Article facts
| Field | Visible value |
|---|---|
| Applies to | Incoming and outgoing payments |
| Reason groups | Law, sanctions, compliance policy, provider requirements, network rules, payment information |
| Does a delay mean funds are lost? | No |
| Does a rejection mean wrongdoing? | No |
| Can every reason be disclosed? | No |
| Guaranteed review time | None published |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-09 |
The six reason groups
A payment can be held or stopped because of:
- Applicable law — a legal requirement bearing on the payment.
- Sanctions obligations — screening of parties, countries or the payment itself.
- Compliance policies — internal risk rules, including consistency with the approved account profile.
- Provider requirements — a requirement of an institution involved in providing the service.
- Payment-network rules — the rules of the rail being used.
- Incomplete or inconsistent payment information — details that do not match, are missing or conflict.
The sixth is the one a customer can usually fix immediately, and it is the most common.
What can be requested during a review
Supporting information may be requested for a payment, including:
- an invoice, contract or order;
- a settlement or processing report;
- an explanation of the underlying commercial activity;
- the relationship with the counterparty;
- source-of-funds evidence;
- updated company or ownership information.
Provide only what was asked for, through the channel named in your agreement or by your account manager.
Reasons unrelated to compliance
Not every delay is a review. A payment can also take longer because of the rail itself:
- a SEPA Instant payment is only instant when both institutions and the transaction are eligible;
- a SWIFT payment depends on correspondent routes, and intermediary or beneficiary banks can apply their own charges;
- ACH and Faster Payments follow their own scheme and participating-institution rules.
See Which payment rails are available?.
Why every reason cannot be given
Detailed disclosure could reveal monitoring methods, enable circumvention of sanctions or financial-crime controls, disclose third-party information, or conflict with legal restrictions. Where disclosure is permitted, you should still be told what action is available to you — such as supplying a document or correcting the payment details.
Frequently asked questions
Does a delay mean the money is lost? No. It means the payment is not yet completed.
Should we send the payment again? Not until you know whether the first one will complete or return. A repeat can create a duplicate.
Will you tell us the exact rule that triggered the review? Not always. Some detail cannot be disclosed.
Can an incoming settlement be reviewed too? Yes. Reviews apply to incoming payments as well as outgoing ones.
How long will it take? There is no published guaranteed time.
This article is explanatory. The applicable customer agreement, policies and legal obligations prevail if they differ from it.