What Does Return Mobile ACH Payment Mean?

If you are using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) method to process customers’ transactions, you are likely to see three-digit codes if a problem arises.

Whenever there is an issue with a direct debit or credit card transaction, one of the parties involved in the payment processing will send a code. This code is your key to fixing or at least identifying what has blocked the transaction.

Some of the most common ACH return codes are caused by incorrectly entered information or insufficient funds available, while others can be more complicated and include issues with authorization and more.

Scroll down and search for the code you are looking for.

What Are ACH returns?

Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are electronic payment processing carried out between two financial institutions (e.g., banks).

An ACH return means that the ACH failed to charge money from a customer’s account. When it happens, there is always an ACH return code that gives more information about the source of the problem.

There are two main ACH payment methods: direct deposits and direct payments:

• ACH direct deposits: Whenever you need to deposit your money to someone’s account, you can do it through ACH direct deposits. It is a kind of payment that goes from a commercial account holder to a consumer. Common ACH direct deposits include payrolls, benefits, tax refunds, or interest payments.
• ACH direct payments: These payments are electronically transferred from one bank account to another.

How Does an ACH Transaction Work?

To understand why ACH returns appear, you need to know how they work in the first place. There are five parties involved in making the payment processing go through:

1. Originator
   This is a person who submits an ACH transfer to the ODFI.
2. Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI)
   The ODFI receives the request from the Originator and passes it to the ACH Operator.
3. ACH Operator
   The ACH Operator links the two accounts by processing transactions (e.g., clearing, delivery, settlement).
4. Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)
   The RDFI is the bank that is being charged or refunded. It receives the ACH entry and submits it to the Receiver.
5. Receiver
   The receiver is the individual or company that allows the Originator to initiate an ACH entry.

If there is a problem with the payment processing, it is usually the RDFI that sends an ACH return message. In rare cases, you may have the ACH Operator or ODFI do that. It is always one of the parties involved that sends the error code, which is, in turn, provided by the National Automated Clearing House.

Why Do ACH Returns Happen?

ACH return occurs when the payment cannot be processed for any particular reason. The payment is rejected, and the code pops up, indicating the exact cause of the problem.

To understand the code, you need to have its definition. There are over 80 ACH return codes; we will look at the most common ones. Go ahead and search for the one you need or bookmark this page in case you see an ACH return code for the first time.

What Are ACH Return Codes?

There are ten most common ACH return codes that you are likely to see.

 

Reason for return	ACH return code	Description		Time Frame
Insufficient funds	R01	The bank account you requested money from does not have sufficient funds		2 banking days
Account closed	R02	The account you requested money from has been closed		2 banking days
No Account/Unable to locate account	R03	The account number does not match the customer’s name/ The account does not exist		2 banking days
Invalid account number	R04	There is an error in the account number (e.g., incorrect digits)		2 banking days
Unauthorized debit to consumer account using Corporate SEC code	R05	The account number of a customer is a personal bank account, not a corporate one (in cases of B2B payments)		60 calendar days
Returned due to ODFI’s request	R06	Authorization was failed (e.g., in cases of fraudulent payments)		Undefined
Authorization revoked by customer	R07	A customer who authorized the ACH payment has withdrawn it		60 calendar days
Payment stopped	R08	A customer has issued a stop payment, which cancels a transaction		2 banking days
Unable to collect funds	R09	A payment wasn’t completed because of lack of funds		2 banking days
Originator not known or not authorized to Debit Receiver’s Account	R10	A transaction was incomplete or incorrectly submitted		60 calendar days

 

Other ACH return codes are likely to occur, and they are:

 

Reason for return	ACH return code	Description
Check truncation entry return	R11	The debit entry stated the incorrect amount/The debit entry was debited before it was authorized
Branch sold to another DFI	R12	The bank was sold to another Depository Financial Institution (DFI). The purchasing bank will continue to process entries submitted by accounts from the old branch
Invalid ACH routing number	R13	An ACH transfer cannot be completed due to an incorrect routing number
Representative payee deceased or unable to continue in that capacity	R14	The person to whom you have submitted an entry died
Beneficiary or account holder deceased	R15	A bank account holder or a beneficiary did and cannot continue accepting payments
Account frozen/entry returned per OFAC instruction	R16	The money cannot be collected because the account has been frozen due to a legal action against it
File record edit criteria	R17	There is no valid account number or it was created under unclear circumstances
Improper effective entry date	R18	The entry date that was added is invalid
Amount field error	R19	The amount was entered incorrectly (e.g., non-numeric characters)
Non-transaction account	R20	The account has been prohibited or limited
Invalid company identification	R21	The company ID has not been accepted (e.g., it is invalid because of a typo)
Invalid individual ID number	R22	A payment has been submitted incorrectly (e.g., a customer could enter incorrect information)
Credit entry refused by the receiver	R23	The entry was refused because (1) the Receiver doesn’t recognize the Originator; (2) the amount wasn’t received; (3) the minimum amount required failed to be paid
Duplicate entry	R24	The transaction matches another transaction submitted previously
Addenda error	R25	There is a problem with the addenda record (e.g., types incorrectly, out of sequence, etc.)
Mandatory field error	R26	The information hasn’t been entered into an obligatory field. The submission cannot proceed without this crucial piece of data
Trace number error	R27	Trace number of an addenda doesn’t match the trace number of the entry detail record/the trace number is not present in the addenda record
Routing number check digit error	R28	An ACH return has occurred because the routing number is entered incorrectly
Corporate customer advises not authorized	R29	The Receiver has informed the RDFI that the originator is not authorized to process payments on their account
RDFI not a participant in check truncation program	R30	The RDFI cannot process a payment without a physical check
Permissible Return Entry	R31	The RDFI requests to return a CCD or CTX Entry
RDFI non-settlement	R32	The RDFI failed to reach a settlement and couldn’t approve the transaction
Return of XCK entry	R33	The RDFI decides to return an XCK Entry
Limited participation RDFI	R34	The RDFI is denied or limited in participation
Return of improper debit history	R35	The Return Entry was caused by an improperly submitted debit entry
Return of improper credit history	R36	The Return Entry was caused by an improperly submitted credit entry
Source document presented for payment	R37	The source document that was presented for payment relates to an ARC (Accounts Receivable Conversion), BOC (Back Office Conversion), and POP (Point-of-Purchase).

