A payment fails when a bank won't move the money. The most common reasons are not enough money in your account, a closed account or wrong account details. The bill shows Payment Error, or Payment Returned if a bank sent the money back. Open the bill to see the reason, fix the problem, then click Retry Payment.
Where you see what went wrong
- Right after you click Pay, a "Payment failed" message can appear. "The bank transfer could not be started. Open the invoice to retry." means nothing moved. "The bank transfer started but then failed. Open the invoice to see why." means it failed partway.
- On the Pay page, the bill shows Payment Error or Payment Returned. Hover over Payment Returned to see the bank's reason.
- Open the bill. A banner at the bottom says "Payment couldn't be completed" with the reason. If we don't have a reason to show, it says "Please contact support".
- In the bill's Activity Log tab, click the failed payment to open Payment details. It shows the reason in plain words.
Common reasons
These are the reasons Cleo Pay shows when a bank refuses or returns a payment. The code is the bank's return code, which our support team can look up if you send it.
| Reason you see | Bank code | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| There was not enough money in the bank account. | R01 | Add money to the account, then retry. |
| The bank account is closed. | R02 | Connect a different bank account, then retry. |
| The bank could not find this account. | R03 | Check the account details, or connect a different account. |
| The account number is not valid. | R04 | Check the account number, or connect a different account. |
| The bank did not allow this debit. | R05 | Talk to your bank, then email us. See the note below. |
| The account holder took back permission for this debit. | R07 | Talk to your bank, then email us. See the note below. |
| The account holder stopped this payment. | R08 | Check with whoever manages the account, then retry. |
| The account holder said this debit was not authorized. | R10 | Talk to your bank, then email us. See the note below. |
| The bank account is frozen. | R16 | Talk to your bank. Retry once the account is open again. |
| This account cannot receive this kind of payment. | R20 | Use a different account. |
| The business account holder did not authorize this debit. | R29 | Talk to your bank, then email us. See the note below. |
If the reason is about the vendor's bank, not yours, the vendor has to fix it. See A vendor's bank sent back my payment.
When a bank says a payment wasn't authorized
If your bank sends a payment back as not authorized (codes R05, R07, R10, R11 or R29), Cleo Pay turns payments off for your account. You'll see the "Turn on payments" banner that says "Payments are off until a quick call with our team." Click Book a call, or email support@cleo-pay.com, and we'll go through it with you.
How to retry a failed payment
- Open the bill from the Pay page.
- Click Retry Payment.
- Check the Source. If the money already reached Cleo Pay, or you paid from your balance, the retry is sent from your Cleo Pay balance. If the pull from your bank is what failed, the retry pulls from your linked bank again.
- Click Retry Payment.
- A "Heads up!" box reminds you that a retry will likely fail again if the problem isn't fixed. Click Retry Payment to send it.
If the source is your Cleo Pay balance and it doesn't have enough in it, you'll see "Insufficient balance" with the amount you need. Add money to your balance first. If the source is your bank and it says "This bank account requires re-authentication before you can retry.", reconnect your bank account first.
When you can't retry
Sometimes the bill shows a message instead of the Retry Payment button:
- "Maximum retry attempts reached. Contact support."
- "This payment cannot be retried automatically. Contact support."
- "This payment can't be retried here. Please contact support."
In each case, email support@cleo-pay.com and we'll help you get the vendor paid.
Still stuck?
Email support@cleo-pay.com with the invoice number, the vendor's name, the amount and the reason Cleo Pay shows.
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