An ACH debit isn't final when it's submitted. On Stripe it can take up to four business days to confirm, and it can fail for insufficient funds, a closed or wrong account, or a customer stopping the debit. A consumer can dispute a debit through their bank for up to 60 calendar days, and that dispute is final. On a plan, treat each bank payment as pending until it settles, follow up the day one fails, and keep your return rates under Nacha's thresholds of 0.5% unauthorized, 3% administrative and 15% overall.
Why can a bank payment fail after it looks paid?
Because ACH is a delayed-notification payment. On Stripe, an ACH Direct Debit can take up to four business days to confirm success or failure, and in rare cases a bank reports a failure after the payment has already shown as succeeded. If funds were already in your Stripe balance, Stripe takes them back.
What are the common reasons?
Stripe lists insufficient funds, an invalid account number and a customer disabling debits from their account. Nacha, which runs the ACH network's rules, groups returns by reason code:
- Administrative or account data errors: R02 (account closed), R03 and R04.
- Unauthorized: R05, R07, R10, R29 and R51. R10 means the customer says they don't know you or didn't authorize the debit.
How long can a customer dispute a debit?
Up to 60 calendar days after a debit to a personal account, and up to two business days for a business account. Disputes inside those windows are final: there's no appeal through the ACH network, so you settle it with the customer directly. After a dispute, the customer's authorization (the mandate) is no longer valid. You need a new one before you debit that account again.
What return rates are too high?
Nacha sets thresholds for every business that collects by ACH, measured over the past 60 days or two calendar months:
| Returns | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Unauthorized (R05, R07, R10, R29, R51) | 0.5% |
| Administrative (R02, R03, R04) | 3.0% |
| All returns | 15.0% |
Going over brings scrutiny from your processor and its bank.
What should a payment plan do about it?
- Count a bank payment as pending until it settles, not when it's submitted.
- Follow up the day a payment fails, and offer card or another bank account to pay that installment.
- Tell the customer before you refund a bank payment, so they don't also dispute it and get the money back twice.
- Give notice before changing a debit. Stripe's mandate guidance asks for at least seven calendar days' notice before you change the timing of recurring debits. See changing a payment plan after it starts for amounts.
- Keep the authorization. If a bank asks for proof, you'll need the signed or accepted mandate.
- Stripe: ACH Direct Debit
- Nacha: ACH network risk and enforcement topics
- Nacha: differentiating unauthorized return reasons
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.