Bank transfer payments (2024)

Bank transfers provide a safe way for customers to send money over bank rails. When accepting bank transfers with Stripe, you provide customers with a virtual bank account number that they can push money to from their own online bank interface or in-person bank branch. Stripe uses this virtual account number to automate reconciliation and prevent exposing your real account details to customers.

Get started Bank transfer payments (1)

You don’t actually have to integrate Bank Transfers and other payment methods individually. If you use our front-end products, Stripe automatically determines the most relevant payment methods to display. Follow a quickstart for one of our hosted UIs:

  • Checkout: Our prebuilt, hosted checkout page.
  • Elements: Our drop-in UI components.

After setting up your payment form, activate the payment methods you want using the Stripe Dashboard.

Other payment productsBank transfer payments (2)

The following Stripe products also support adding Bank Transfers from the Dashboard:

  • Invoicing
  • Subscriptions

If you prefer to manually list payment methods, or want to learn more about how bank transfers work with invoicing and subscriptions, see the following guides:

  • Accept a bank transfer payment
  • Send an invoice with bank transfer instructions
  • Set up a subscription with bank transfers as a payment method

Customer balanceBank transfer payments (3)

Unlike most payment methods, bank transfers don’t allow you to control the amount a customer sends to you, which means that customers might send too much or too little money by accident. To manage common overpayment and underpayment issues, Stripe holds your customer’s bank transfers in a customer balance that you can reconcile payments from. This allows you to track how much your customers owe, regardless of how much or how often they send funds. If funds are held in the customer balance for more than 75 days, Stripe automatically attempts to return the funds to the customer’s bank account. For further information on what happens when funds remain unreconciled, see the reconcilation documentation.

International payments Bank transfer payments (4)

Bank transfers users in the United States can accept international wire transfers (SWIFT). International wire transfers may incur fees on the way to Stripe, which can result in an amount received that’s less than what the customer originally sent. Stripe-incurred fees appear on the balances page in the Dashboard, alongside other relevant Stripe fees. The amount shown in the cash balance is the amount that Stripe received from the customer.

Stripe doesn’t support refunds for international wires. You’re responsible for executing any refunds related to these payments.

Refunds Bank transfer payments (5)

You can refund customer balance payments:

  • Directly to the customer’s bank account
  • Back to the customer’s cash balance, where the refund can be used towards another customer balance payment

To refund to the customer’s bank account, Stripe requires the customer’s bank account details. In some cases, Stripe receives these details when the customer transfers funds. When these details aren’t available, Stripe sends an email to the customer to collect bank account details and initiate a transfer when we receive those details.

If your customer has excess funds in their customer balance, you can initiate a return of funds through the Dashboard or the API. For more information, see Refund bank transfer payments.

Funding instructions Bank transfer payments (6)

If you need to show bank account details to your customer before they make their first payment (for example, when they create their account), you can use the Funding Instructions API.

Sender information Bank transfer payments (7)

You can determine the sender details of an incoming bank transfer through either the Dashboard or the API. Those details can include the name of the sender, the reference, and the network through which the transfer arrived.

  1. In the Dashboard, navigate to the customer’s page.
  2. Under Payment Methods, expand the cash balance tab.
  3. Open the Cash Balance page by clicking View balance details.

Bank transfer payments (8)

Payment methods section

On the cash balance page, the Transactions section displays a list of the customer’s incoming and outgoing cash balance transactions.

Bank transfer payments (9)

List of all customer cash balance transactions

Incoming transfers have type Funding. Find the transfer you’re interested in and open its details page by clicking its description.

Bank transfer payments (10)

Funding details sender information

Connect Bank transfer payments (11)

Stripe Connect can be used with bank transfers to process payments on behalf of connected accounts. Connect platforms can use bank transfers with any type of charges.

The on_behalf_of attribute isn’t supported.

Accepting bank transfer payments as the connected accountBank transfer payments (12)

Direct charges require the connected account itself (not the platform) to have activated the bank transfers payment method—Connect platforms can use the bank_transfer_payments capability to determine whether this is the case for a connected account. Standard Connect accounts can request the capability from their Stripe Dashboard.

Activation processBank transfer payments (13)

The process varies by country, but in general for bank transfer payments, the required information is the same as what’s necessary to activate a Stripe account for payments. If the account doesn’t fulfill all the required information, the capability remains inactive with any issues highlighted on the capability object in the requirements.currently_due and requirements.disabled_reason fields until these issues have been addressed. After all the highlighted issues are resolved, the capability’s status changes to active, unless there are issues activating the account in general, in which case Stripe sends the Connect platform owner an email.

