This article explains why a payment may be rejected by PaymentWorks due to risk thresholds. Note that this does not apply to situations where your financial institution rejects a payment for reasons such as insufficient funds or incorrect banking details.
Common Reasons for Payment Rejections by PaymentWorks
PaymentWorks may reject a payment if it exceeds the established risk tolerance threshold. These determinations are based on a combination of factors, including:
- Payment Amount: Payments above a certain amount may trigger additional scrutiny.
- Vendor Validation Issues: Payments associated with vendors that cannot be verified or validated as secure may be flagged as risky.
- Public Data: PaymentWorks uses industry-leading verification tools to assess vendor legitimacy.
The main reasons for risk tolerance rejection include:
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Payee Did Not Respond
- PaymentWorks made multiple outreach attempts to contact the vendor but received no response.
-
No Phone Number Found
- PaymentWorks could not publicly validate a legitimate phone number for the vendor.
Actions for “Payee Did Not Respond” Status
If the status indicates “Payee Did Not Respond”, PaymentWorks will attempt one additional outreach. If there is no response, further calls will not be made.
Payer Options:
-
Payment Hold:
- Hold the vendor’s payment until they respond.
-
Pay by Check:
- Revert to paying the vendor by check. While not ideal, it can reduce risk.
-
Approve the Payment:
- Override PaymentWorks’ assessment of the risky transaction and approve the payment.
- Important: The Payer assumes full liability for this decision.
Actions for “No Phone Number Found” Status
If the status indicates “No Phone Number Found”, PaymentWorks determined there is no legitimate or verified phone number for the vendor. No further action will be taken by PaymentWorks.
Payer Options:
-
Pay by Check:
- Revert to paying the vendor by check to mitigate risks.
-
Approve the Payment:
- Override PaymentWorks’ assessment and approve the payment.
- Important: The Payer assumes full liability for this decision.
About PaymentWorks Risk Thresholds
PaymentWorks evaluates payments using proprietary risk assessment protocols, which may consider:
- Payment Value: Higher-value payments are subject to stricter validation requirements.
- Vendor Identity Validation: Factors such as publicly validated phone numbers, verified business information, and response to outreach.
- Fraud Detection Tools: PaymentWorks employs tools like CLEAR and Dun & Bradstreet to assess vendor legitimacy and flag potentially fraudulent transactions.
Important Notes
- PaymentWorks rejection is based solely on risk evaluation and does not replace your organization’s financial institution's payment approval process.
- Decisions to override PaymentWorks’ rejection or approve payments involve assuming full responsibility for the associated risks.
For further details or assistance, contact PaymentWorks Support or your internal payment processing team.