Why was this ACH payment Rejected?

ACH payments may be rejected by their banking institution for a variety of reasons.

MuniciPay's system is built with a routing & account number verification. It can determine 99% of the correct routing numbers in the United States. As for the account numbers, the MuniciPay system has an account number check as well but it does require participation by banks. The larger banks generally do participate; however, smaller banks may not participate and therefore, their account numbers are not verified at the time of payment.

If you have received an email notifying you about a Rejected eCheck payment, or reviewed a Rejected status in your MuniciPAY reporting and wonder why - here are some common reasons for an ACH payment to be rejected (also known as a Returned eCheck.) 

Account Closed - The routing number and account number were entered correctly by the individual payer; however, the bank determined that the account number they entered was closed.

Account Frozen/Entry Returned per OFAC Instruction - The routing number and account number were entered correctly by the Individual Payer ; however, the bank account is frozen. Banks will freeze accounts if they suspect fraudulent transfers or if a credit card company or debt collector has a court judgement against the Individual Payer.  Accounts may also be frozen because of unpaid student loans or unpaid taxes to the government. Normally, banks do not notify account holders of freezes; therefore, the Individual Payer may be surprised. Individual Payers should be advised to contact their bank for further instructions. 

Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized - The payment reached the Individual Payer's bank. The routing number and account number were correct; however, the bank did not authorize the debit. This normally occurs in cases of corporations making payments. The bank may have a restriction; whereas the Company ID associated with the organization debiting the account must be pre-approved.  If you receive this error, contact Autoagent at support@autoagent.com.

Insufficient Funds - The payment routing number and account number are correct. The bank determined that there are not enough funds in the account to process the payment.

Invalid Account Number - The payment appeared correct during submission. The MuniciPay system confirmed the routing number. However, when the transaction reached the bank, the bank determined that the account number did not exist. It may take a bank up to 7 business days to return a transaction with an invalid account number.

No Account/Unable to Locate Account - The payment appeared correct during submission. The MuniciPay system confirmed the routing number. However, when the transaction reached the Individual Payer's bank, the bank determined that the account number did not exist. It may take a bank up to 7 days to return a transaction with an account number that cannot be located.

Non-Transaction Account - The account number that was entered by the Individual Payer cannot be debited. Normally, this return is associated with Individual Payers that enter a savings account number, but it can be associated with a checking account. Banks will sometimes have routing numbers that differ between accepting debits versus not accepting debits. The Individual Payer should check with their bank.

Payment Stopped - The Individual Payer contacted their bank and advised them not to debit their account.

Search For a Rejected eCheck in MuniciPAY:

You may locate and review a Rejected eCheck by navigating to the Transactions tab on your main menu when you are logged into your MuniciPAY account. 

Using the filter located on the left hand side of your view will help you locate the transaction in question. At the bottom of the Filter Results tool, you'll find you can cull your results by Payment Status. Selecting "Rejected (ACH)" will aggregate your Rejected Status payments.

After you select this option, Rejected eChecks within the date span you've chosen will appear.
You'll find the reason the payment was rejected, provided by the bank the inquiry was sent to, listed in red for your review.