Reference
Payment Status Directory
A directory of payment statuses across cards, debit orders, DebiCheck, registered mandates and bank transfers, with what each status means and what to do.
Every payment moves through a series of statuses between the moment it is created and the moment the money is finally settled or returned. Status names differ between providers and banks, but the underlying states are similar across the industry. This directory lists the generic statuses you will encounter for each payment method, what each one means, and what action (if any) to take.
Statuses describe where a payment is in its lifecycle; when a payment fails, the accompanying reason code explains why. See the reason code directory for those, or return to the Reference hub.
Card payment statuses
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The payment has been created but authorisation has not completed, for example the shopper is still in 3-D Secure. | Wait for the final result; do not release goods yet. |
| Authorised | The issuer approved the payment and funds are reserved on the card, but not yet captured. | Capture the payment to take the funds, or void it if you no longer need it. |
| Captured / Paid | The funds have been taken and will be settled to you. | Fulfil the order and reconcile against your settlement report. |
| Declined | The issuer refused the payment. | Check the response code and ask the customer to retry or use another method. See card declines. |
| Expired | The payment or authorisation was not completed in time and lapsed. | Create a new payment if the customer still wants to pay. |
| Refunded | Funds were returned to the cardholder after a successful payment. | Reconcile the refund; no further action needed. |
| Disputed / Chargeback | The cardholder has disputed the payment with their bank. | Respond with evidence within the deadline. See card chargebacks. |
Debit order collection statuses
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending / Scheduled | The collection has been created and is waiting for its action date or the next submission window. | Nothing yet; it will be submitted automatically. |
| Submitted | The payment instruction has been sent into the payment stream for processing. | Wait for the outcome, usually available on or shortly after the action date. |
| Tracking | The debit order was not immediately paid and is being re-presented over the tracking period, waiting for funds. | Wait for the tracking window to finish before treating it as failed. |
| Paid / Successful | The payer's account was debited and the funds will settle to you. | Reconcile and mark the customer's account as paid. |
| Unpaid | The payer's bank returned the collection without payment, with a reason such as insufficient funds. | Check the reason and decide whether to resubmit or contact the customer. See unpaids, returns and resubmissions. |
| Disputed / Reversed | The payer disputed the debit order at their bank and the funds were returned to them. | Review the mandate, contact the customer, and do not simply re-collect a validly disputed amount. |
| Cancelled | The collection was withdrawn before processing. | Recreate it if collection is still required. |
DebiCheck mandate statuses
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending / Awaiting authentication | The mandate request has been sent to the payer's bank and the payer has not yet responded. | Ask the customer to look out for the bank's approval request and respond before it expires. |
| Authenticated / Approved | The payer confirmed the mandate with their bank; collections can now be submitted. | Begin collecting according to the mandate terms. |
| Rejected | The payer declined the mandate request at their bank. | Contact the customer to resolve the reason, then send a new request if appropriate. |
| Expired | The authentication request lapsed before the payer responded. | Send a new mandate request and warn the customer that a bank prompt is coming. |
| Suspended | The mandate is temporarily inactive and collections against it will not be paid. | Resolve the suspension with the customer or their bank before collecting again. |
| Cancelled | The mandate has been permanently ended by the payer, the creditor or the bank. | Stop collections; a new mandate is required to collect again. |
For the full lifecycle, see DebiCheck statuses and reason codes and the mandate lifecycle.
Bank transfer and payout statuses
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending / Queued | The payment has been created and is waiting to be submitted, for example ahead of a cut-off time. | Nothing yet; check cut-off times if it is urgent. |
| Submitted / Processing | The payment instruction has been sent to the bank or payment rail. | Wait for confirmation; real-time payments confirm in seconds, EFT in batch cycles. |
| Paid / Completed | The funds have been transferred to the beneficiary. | Reconcile against your statement. |
| Failed / Returned | The payment could not be applied, for example because the account is closed or invalid, and funds were returned. | Verify the beneficiary details and resubmit. See failed and returned transfers. |
| Cancelled | The payment was withdrawn before it was processed. | Recreate it if the payment is still needed. |
Tips for working with statuses
- Treat only the final statuses (paid, unpaid, declined, returned) as definitive; intermediate statuses can still change.
- Use webhooks or status polling rather than assuming an outcome from the absence of an error.
- Always read the status together with its reason code when a payment fails, so you take the right corrective action.
Acronyms
A quick-reference list of payment acronyms, including EFT, RTC, RTGS, DebiCheck TT1-TT3, RM, RMS, AVS, CDV, PASA, PCI DSS, CIT, MIT and more.
Reason Code Directory
A directory of common bank reason and response codes for debit order unpaids, DebiCheck declines, card declines and returned bank transfers.