Common reasons why transfers are declined by banks.
The sample code below shows the response we return when a transfer fails.
{
"id": "tr_wUXqiSo3yH56h1c5QP8alDSjs",
"object": "transfer",
"type": "account_number",
"amount": 3.69,
"currency_code": "inr",
"payment_mode": "neft",
"payment_remark": "Lego Death Star",
"paid_to": "000205026539",
"otp_attempts": 0,
"bank_reference_number": "133210595390575",
"merchant_reference_id": "1000708",
"status": "pending",
"error_type": "technical",
"bank_error_code": "bad_timeout_at_bank",
"message": "Gateway Timeout",
"reason_for_error": "An upstream service times out",
"recommended_action": "Do get status after 30 Minutes and act basis the response",
"metadata": {
"key_1": "DD",
"key_2": "XOF"
},
"transacted_at": 1652799809,
"is_sandbox": false,
"created_at": 1652799809
}
{
"id": "tr_sJyp626iJnI1I7xYpNrnoUm0N",
"object": "transfer",
"type": "account_number",
"amount": 3.69,
"currency_code": "inr",
"payment_mode": "neft",
"payment_remark": "Lego Death Star",
"paid_to": "000205026539",
"otp_attempts": 0,
"bank_reference_number": "133210595390576",
"merchant_reference_id": "1000707",
"status": "failed",
"error_type": "business",
"bank_error_code": "beneificary_account_blocked",
"message": "Account blocked/frozen",
"reason_for_error": "Beneficiary account is either blocked or in frozen state",
"recommended_action": "Contact beneficiary before retrying the transfer",
"metadata": {
"key_1": "DD",
"key_2": "XOF"
},
"transacted_at": 1652799551,
"is_sandbox": false,
"created_at": 1652799551
}
Common Transfer Failure Codes
The table below lists the most common reasons why transfers fail. These transfers can either have the pending or failed status.
| error_type | bank_error_code | message | reason_for_error | recommended_action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| business | beneficiary_bank_unreachable | Beneficiary not acceptable | Problem with beneficiary account | Check with beneficiary before reinitiating |
| business | beneficiary_error | ifsc code is invalid. | ifsc code is invalid. | edit the beneficiary id with proper details |
| business | generic_error | failed from bank side. | failed from bank side | Check transaction status after 30 mins |
| business | insufficient_balance | Insufficient Balance in debit account, payment required | When the Debit account does not have sufficient Balance to process the transaction | Kindly fund the debit account and retry |
| business | invalid_beneficiary_mmid_mobile_number | Invalid Beneficiary MMID/Mobile Number | Beneficiary bank account does not have relevant details mapped for accepting IMPS transactions | Kindly ask the beneficiary to update account details with beneficiary bank or alternatively process transaction through NEFT |
| business | returned_from_beneficiary | Transaction accepted by RBI but beneficiary bank rejected it | Check if the bank account number & ifsc code is valid | |
| business | rtgs_cutoff_time | Current transaction time is not within window period | Current transaction time is not within window period | Please try during the rtgs window |
| business | wrong_beneficiary_details | Retry after correcting the Beneficiary Name or Beneficiary IFSC | Beneficiary details is wrong | Retry after correcting the Beneficiary Name or Beneficiary IFSC |
| technical | beneficiary_bank_unreachable | Acquiring Bank CBS or node offline | Beneficiary bank's CBS is offline or the connectivity with NPCI is offline | Retry later after 30 Minutes. |
| technical | downstream_system_error | failed from bank side | Technical error at bank end | Please try again after sometime. |
| technical | failed_at_beneficiary_bank | Rejected/Failed at beneficiary bank | In case of technical issues at beneficiary bank | Retry after 30 minutes |
| technical | generic_error | Gateway Timeout | An upstream service times out | Check transaction status after 30 mins |
| technical | sent_to_beneficiary | failed from bank side | Technical error at bank end | IMPS: Check status after 1 hour. Transaction status expected to clear to COMPLETED/ FAILED after 2 working days in most cases. NEFT: Check status after 3 hours in NEFT working window. If transaction has been posted after NEFT Cut off time then check the status on next working day |
Possible Transfer Decline Codes
The below spreadsheet lists all possible reasons a transfer can be declined by banks.