 

Other Less Common ACH Status Codes

Here is a list of other less known and frequent ACH return codes. They only occur in specific situations, so you are unlikely to see many of them if not none.

 

Reason for return	ACH return code	Description
Stop payment on source document	R38	A stop payment has been issued on a source document
Improper source document or source document presented for payment	R39	The RDFI considers the source document improper
Return of ENR entry by Federal Government Agency	R40	The envelope with a credit entry has been returned
Invalid transaction code	R41	The standards of the Enrollment (ENR) Entry weren’t met
Routing number or check digit error	R42	The routing number or check digit is invalid
Invalid DFI account number	R43	The DFI number, which is the recipient’s bank account number, is incorrect
Invalid individual ID number or identification number	R44	The ID number provided is not correct or does not exist
Invalid individual name or company name	R45	The individual name or company name entered is incorrect
Invalid representative payee indicator	R46	The representative payee indicator code isn’t found in the government records
Duplicate  enrollment	R47	The identical ENR Entry was received from the same  RDFI
State law affecting RCK acceptance	R50	The RDFI is located in a state where the Uniform Commercial Code hasn’t been adopted or where you need to return cancelled checks back to consumers
Item related to RCK entry is ineligible or RCK entry is improper	R51	An ACH payment is rejected by the National Automated Clearing House (NACHA) because it doesn’t meet the criteria
Stop payment on item related to RCK entry	R52	A stop payment has been initiated on an item which related to the RCK Entry
Item and RCK entry presented for payment	R53	The item that relates to the RCK Entry has been presented for payment
Misrouted return	R61	The RDFI has presented an invalid routing number in the Receiving DFI Identification
Return of erroneous or reversing debt	R62	An accidental credit entry was given to the Receiver is now being reversed
Field error(s)	R69	One of the fields has not been entered with the correct information
Permissible Return Entry not accepted or return not requested by ODFI	R70	The RDFI has identified the Return Entry and forwarded to the ODFI which hasn’t accepted it or is about to request it.
Misrouted dishonored return	R71	The ODFI placed an incorrect routing number in the Receiving DFI Identification Field
Untimely dishonored return	R72	The dishonored return has not been sent within the given timeframe
Timely original return	R73	The original return has been sent within the given timeframe
Corrected return	R74	The RDFI corrected a Return Entry that contained errors (R69)
Return not a duplicate	R75	The entry that was previously sent by RDFI is not a Return Entry
No errors found	R76	The original Return Entry did not have any errors that were identified by the ODFI in the dishonored Return Entry
Non-acceptance of R62 dishonored return	R77	(1) The RDFI returned both the erroneous entry and the related reversing entry. (2) The R62 funds are not recoverable.

 

International ACH Transactions

 

Reason for return	ACH return code	Description
IAT entry coding errors	R80	The IAT Entry is being returned because of (1) an invalid Foreign Exchange; (2) an invalid ISO Destination Currency Code; (3) an invalid ISO Originating Currency Code; (4) invalid Transaction Type Code
Non-participant in IAT program	R81	The Originating Gateway is not in agreement with ODFI to process international entries
Invalid foreign receiving DFI identification	R82	The reference that identifies Foreign Receiving DFI of an Outbound IAT Entry is invalid
Foreign receiving DFI unable to settle	R83	There are settlement problems in the foreign payment system
Entry not processed by gateway	R84	The IAT Entry cannot be processed by the gateway because it does not support transaction processing functions
Incorrectly coded outbound international payment	R85	There is no information that is required to process a transaction

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can ACH payments be returned?

Yes, it is possible. There are many reasons that can cause the ACH payment to be returned. The most common ones are related to insufficient funds, incorrectly entered information or issues with an account.

Is It possible to dispute returned mobile ACH payment?

Yes, you can dispute returned ACH payment if:

 

• It was a duplicate
• It was misrouted
• It had incorrect information
• It did not occur within the designated timeframe
• It was caused by an accidental credit to the receiver that resulted from the reversal

How much is an ACH return fee?

ACH return fees may vary between $2 to $5 per return.

Final Word

The ACH return codes occur due to a problem related to your current transaction. It is never a case that the system crashes and asks you to reissue the payment. Always pay attention to the three-digit code you receive and search for the needed information here.