufficient to cover the payment request.
902	Account not found	The bank account appears to be valid but does not correspond to the individual identified in the payment request or the account number designated is not an open account.
903	Payment stopped/Recalled	The customer has placed a stop payment order on this payment.
905	Account closed	The bank account has been closed
907	No Debit allowed	This payment is not authorized
908	Funds not cleared	Although the ledger balance of the account indicates sufficient funds to cover the payment request, the available balance is not sufficient.
909	Currency/account mismatch	The payment request is not in the same currency as the bank account
910	Payor/Payee Deceased	The payor is deceased
911	Account Frozen	This bank account is frozen
912	Invalid/incorrect account number	Please reconfirm bank details with the customer
914	Incorrect Payor/Payee Name	Please reconfirm bank details with customer
915	No agreement existed - Business/Personal	The customer does not believe they have authorized this payment request through the Pre-Authorized Debit Agreement. Contact customer.
916	Not in accordance with agreement - Personal	The customer does not believe they have authorized this payment request through the Pre-Authorized Debit Agreement. Contact customer.
917	Agreement revoked - Personal	The customer who previously authorized payments from their account has now revoked this authorization.
918	No Confirmation/pre-notification - Personal	The customer does not believe they were given confirmation or pre-notification of this payment request. Contact customer.
919	Not in accordance with agreement - Business	The customer does not believe they have authorized this payment request through the Pre-Authorized Debit Agreement. Contact customer.
920	Agreement revoked - Business	The customer who previously authorized payments from their account has now revoked this authorization.
921	No Confirmation/pre-notification - Business	The customer does not believe they were given confirmation or pre-notification of this payment request. Contact customer.
922	Customer initiated Return Credit Only	This bank payment is not authorized
990	Institution in Default	Please reconfirm bank details with the customer

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US Return Codes