Unsupported businesses Bank transfer payments (14)

Stripe can’t accept payments for certain types of businesses. In addition to the Restricted Business list, Stripe doesn’t support bank transfers if your business falls into any of the following categories:

  • Automated Cash Disburse
  • Manual Cash Disburse
  • Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Stores

Unsupported products and features Bank transfer payments (15)

Bank transfers don’t support Payment Links.

Interested in getting early access to cross-border bank transfers?

This feature allows you to accept bank transfers in currencies outside of your region. Please provide your email address for us to review your suitability and our team will contact you soon.

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Bank transfer payments (2024)

FAQs

Why is my bank not allowing me to transfer money? ›

Number of reasons why your online bank transfer was declined. Insufficient funds. Account information that is incorrect. Limitations on accounts.

What do I write for the purpose of payment? ›

Options available include advertising fees, expense reimbursem*nt, financial services, legal services, medical reimbursem*nt, payroll, processing, trade related services, transaction between banks, transportation costs, travel related services personal and 'other'.

Why is my bank transfer not going through? ›

The time it takes for a bank transfer to be successful depends on a number of factors, and some of these factors could cause a delay. These factors include the timing of the transfer, where the transfer is being made, the currencies involved, security checks, bank holidays, and the reasons for the transaction.

What is the bank transfer payment method? ›

A bank transfer lets you move money from one bank account to another. It's usually instant, free and done using mobile or online banking, over the phone or in branch.

Why is my bank rejecting transfers? ›

The bank account you're transferring from may not have enough funds in it to make the transfer. The bank account you're transferring from may be closed. Your first bank transfer has not processed You must wait until your first transfer has processed before making another transfer.

Why is my bank declining me sending money? ›

Here are the most common reasons why your bank can return bank account payments: You don't have enough money to cover the payment amount. The bank account has been closed.

What is the purpose of a bank transfer? ›

A bank transfer is a payment method that allows consumers and business owners to transfer money to a bank account. For business owners this will typically happen when you are looking to transfer money from sales related to your business to a business bank account.

What can I write as a purpose of transaction? ›

Examples of purpose of transaction are: family support, education, medical, tourism, debt settlement, financial investment, direct investment, or trading etc. For verification of the purpose of transaction, documents may include any documentation proving the purpose for which the money will be used.

What to give for a bank transfer? ›

What are the required details for a bank transfer?
  1. The full name of the recipient.
  2. The amount of money you want to transfer.
  3. Your recipient's 6-digit sort code.
  4. Your recipient's 8-digit account number.
  5. A payment reference (usually with your name, so the recipient can identify the source of money)
  6. Date of transfer.
Sep 4, 2023

Why do bank transfers fail? ›

Transfers can fail for several reasons. These include not having enough money in your account, reaching payment limits at your bank, or having weak internet connection.

Why is my money transfer failing? ›

Incorrect Destination Account Number

Entering the wrong destination account number is a common cause of failed interbank transfers. Any transaction with incorrect data or information will usually not be processed, including when you enter the wrong account number.

Why would a money transfer not go through? ›

Some possible reasons include: Incorrect account information: Money may be sent to the wrong account if the sender enters the wrong account number, routing number, or other information. Insufficient funds: The transfer may be declined if the sender's account does not have enough funds.

What are the disadvantages of bank transfers? ›

Cons. A local bank transfer can take several business days to reach the recipient's bank account. It may be somewhat less reliable than international wire transfers. Intermediary banks and electronic transfer fees may be charged to the payer and payee.

What is the difference between money transfer and bank transfer? ›

Wire transfers tend to run through banks, while money transfers are facilitated by other providers. It seems like a no-brainer: you already go to your bank for other financial matters, and you trust them to handle your money and information.

What is a bank transfer payment called? ›

ACH transfers

ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, a network run by the National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha) that allows banks and other financial institutions to send and receive money.

Can a bank refuse to transfer my money? ›

Banks block transactions to safeguard their interests in the event of suspicious activity in your account or to comply with regulatory standards.

Why is my bank denying my transactions? ›

Unauthorized transactions, unusual use patterns, lost or stolen cards, or scams and malware can automatically trigger a card decline as a safety measure. Protect yourself by using mobile and online banking to keep an eye on your activity in real time so you can quickly see and report any unrecognized transactions.

Why can't I transfer money to my checking account? ›

For example, one of the primary reasons for a failed money transfer is timing. Therefore, you must ensure that your withdrawal requests are made during business hours. Also, giving the incorrect details of your account makes it harder for you to transfer funds from the savings to your current account.

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