Failed payments
A returned debit is common and fixable when it is handled quickly and in writing. Ignored, it can turn into fees, catch-up debits and default terms. Here is what usually happens next and the order to act in. General information only, not legal advice.
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Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
When a scheduled ACH debit fails, most often for non-sufficient funds (NSF), your bank returns it to the funder, usually within one or two business days, and may charge you a returned-item fee. The funder may then charge a fee set out in your agreement, try the debit again, or collect the missed amount on a later day. The steps that protect you are the same every time: find out why it failed, tell the funder the same day, and agree in writing how the missed amount will be made up.
Assumptions: a $450 daily debit. Your bank charges a $35 returned-item fee and the agreement lists a $50 returned-payment fee. Both fees are examples; check your own account terms and agreement.
| Date | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Nov 17, 2026 | $450 debit returned NSF | Bank fee $35 |
| Wed Nov 18, 2026 | Regular $450 debit; the funder re-presents Tuesday’s $450 the same day | $900 leaves the account if both clear |
| Wed Nov 18, 2026 | Funder fee for the return, if in the agreement | $50 |
If you had called on Tuesday and agreed to make up the $450 on Friday, November 20, after Thursday’s card settlements, the cost would be the $35 bank fee and possibly the $50 funder fee: $85. If both debits on Wednesday fail too, you face two more bank fees ($70), another funder fee ($50), and two missed payments ($900) to make up: $205 in fees and a file that now shows repeated NSFs.
Repeated NSFs also cost you later. The published Tier 1 sheet allows at most 6 NSFs in a month and 24 in six months; Tier 2 allows at most 5 negative days or NSFs. See negative days and NSFs.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Keep it short and factual. State the date and amount that failed, the cause in one sentence, the date the account will be funded, and what you are asking for: a single make-up date, a short pause, or a payment review. Ask for the answer in writing. A clear message on the first day reads very differently from silence after the third return. If you need a structured pause, read what a payment holiday costs.
If debits fail more than once in a month, the payment is too large for your current cash cycle. Options include a reconciliation, moving to a weekly debit timed after deposits, a lower daily payment, or a refinance once the account is stable. Any new funder will read about 3 months of business bank statements as PDFs, so a few clean months help more than an application made in the middle of returns. When the account is steady again, the qualification check is a soft-pull first step.
ACH returns for insufficient funds are generally sent back within two banking days, so the funder often knows by the next business day or the one after.
Often. Under Nacha rules, an entry returned for insufficient funds can generally be re-presented up to two more times within 180 days. Ask the funder to agree on a date instead of retrying at random.
Usually not by itself, but read your agreement. Default terms are often tied to repeated missed payments, blocked debits or changed accounts.
Usually no. Stacking to cover a missed payment adds a second payment on the same weak cash flow. Talk to the current funder first.
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