Landlord Software - ACH Return Codes

by Kris

Posted on Friday January 12, 2018 at 04:31AM in How it works

Schedule My Rent's landlord software uses the ACH network to move money between a tenant's bank account and a landlord's bank account. The ACH network is controlled by operating rules that specify how and when a rent payment can be returned.

Example time frame of rent payment returns

For example, if rent is withdrawn from a tenant's bank account on Monday, the rent return has to be made available by Wednesday morning, two banking days later. The only exception is if the payment was fraudulent, which creates a 60 calendar day return time frame.

When are ACH rent payment returns made available?

ACH rent payment returns are available every business morning and typically occur within two business days of the rent being withdrawn.

Does the duration of a bank transaction vary based on weekends or holidays?

Yes, transfers may take longer to complete if they are over a weekend or holiday. Schedule My Rent is able to process payments on Sunday afternoon, so a payment can be entered by a tenant on Sunday and the payment will be withdrawn from the bank account the following morning, Monday. Returns typically occur within two banking days, which does not include weekends or holidays.

How long does it take for card payments to process?

Card payments typically take 2-3 business days to process.

How long does it take for a bank transaction to complete via the ACH network?

Many companies state that: "A bank transaction usually takes 5–7 business days to complete via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network." A much better answer is as follows. When an ACH payment is sent, it specifies the specific date that the bank account is debited or credited and it occurs on that date. If the transactions is sent in the morning, it could settle later that day which is called same-day ACH. Most transactions are settled the following day since they have lower processing costs. Returns are required to be received within two banking days of the settlement date of the initial transaction. If the return is regarding fraud, returns must occur within 60 calendar days.

Schedule My Rent reduces the hassle of rent payment returns:

Know about returns faster. Know about most returns in 1-2 business days, which is much faster than a paper check rent return.

Automatically receive notifications. Landlords automatically receive an email indicating the tenant and the amount of the return. All tenants on the lease automatically receive an email indicating that a return has occurred and a request to authorize a new rent payment.

Automatically update landlord and tenant dashboards. Returns are clearly shown on both landlord and tenant dashboards.

Automatically add Return Fees and Late Fees. If the landlord setup a Return Fee, a Return Fee is automatically added to the amount that the tenant owes. If the landlord setup a Late Fee and rent is late because of the rent return, a Late Fee is automatically added to the amount that the tenant owes.

What happens when a micro deposit verification fails?

When micro deposit verification fails for a bank account, there are several potential outcomes.

Firstly, the failure of a micro deposit to the bank account may indicate that the account is either closed or unavailable. It could also suggest that an incorrect bank account number has been provided. In either case, the verification process cannot proceed.

Secondly, an automated message is sent to let the person know that the micro deposit failed and that they need to setup a different bank account.

Lastly, if an account is not validated by the date a payment is scheduled, the payment is automatically cancelled by the system and an email indicating this is sent. A new payment will need to be scheduled after a new bank account is setup.

