Overview
When a customer pays you by ACH or eCheck, the payment doesn't clear instantly. Your customer's bank has to review the transaction, which can take several business days. During that window the payment can still be turned down — for example, if there weren't enough funds in the account, or the account or routing number was entered incorrectly.
Because that review happens after the transaction is first submitted, a payment can look successful at first and then be rejected later, once your customer's bank finishes reviewing it. If you're not specifically watching for that, it's easy to miss, and by the time it's noticed, weeks or months of rejected payments can add up.
The screenshots below show the same $7,021.53 transaction. Your payment record initially displays it as successful, but your merchant portal later displays it as rejected at settlement.
Important: A payment can display a status of Success and still be rejected later.
This is why turning on rejected-transaction email alerts in your merchant portal is more dependable than relying only on the initial payment status. Alerts notify you the moment a payment is rejected.
Tip: Contact your customer as soon as you receive a rejection alert to arrange another payment method. Acting right away is the best way to avoid a backlog of unpaid, rejected payments at the end of the season.
Things to know
Aspire alerts you when a payment fails right away, such as when the payment method fails. It doesn't alert you when a payment is rejected later at settlement.
You turn these alerts on in your merchant portal. This isn't an Aspire setting.
Caution: Do not rely on the initial payment status alone. Rejected payments can accumulate for weeks or months before anyone notices.
Requirements
Access to your merchant portal with permission to change notification settings.
No Aspire permission is required. These alerts are configured outside of Aspire.
Turn on rejected transaction alerts
Follow these steps to receive an email each time a transaction is rejected at settlement.
Log in to your merchant portal.
Go to Administration > Transaction & Event Notifications.
Find Per Rejected Transaction in the list of notification types.
Select the Per Rejected Transaction checkbox.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and update your preferences.
Tips
While you're on this screen, consider turning on these alerts as well:
Per Declined Transaction — sends an email when a transaction is declined outright.
Per Chargeback — sends an email when a chargeback is filed.
Batch Summary — sends a daily summary of your transaction activity.
What happens next
You receive an email as soon as a transaction is rejected at settlement, so you don't have to check the portal manually. A transaction that clears settlement instead displays a status of Processed.
Frequently asked questions
Why did this happen? Can I prevent it?
ACH review times depend on your customer's bank approving or rejecting the transaction. No setting removes that delay, so rejected transaction alerts are the most reliable way to catch these payments quickly.
Will I still see the rejected payment in Aspire?
No. A rejection that happens at settlement doesn't return to Aspire, so the payment record keeps the status it had when it was first processed. You'll find the rejection in your merchant portal's transaction detail and reporting.
Aspire does display a Rejected Electronic Payments alert to users with the Rejected Electronic Payment Alerts permission, but only for payments that fail immediately — for example, when the payment method itself fails. Settlement-time rejections aren't included. That's why the email alert in your merchant portal matters.
Who do I contact if I need help?
For questions about a specific rejected transaction, or help finding the notification settings, contact your Payments Support team.