What Is the Flow of Payments and When Will I See Deposits to My Bank Account?

It’s any day of the month, a customer calls in to make a payment, attempts payment online, or dials into your IVR system.

In any scenario, the customer will choose to make payment by credit card or ACH. This article will break down the flow of payments, from acceptance to processing and then finally settlement into your bank account. It should be known at the outset that at no time does E-Complish handle any monies or the funding of monies which we will explain further.

Basic Flow of Credit Card Transactions

If the customer pays by credit card, their card information is submitted to the customer’s credit card issuing bank through our payment gateway. The transaction will be available for review in your Reporting Tool provided by E-Complish and will be assigned a Tracking Number by E-Complish no matter whether it is approved or declined. If the credit card was approved, it will also receive a second ID called a ‘Transaction ID’ provided by our Visa gateway. If Declined, the transactions will still receive a Tracking Number, but no Transaction ID. Additionally, whether approved or declined, the customer transaction is available for review in the customer’s payment history (what the customer sees online) and the reporting tool (what you see online). If approved, the transaction is scheduled to be Settled later that day by your credit card merchant account provider. Lastly, for credit card transactions, it should be noted that the customer is given the Tracking Number only if the transaction is approved.

Basic Flow of ACH Transactions

If the customer pays by ACH, it must be understood that all ACH transactions are considered good and approved. There is no Decline for ACH. The way the Federal Reserve System for ACH works is that all checks/ACH are considered good until you are told otherwise. It’s just like depositing a paper check in your own bank account. You would expect a deposit credit to your bank account at some point in time regulated by your bank. Should that same check bounce later, you would be notified that the check bounced and a debit for the bounced check will be deducted from your bank account. ACH works exactly the same way. Once the ACH transactions are processed by E-Complish, the transaction is considered approved and the customer is given a Tracking Number. The ACH transaction is now considered accepted, approved, and scheduled to be settled later that same day to your bank or Third-Party ACH Processor. Should the ACH bounce (or in ACH terms “Return”), you would be notified by your bank or Third-Party ACH Processor. In some cases, depending on the setup, E-Complish could also be the messenger to you of ACH Returns.

Settlement of a Day’s Batch

Later in the day, at a pre-determined time of your choosing, all of your credit card and ACH transactions (approved and declined) will settle in the E-Complish payment gateway. They will then be bundled into batches and readied for pick-up by your credit card merchant account provider, bank, or Third-Party ACH provider. It needs to be understood that E-Complish has no influence over this process of settlement other than the time of day that it occurs.

Depending upon your arrangement with your credit card merchant account provider, Bank, or Third-Party ACH Processor your monies will be deposited to your bank account. This is usually within 24 – 48 hours on average, but again, this is between you and your credit card merchant account provider, Bank, or Third-Party ACH Processor on the timing of funding to your bank account.

What If There Is a Funding Question or Problem?

Again, it should be understood that E-Complish only facilitates the settlement of batches to your credit card merchant account provider, Bank, or Third-Party ACH Processor. If your transaction was approved but has not been deposited, the very first step is to contact your credit card merchant account provider, Bank, or Third-Party ACH Processor for additional support. E-Complish cannot assist in the deposit of funds to your account.

If, however, you need assistance with providing information to your credit card merchant account provider, Bank, or Third-Party ACH Processor, we will gladly assist you as best we can to resolve your issue. We can provide batch totals and settlement times.

So there you go. If you have read this entire article you should have a better understanding of the flow of payments, how deposits hit your bank account, and the role E-Complish plays in the entire process. Payment acceptance and funding can sometimes be confusing, so we hope this article was helpful!

Team E-Complish is committed to excellent service you deserve it! Schedule a consultation to learn more.