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Understanding ACH Payment Blocks and How to Resolve Them

In This Article

What Are ACH Payment Blocks?

ACH payment blocks are security measures that banks use to prevent unauthorized electronic transactions and protect against fraud.

  • ACH Blocks: Automatically rejects all incoming ACH debits and/or credits
  • ACH Filters: Blocks all debits/credits except those from specific Company IDs you have pre-authorized or allowed
  • Positive Pay: Instead of an automatic block, the bank flags any "unknown" ACH attempt and asks you to approve or deny it via your online portal within a specific timeframe

While these tools are valuable, they can also unintentionally block legitimate transactions from authorized vendors, including payments processed through our platform. 

When this happens, your bank may reject or return the transaction, which will result in a failed payment and may disconnect your bank account from our platform. 

Common Reasons ACH Transactions Get Blocked

Banks may block ACH activity if:

  • Your account has blocks or filters enabled for ACH debits/credits
  • Your bank requires you to pre‑authorize specific vendors
  • Your account’s filters or Positive Pay settings do not include our Company ID
  • Your bank flags the transaction as unusual or outside your normal activity
  • Your account was recently opened or has heightened fraud controls

These blocks are common for business accounts, especially those with treasury‑management services.

How to Resolve ACH Blocks with Your Bank

If you experience a rejected or returned ACH transaction, follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Contact your bank and let them know you need to authorize ACH activity from our company. Banks often require this before allowing debits or credits from a new vendor.
  • Step 2: Ask whether your account has any of the following enabled:
    • ACH Debit/Credit Block
    • ACH Filters
    • ACH Positive Pay
    • ACH Fraud Protection Services

If any of these are active, your bank will need to update your settings.

Recommended Questions to Ask Your Bank:

  1. “Does my account have an ACH Debit/Credit Block enabled?”
  2. “Do I have ACH Filters or ACH Positive Pay that require vendor authorization?”
  3. “Can you confirm that DepositLink/Dwolla and their ACH Company ID(s) are approved?”
  4. “Are there any additional fraud‑prevention tools that could block ACH transactions?”

These questions help your bank quickly identify and resolve the issue.

  • Step 3: Provide our ACH Company ID(s)

Your bank will ask for our ACH Originator / Company ID so they can add us to your approved list.

Our ACH processing partner's (Dwolla) Company ACH ID is (945440567_). Please note that the underscore is actually meant to be a space at the end, not an underscore - the space is part of the ACH Company ID.

  • Step 4: Request that the bank whitelist or approve our ACH transactions to allow both ACH debits and credits from our company to prevent future interruptions.

  • Step 5: If needed, provide your bank with an authorization letter. Many banks require a written request from the account holder.

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