Introduction
A payment can fail when the beneficiary details are incomplete or incorrect, when the receiving account or bank cannot accept the payment, or when the payment network does not respond in time. When this happens, BVNK shows a short failure message on the payment so you know what went wrong. This guide lists each message, its most likely causes and the steps to resolve it. Most failures can be fixed by correcting the payment details and submitting a new payment.
| Error message | Possible root causes | Action for the client |
| Beneficiary account number is missing or invalid. | The account number or IBAN is empty, contains a typo or missing digit, or its format does not match the payment method. | Ask your beneficiary to confirm their account number or IBAN from a bank statement, update the beneficiary details and submit a new payment. |
| Beneficiary account details are invalid. | The beneficiary details do not match the receiving bank's records, for example the account number does not belong to the bank identified, or the account currency does not match the payment. | Ask your beneficiary to confirm their full account details (account holder name, account number or IBAN, bank code and account currency), update the beneficiary details and submit a new payment. |
| Beneficiary bank could not be identified. | The BIC/SWIFT code, routing number or sort code is missing, incorrect, the wrong length (for example a US routing number that is not 9 digits), or does not match the payment method or country. | Confirm the bank identifier with your beneficiary, update the beneficiary details and submit a new payment. |
| Beneficiary account cannot receive this payment. | The beneficiary's account is blocked, frozen or restricted, or cannot receive payments in this currency or via the selected payment method. | Ask your beneficiary to check the status of their account with their bank, then submit a new payment or use another account they provide. |
| Beneficiary account is closed. | The beneficiary, or their bank, has closed the account. | Request new account details from your beneficiary, update the beneficiary details and submit a new payment. |
| Beneficiary address is missing or incomplete. | The address is empty, or required fields such as address line 1, city, postcode or country are missing. | Collect the beneficiary's full address (address line 1, city, postcode and country), update the beneficiary details and submit a new payment. |
| Beneficiary name is missing or invalid. | The name is empty, does not match the name held by the receiving bank (for example a trading name instead of the registered name), or contains characters the network does not accept. | Confirm the account holder's full legal name with your beneficiary, update it using standard Latin characters and submit a new payment. |
| Payment reference is missing or does not meet the required length or format. | The reference is empty, too short or too long for the payment network, or contains characters that are not accepted. | Enter a clear reference using letters, numbers and simple punctuation only, check it meets the length requirement for the payment method, and submit a new payment. |
| Payment amount limit exceeded. | The amount is above the maximum allowed for the payment method or network, or above a limit set on your account or the beneficiary's account. | Send the amount as several smaller payments or choose a method with a higher limit. You can find more details about the limits in our Help Center: What are the transaction limits for each currency? or Introducing Payment Limit Management
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| The selected payment method is not supported for this account. | The receiving account does not accept this payment type (for example instant or international payments), or the method is not available for the beneficiary's country or currency. | Ask your beneficiary which payment methods their account accepts, then create a new payment using a supported method or another account. |
| Payment failed due to timeout. Please try again. | The beneficiary's bank, an intermediary bank or the clearing system did not respond in time, or the beneficiary's bank was temporarily unavailable. This message concerns only SEPA Instant transactions. | Check the payment shows as failed to avoid a duplicate, then submit a new payment. If it times out again, wait a few minutes before retrying or contact Client Support. |
| Payment could not be processed. Please contact support for assistance. | The payment was stopped for a reason that needs to be reviewed by BVNK, such as a compliance or regulatory check, or an unexpected processing error. | Contact Client Support with the payment ID. Do not resubmit the payment until our team has advised you. |
| Payment could not be processed by the beneficiary bank. Please contact your beneficiary for assistance. | The beneficiary's bank rejected the payment without giving a specific reason, for example because of its internal policies or restrictions on the beneficiary's account. | Ask your beneficiary to contact their bank to find out why the payment was rejected and whether it can be accepted. Once resolved, submit a new payment. |
How to see a failed payment
You can check why a payment failed in the BVNK Merchant Portal or through webhooks if you are integrated with our API.
In the Merchant Portal
- Log in to the BVNK Merchant Portal and open the Payments section.
- Filter by status to show failed payments, or search by the payment reference.
- Open the payment to see its details, including the failure message described in this guide.
Through webhooks
If you have set up webhooks, BVNK notifies your system each time a payment status changes. When a payment fails, you receive a notification with the status FAILED and the failure message described in this guide. You can use this message to alert your team or trigger an automatic correction in your system.
To receive these notifications, set up a webhook listener in the Merchant Portal under Integrations > Webhooks. For details of the notification payload and fields, see the API specification: Fiat payout status change notification (v2)
Need more help?
If you have followed the steps above and your payment still fails, or if the message you see is not listed in this guide, our Merchant Support team is here to help. Please contact merchants@bvnk.com and include:
- The payment ID or reference
- The date, amount and currency of the payment
- The failure message shown on the payment
- Any changes you made to the beneficiary details before resubmitting
Sharing these details from the start helps us investigate with our banking partners and the beneficiary's bank and resolve your request as quickly as possible.