If a contribution is linked to a bank account that has failed verification or if we receive an ACH rejection when attempting to process a contribution from your bank account on file, it will temporarily prevent that contribution from being processed. This helps avoid additional failed payments and ensures contributions are submitted successfully once the issue is resolved.
This article explains what you may see, why it happens, and what you need to do to move your contribution forward.
What Causes a Contribution to Be Blocked or Held?
A contribution may be blocked or placed on hold if the bank account associated with the pay group has a failed verification status. This can happen for reasons such as:
- Invalid or closed bank account details
- Missing or required bank authorization
- Change in bank account information (routing number, account name, etc.) that hasn’t been updated with us
- ACH rejections (for example, insufficient funds or a stopped payment)
Until the bank account issue is resolved, contributions tied to that account cannot be processed.
What You’ll See in the Portal
For Manual Contributions
If you submit contributions manually, and a pay group is linked to a failed bank account:
- The Start Contribution and Other Actions buttons will be disabled
- An error banner will appear explaining that the bank account needs attention
Multiple Pay Groups
If your plan has multiple pay groups:
- Pay groups tied to a failed bank account cannot be selected
- Pay groups with verified or pending bank accounts will remain available
Once the bank account is fixed, these restrictions are automatically removed.
For Payroll-Integrated Contributions
If a payroll integration submits a contribution tied to a failed bank account:
- The contribution will be placed in a HELD state
- You’ll receive an email notification explaining that the contribution is on hold due to a bank verification issue
Once the bank account issue is resolved, the contribution will automatically resume processing (unless a correction has already been made).
Action Required Section: What It Means
When a bank account fails verification, the next upcoming contribution tied to that account will appear in a new “Action Required” section on the “Contributions” page.
Each contribution will show:
- A status
- A reason explaining what needs attention
Examples include:
| Status | Reason |
| Missing | Contribution past due |
| Submission Started | Needs submission |
| ACH Reversed | Reason for ACH rejection |
| Processing | Contribution on hold due to bank issue |
How To Fix a Failed Bank Account
When a bank account fails verification, it will be clearly marked in the portal with an error message and the next steps. From there, you can resolve the issue by:
- Updating the existing bank account information
- Re-verifying the bank account if authorization or confirmation is needed
- Adding a new bank account and associating it with the affected pay group
Once you complete the remediation steps and the bank account status updates to pending or verified, any blocked or held contributions tied to that account will automatically resume processing (unless a correction was previously made).
What Happens After the Issue Is Resolved?
Once the bank account’s status is updated to pending or verified:
-
For Unintegrated Plans:
- Error messages are removed
- Disabled buttons and pay groups are re-enabled
- You must manually submit contributions for any payroll dates that were not processed due to this issue
-
For Integrated Plans:
- If your initial rejected contribution was not actioned on within 10 business days of the rejection and was reversed, it will need to be manually resubmitted by your team via an off-cycle contribution
- All other HELD contributions are automatically reprocessed by our system and require no further action on your end
If the bank account issue has not been fixed and the original rejected contribution has not been successfully funded within 10 business days, we will reverse the entire contribution out of employee accounts. Once the bank account issue has been corrected, you will need to resubmit this contribution via the off-cycle contributions process to ensure that funding is completed and that contributions are made into employee accounts.