**ACH Return Codes**
Code	Title	Description
R01	Insufficient Funds	The available and/or cash reserve balance is not sufficient to cover the dollar value of the debit Entry. What does this mean? The tenant does not have enough money in their bank account to cover the rent payment that was authorized. Money is typically withdrawn by the tenant's bank in the very early morning of the day the tenant authorized. The tenant typically has to have good funds in their bank account the night before or a rent payment may return. The tenant needs to authorize a new rent payment.
R02	Account Closed	A previously active account has been closed by action of the customer or the RDFI. What does this mean? The tenant's bank account has been closed and this bank account can not be used for rent payments. When Schedule My Rent receives a Closed Account Return, the tenant's bank account is marked as invalid so it can not be used again. The tenant needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account.
R03	No Account/Unable to Locate Account	The account number structure is valid and it passes the Check digit validation, but the account number does not correspond to the individual identified in the Entry, or the account number designated is not an existing account. What does this mean? The bank can not find this bank account number. This is typically caused by a typo, where the account holder enters the bank account number incorrectly into Schedule My Rent. The account holder needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account. This return may also occur if the bank uses a different bank account number on paper checks and statements than it does for electronic ACH transactions. Please call your bank and ask what bank account number should be used for ACH transactions. If the bank account number was incorrect, add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account.
R04	Invalid Account Number Structure	The account number structure is not valid. What does this mean? Different banks number their bank accounts different ways. For example, a bank may use only 9 digits for their bank account numbers. If a bank account number is sent with 8 digits, the bank knows that this bank account number is not valid and will return a rent payment. Please call your bank and ask what bank account number should be used for ACH transactions. If the bank account number was incorrect, add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account.
R05	Unauthorized Debit to Consumer Account Using Corporate SEC Code	CCD or CTX debit Entry was transmitted to a Consumer Account of the Receiver and was not authorized by the Receiver. What does this mean? When a tenant sets up their bank account, they choose an account type of Personal or Business. If the bank account was personal and it was setup as business, and the rent payment was unauthorized, this return will be used. Please call the tenant and ask why the rent payment was unauthorized.
R07	Authorization Revoked by Customer	The RDFI's customer (the Receiver) revoked the authorization previously provided to the Originator for this debit Entry. What does this mean? The tenant is claiming that the rent payment is not authorized. The tenant must sign a Written Statement Under Penalty of Perjury in order to claim that the transaction is not authorized. A tenant has 60 calendar days from the rent payment to make this claim.
R08	Stop Payment	The Receiver has placed a stop payment order on this debit Entry. What does this mean? The tenant has placed a Stop Payment on their bank account. Please call the tenant and ask why they are stopping rent payments to their bank account.
R09	Uncollected Funds	A sufficient ledger balance exists to satisfy the dollar value of the transaction, but the available balance is below the dollar value of the debit Entry. What does this mean? The tenant does not have enough "available money" in their bank account to cover the rent payment. When a tenant makes a deposit into their bank account, their bank may hold the money for several days before making it available for withdrawals. For example, if the tenant deposits a local paper check, their bank may limit the withdrawal of this money for 2-3 days. Each tenant should make sure they have "good funds" in their account for the date that they authorized the rent payment for. The tenant needs to authorize a new rent payment.
R10	Customer Advises Unauthorized, Improper, Ineligible, or part of an Incomplete Transaction	The RDFI has been notified by the Receiver that the Entry is unauthorized, improper, ineligible, or part of an Incomplete Transaction. What does this mean? The tenant is claiming that the rent payment is not authorized. The tenant must sign a Written Statement Under Penalty of Perjury in order to claim that the transaction is not authorized. A tenant has 60 calendar days from the rent payment to make this claim. Please call the tenant and find out why they are claiming that the rent payment is unauthorized.
R12	Account Sold to Another DFI	A financial institution received an Entry to an account that was sold to another financial institution. What does this mean? The bank account is not valid anymore because it was sold to another bank. The tenant needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account.
R13	Invalid ACH Routing Number	Entry contains a Receiving DFI Identification or Gateway Identification that is not a valid ACH routing number. What does this mean? The routing (or transit) number that was setup in invalid. This typically does not happen since Schedule My Rent screens all transactions for invalid route numbers.
R14	Representative Payee Deceased or Unable to Continue in That Capacity	The representative payee is either deceased or unable to continue in that capacity. The beneficiary is not deceased. What does this mean? The tenant's representative is either deceased or not able to provide authorization. The tenant needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account. A new rent payment news to be authorized.
R15	Beneficiary or Account Holder (Other Than a Representative Payee) Deceased	The beneficiary is deceased, or The account holder is deceased. What does this mean? The tenant is deceased. The tenant's representative needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account. A new rent payment news to be authorized.
R16	Account Frozen / Entry Returned Per OFAC Instruction	Access to the account is restricted due to specific action taken by the RDFI or by legal action; or OFAC has instructed the RDFI or Gateway to return the Entry. What does this mean? The tenant's bank has frozen the bank account and no rent payments are currently being accepted. This could be a short-term situation or it could be long-term. If long-term, the tenant needs to add a new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account. Bank accounts are often frozen when the bank notices improper or fraudulent transactions occurring. The tenant needs to provide a new rent payment authorization.
R20	Non-Transaction Account	ACH Entry to a non-Transaction Account. What does this mean? The tenant's bank account can not be used to pay rent because the account does not accept withdrawals. Some bank accounts do not allow any withdrawals and some bank accounts only allow a certain number of withdrawals each month. If the maximum number of withdrawals have been exceeded during the month, then all new withdrawal requests will be returned by the tenant's bank account until the following month. The tenant needs to add a new bank account, which is not a non-transaction account, by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account. The tenant needs to provide a new rent payment authorization.
R23	Credit Entry Refused by Receiver	Any credit Entry that is refused by the Receiver may be returned by the RDFI. What does this mean? The account holder may have a block on deposits. This is very uncommon. The account holder should allow deposits into their bank account.
R24	Duplicate Entry	The RDFI has received what appears to be a duplicate Entry; i.e., the trace number, date, dollar amount and/or other data matches another transaction. What does this mean? The tenant's bank thinks that the same transaction has been processed twice. This is very uncommon since there are checks to make sure a transaction is not processed twice. In the unlikely event that a rent payment is processed twice, the duplicate rent payment is typically reversed.
R28	Routing Number Check Digit Error	The Check digit for a routing number is not valid. What does this mean? The Federal Reserve has identified that the bank routing (or transit) number is not valid. This is very uncommon since there are checks to make sure that it is valid.
R29	Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized	The RDFI has been notified by the Receiver (non-consumer) that a specific Entry has not been authorized by the Receiver. What does this mean? When a tenant sets up their bank account, they choose an account type of Personal or Business. If Business was selected and they tell their bank that the rent payment is not authorized, the bank will return the rent payment. A corporate account only has 2 business days to claim a rent payment was not authorized.
R34	Limited Participation DFI	The RDFI's participation has been limited by a federal or state supervisor. What does this mean? The tenant's bank has been restricted by a federal or state supervisor. This could be caused by a number of reasons, including detecting fraud, insolvency, etc. Typically, the tenant needs to open a new bank account at a different bank and then add this new bank account by going to the left menu bar and clicking Bank Accounts, then clicking New Bank Account.
CXX	Notification Of Change	Corrected information from RDFI. What does this mean? The tenant's bank account has changed the route or bank account number and has sent instructions to update the information. Schedule My Rent will notify the bank account holder that information is being updated and will make the updates.

Schedule My Rent's landlord software saves time by automatically notifying landlords and tenants that a rent payment has returned, by updating dashboards, and by automatically adding return fees and late fees.

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