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Payment Statuses

Some payments in BetterUnite are not processed synchronously. Large payments above a certain threshold and all ACH/bank account payments may enter a pending or processing status instead of receiving an immediate success confirmation. This article explains what causes asynchronous payment processing and how each case is handled in BetterUnite.

When a payer completes their payment, there is typically an immediate response from the payment processor as to the status of the charges. The system allows the payer to continue onto the confirmation stage, where they may receive a success response as well as access to any items purchased such as tickets, etc.

However, in some cases this straightforward payment process is not synchronous.  Here are some exceptions:

Why do large payments enter a pending status?

Although there's not a specific limit, some payments may not be released immediately. Typically these are payments above a certain threshold, e.g., a threshold set by the payment processor, as well as other factors that the payment processors may deem applicable. When a payment is flagged as such, the BetterUnite system still receives a confirmation on the payment and the user still continues on. However, the actual payment may be in pending status waiting further verification by the payment processor before it is released into your funding account.  

How are ACH/bank account payments processed?

ACH payments are always asynchronous — there is no immediate success response. When the payer submits their bank account details, the system proceeds to the confirmation page if the details are verified (i.e., no immediate validation error is returned).

What statuses can an ACH payment show?

  • processing — the typical initial status while the banks reconcile the transaction.
  • requires_action — shown depending on how the payer initiated the bank account payment.

Both statuses are displayed with a P indicator next to the payment in the Payments page. Hover over the indicator or open the donation detail pop-up window to see full status details.

What happens when the ACH payment reaches a final status?

Once the banks process and reconcile the transaction, BetterUnite receives a final result of either succeeded or failed.

  • Succeeded: The donation status is updated automatically and the interim P indicator is removed.
  • Failed: The payment is marked as failed with an F indicator next to the donation in the list. A full explanation of the failure appears when you hover over the icon or open the donation view pop-up window. An alert is also created on your Dashboard with the payment details, and you will be asked to review and manually remove the payment. To remove it, open the donation detail pop-up from the Payments page, review the transaction and any associated purchases (such as tickets), and use the remove option within that window. (Failed transactions are not removed automatically, as an administrator review may be needed — especially if the purchase included tickets or other actions taken by the payer.)
Meaning, there is not an immediate success response received for these payments. When the payer submits the payment request with their bank account details, the system, unless immediately problematic, will continue to the payment confirmation page if the bank account details are verified. Since ACH payments are asynchronously processed by the banks, the transaction will typically go into a "processing" status. Depending on how the payer initiated the bank account payment, the status may also be in a "requires_action" status.  Both of these statuses will be displayed with a "P" next to the payment when listed in the payments page.  Also, full details of the status will be provided when you hover over this indicator as well as in the donation detail pop-up window.  At some point, the ACH transaction will be processed and reconciled by the banks, and there will be a final result reported back to BetterUnite of either "succeeded" or "failed".  If a failed status is received, then the payment will be marked as failed with an indicator "F" next to the donation in the list. A full explanation of the failure will appear when you hover over the icon as well as in the donation view pop-up window.  There will also be an alert created on your Dashboard providing the details of the payment and you will be asked to review and then remove this payment from the system. (We don't automatically remove these failed transactions because a review by the administrator may be necessary in case the purchase included tickets or other actions by the payer).  In most cases, a final status of "succeeded" will be returned and the system will update the donation status and the other status indicators will be removed.

Need Additional Help?

We're here to assist you in any way we can. Don't hesitate to reach out to support@betterunite.com

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