Payment problem? Find out why, and what to do now
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Payment troubleshooter
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Choose what's wrong to see the likely causes and what to do.
Before anything else
- Get the payment's reference from your bank or provider: the UETR for SWIFT, the trace number for ACH, the transaction hash for a stablecoin transfer.
- Check the details you used against the payee's invoice, including the exact account name.
- Count business days, not calendar days. The payment arrival calculator does it for each rail.
Every answer
A SWIFT payment that hasn't arrived
Likely causes: The payee's bank has it but hasn't credited it: in October 2024 only 43% of SWIFT payments were credited to the end customer within an hour. An intermediary or the receiving bank is checking it, often for the purpose of the payment or missing details. It was sent after your bank's cut-off or near a holiday, so it moved a business day later.
What to do: Ask your bank for the UETR, the 36-character reference on every SWIFT payment, and a copy of the MT103 or pacs.008 confirmation. With the UETR, ask your bank to check Swift's tracker: delivered, on hold, rejected or credited. Send the confirmation to the payee and ask them to take it to their bank, where most delays happen.
More: How to track a SWIFT payment, Payment arrival calculator.
A euro transfer that hasn't arrived
Likely causes: It isn't late yet: a standard SEPA transfer can take until the end of the next business day, and T2 closing days such as Good Friday and 25 December don't count. It was sent after your bank's cut-off, so it left a business day later. The payee's bank is holding it to check the payee's name or the payment's details.
What to do: Check the date your bank actually sent it, and count business days from there. Ask your bank for the payment's reference and confirmation, and send it to the payee to give their bank. If it was rejected, the payee's bank must return it within three banking business days, with a reason code.
More: Payment arrival calculator, Why international payments get rejected or returned.
A sterling payment that hasn't arrived
Likely causes: Faster Payments usually land at once but can take up to two hours, and a bank can hold one for a fraud check. Bacs payments are credited on day three of the cycle, counting working days only. A CHAPS payment sent after your bank's cut-off, or on a bank holiday, goes the next working day.
What to do: Check which rail your bank used: the confirmation or statement usually says. For Faster Payments older than two hours, call your bank and ask whether it's held. Give the payee the confirmation, with the amount, date and reference, to trace it with their bank.
A US dollar payment that hasn't arrived
Likely causes: ACH credits settle on the same, next or second banking day, and Federal Reserve holidays such as Thanksgiving don't count. A wire sent after your bank's cut-off left the next business day. The receiving bank is reviewing it, or the account number doesn't match an account there.
What to do: Ask your bank for the trace number (ACH) or the Fedwire reference (IMAD/OMAD) and give it to the payee. Check the account and routing number against the rail you used: ACH and Fedwire routing numbers can differ. If it was returned, the return code says why: R02 is a closed account, R03 no account found, R04 an invalid account number.
A stablecoin transfer that hasn't arrived
Likely causes: It went on a different network from the one the recipient expected, such as Ethereum instead of Tron. It went to a wrong address, for example one copied from an earlier transaction. The recipient's exchange or provider hasn't credited it yet, or it's reviewing it.
What to do: Look up the transaction hash in the network's block explorer: if it's confirmed there, it arrived on chain. Check the address and network against the recipient's deposit details, character by character. If the recipient is an exchange, send them the hash and ask them to credit or recover it.
More: Sent USDT or USDC to the wrong network or address, Wallet address checker.
A payment that came back
Likely causes: The payee's name doesn't match the account, which payee checks in the euro area and the UK now show before you pay. The IBAN, account or routing number is wrong, or the account is closed. Information the receiving bank needs is missing: the payee's address, the purpose of the payment or an invoice number. Sanctions or compliance screening stopped it.
What to do: Read the return reason code, such as AC01, AC04 or BE04 on SEPA, or R02 to R04 on ACH: it says what to fix. Get the details again from the payee, in writing and confirmed by phone on a number you already had. Validate the IBAN before sending again, and add the payee's full address and the invoice number.
More: Why international payments get rejected or returned, IBAN checker.
A payment that arrived short
Likely causes: It went as SHA or BEN, so intermediary banks deducted their fees on the way: Wise estimates 15 to 50 USD. The payee's bank charged to receive it, or converted it into another currency at its own rate.
What to do: Check the charge code on your confirmation: OUR means you pay every fee, SHA that each side pays its own bank. For the next payment, choose OUR, or pay the supplier's local account details so it travels on a domestic rail. Pay in the currency the payee's account holds, so their bank doesn't convert it.
A payment your customer says they sent
Likely causes: It's still on its way: a SWIFT payment can take a day or two to be credited, and holidays add more. It was sent to old or wrong account details, or without the reference you asked for, so it can't be matched to you. Your bank or provider is holding it for review and needs information from you.
What to do: Ask the customer for proof: the UETR and MT103 for a SWIFT payment, or the bank's confirmation, with the amount, date and the details they used. Compare the details they used with the ones on your invoice, including the name and reference. Check for messages from your bank or provider asking about a received payment.
More: How to track a SWIFT payment, Named vs pooled virtual IBANs.
Stablecoins sent to the wrong network or address
Likely causes: The address belongs to you on another network: usually fixable. The address belongs to an exchange that doesn't support that network: sometimes recoverable, for a fee. The address belongs to a stranger: neither Tether nor Circle reverses transfers.
What to do: Find out who controls the receiving address before anything else. If it's your own wallet on another EVM network, add that network to your wallet, with a little of its gas token, and move the tokens back. If it's an exchange, open a ticket with the transaction hash. Never share a recovery phrase with anyone who offers to help.
More: Sent USDT or USDC to the wrong network or address, Wallet address checker.
Changed supplier bank details
Likely causes: It may be genuine, but a message about new bank details is the classic route to invoice fraud. The supplier's email may have been compromised, or the email may come from a lookalike domain.
What to do: Don't pay the new account yet. Call the supplier on a number you already had, not one in the message. Check the new IBAN and run the name check when you pay: a close match or no match is a reason to stop. If you've already paid, call your bank at once and ask it to recall the payment: recovery depends on speed.
More: Supplier says its bank details have changed, IBAN checker.
Common questions
- What is a UETR?
- The Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference: a 36-character code on every SWIFT payment. With it, your bank can see in Swift's tracker whether the payment was delivered, is on hold, was rejected or has been credited.
- Why do international payments get returned?
- Usually because a detail doesn't match: the payee's name, an IBAN or account number that's wrong or closed, or information the receiving bank needs, such as the payee's address or the purpose of the payment. The return reason code says which.
- Why did my supplier receive less than I sent?
- Under the SHA and BEN charge codes, intermediary banks deduct their fees from the payment on its way. Choose OUR to pay them yourself, or pay the supplier's local account details so the payment travels on a domestic rail.
- Can a stablecoin transfer be reversed?
- No. Neither Tether nor Circle reverses transfers. If the tokens went to your own wallet on another network, or to an exchange, they can often be recovered; if they went to a stranger's address, they usually can't.
Sources
- Swift, How long does a Swift payment take?
- European Payments Council, Guidance on reason codes for SCT R-transactions
- Nacha, Originator essentials, including ACH return codes
- Pay.UK, Confirmation of Payee
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