Payment status

Find a payment, read its current status and decide what to do next. Follow the original attempt through any later capture, refund or payout activity.

Operations teams and developers

Before you begin

  • Access to the merchant account that received the payment
  • The order and transaction references, if available
  • The amount, currency and transaction time with its time zone
On this page

Find the original payment

From order to payment record
  1. PurchaseYour orderAmount, currency and attempt references
  2. ProcessingPayment and related operationsAuthorization, capture, reversal and refund references
  3. ReportingAccount activity and payoutSettlement, adjustments and deposit references
The order, processing operations and funding report answer different questions. Keep the references that connect them.

  1. Start with the returned transaction ID

    Search the account and environment used for the payment. If no transaction ID was returned, use the original order or merchant reference with the narrowest useful time range.

  2. Match the purchase

    Check the merchant, amount and currency. Keep your order reference separate from the identifier returned for each authorization, capture, reversal or refund.

  3. Open the related activity

    Read the operations linked to the payment before acting. A capture and a refund attached to the same order do not represent two purchases.

Read the status before taking action

Use the exact status and operation recorded by the service. The meanings below help your team decide what to check; they are not a replacement for the status definitions assigned to an integration.

Payment state and next action
Observed stateMeaning and next check
AuthorizedAn authorization was approved. Check the configured capture and fulfillment policy. An authorization is not a bank deposit.
Capture acceptedA capture has entered processing. Follow its result and settlement; do not capture again because the payout has not arrived.
DeclinedThe recorded attempt was not approved. Follow the returned reason and permitted retry rules. If there was an earlier uncertain attempt, resolve it separately.
Pending or unknownThe outcome is not yet established. Keep the order under investigation and recover the original attempt before taking another payment action.
Voided or refundedCheck whether the void or refund completed. An accepted refund request and the customer’s bank posting are different events.
ACH submittedA bank payment instruction was submitted. Follow its own completion and return states; card authorization/capture labels do not describe the ACH lifecycle.

Resolve an uncertain result

Resolve the attempt before acting
  1. Outcome confirmedRecord the verified stateFollow the permitted next action for that operation
  2. Outcome uncertainKeep the investigation openResolve the original attempt before another payment
A missing response or report row does not establish the payment outcome. Resolve the original attempt before taking another payment.

  1. Preserve the original attempt

    Keep the original order, merchant, amount, time and any returned transaction or correlation reference. Tell the customer the result is being checked rather than declaring an unverified failure.

  2. Check the payment record

    Use the account’s payment lookup or ask merchant support to trace the original attempt. Compare related operations and verified notifications. A communication error does not show how far processing progressed.

  3. Record the resolution

    Update the order from the confirmed result. If it remains unclear, assign someone to follow up and retain the unresolved attempt instead of submitting a new charge.

Two transactions have the same amount

Compare the operation types, references and the orders they belong to. Two similar rows can be different purchases, separate operations or duplicate attempts; the amount alone does not decide.

The checkout message and account record disagree

Retain both references and the time observed. Resolve the current processing record before changing fulfillment or sending the customer through another payment.

What to confirm

A timeout alone never triggers another charge. The original attempt has either a confirmed outcome or an assigned investigation.

For integrations: interpret a lookup result

Use the assigned lookup for ongoing status monitoring. Follow its rate limits and recovery rules; repeatedly running broad transaction searches is not a substitute for a defined recovery process.

Distinguish the request from the payment
Result to interpretNext check
Empty lookupConfirm the identifiers, account scope and reporting availability. An empty result is not a payment decline.
Request acceptedDetermine whether the requested action completed or remains pending. Trace the original operation before retrying.
Payment update receivedVerify its source, account and operation before applying it. A repeated notification must not repeat a business action.

Keep the details needed for investigation

Keep enough information to trace the original attempt and explain what remains unresolved.

Account and purchase
Merchant account, environment, order and original attempt references.
Payment and operation
Available transaction and operation references, amount, currency and time zone.
Investigation
Observed result, expected outcome, owner and next action. Share redacted diagnostics through the approved support channel.