Blocked bank accounts

Stripe can block bank accounts for various reasons, such as returned debits, failed payouts, and account takeovers, among others. The underlying reason for a block may be legitimate or due to a user error. By understanding why a bank account was blocked, you can take action to unblock it and minimize the chances of further accounts being blocked.

Reasons for blocked bank accounts

When ACH Debits are returned for reasons other than insufficient funds (for example, an account is closed or frozen), NACHA rules require originators of an ACH Debit to review and confirm the bank account or take other action before reinitiating a debit. To comply with these Rules, Stripe blocks certain bank accounts until we can confirm that the issue causing the returns has been resolved. In addition to ensuring compliance with the NACHA rules, this process helps businesses reduce fraud and avoid repeated dispute and return fees. We don’t block bank accounts because of past insufficient funds returns.

Minimizing blocked customer bank accounts

You can minimize the risk of dealing with blocked customer bank accounts by taking a few preventative steps. To minimize this risk, we recommend that you:

• Verify accounts using Financial Connections Instant Verification—This helps confirm accurate account details and verify account ownership.
• Prevent accidental disputes—Use clear statement descriptors for your business name that customers can easily recognize on their bank statements, which minimizes the chance that a confused customer unintentionally disputes your payments.
• Reduce bank auto-blocks—Some banks and business accounts automatically reject ACH Debits attempts from unknown entities. To prevent this, have your customer provide Stripe Company IDs to their bank to enable debits initiated by Stripe.

Identifying blocked accounts

In the Dashboard, ACH Debits that failed because blocked accounts are labeled blocked with an error message. When attempting to confirm a Payment Intent or Setup Intent, these blocked requests return an HTTP 402 status and contain the bank_account_unusable error code. Payment Intents also generate a failed charge, while Setup Intents create a failed Setup Attempt instead.

Payment method status details

After creating a US bank account payment method, the us_bank_account.status_details.blocked field renders if the account is blocked. You must make requests using a secret key for the field to appear.

You can access the network_code and reason properties inside the PaymentMethod object to understand the details behind each block. The network_code contains the raw ACH return code associated with a previous failed payment or dispute made with this account, while the reason is a summary category that corresponds with the code’s semantic meaning.

For more information on removing blocks, consult the section on handling blocked bank accounts below for each reason value. When Stripe removes the block, the us_bank_account.status_details.blocked field stops rendering on all previously affected payment methods.

Listening to status changes

Stripe sends the payment_method.automatically_updated event for all saved payment methods when a blockable ACH return is received. This also includes any verified customer bank accounts that were created using the Stripe legacy ACH integration.

Consuming these events can provide advance notice if your business model relies on recurring payments that need to be processed before a certain date. Inspect the event data for the us_bank_account.status_details.blocked field, then work with your customer to unblock or switch bank accounts before initiating future payments.

You receive equivalent events when the block is removed, indicating that payment methods can be reused immediately, if an active mandate exists or you re-collect one.

Handling blocked bank accounts

If a customer’s ACH bank account becomes blocked, the action you take depends on the reason the account was blocked. To find the reason, go to the Payment Intent in the Dashboard and navigate down to the All activity section. Then, find the 402 Error - A Request to create a PaymentIntent failed event and locate the code value in the last_payment_error field.

For more information, see Network decline codes.