Why Was Your e-Check Payment Returned? 

You may have many questions about why your e-check payment was not successful. We have answers to the most frequently asked questions below to help you better understand what happened.

Why Didn't My e-Check Payment Go Through?

The County of San Diego doesn’t decide whether your bank releases money to make a payment. Your bank makes that decision. Even if you entered your account number correctly, your bank may have declined to release the funds. Below are common reasons why your bank may not have released the funds:

  • No Account/Unable to Locate Account: The account number on your payment does not match the account number listed under your name, or the account is not open.
  • Invalid Account (Number Structure): The bank could not find an account number that matched the one entered, or the account number structure is not valid. This may be due to extra leading zeros. For example, a customer may have the account number 123456, but on the check, the account number shows as 000123456. Credit union account numbers may contain additional digits after the account number to indicate the type of account. Check with your bank to ask how to enter your account number for electronic payment transactions.
  • Non-Transaction Account: Transactions from the account entered are prohibited or limited.
  • Not Authorized: Your account has a block on it with special instructions such as “no debits” or “no drafts.”
  • Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized: The person who submitted the payment is not authorized to debit the account.

How Can I See the Full Account Number Used on My e-Check Payment?

All digits of the account number are not available. When you use e-check, your money is transferred into a merchant account over an automated clearing house (ACH) network. The ACH network only provides the last four digits of the account number used and the reason the payment was rejected.

I Received a Confirmation Email That My Payment Was Successful. Why Was My Payment Later Rejected? 

An automatic email is sent when a payment attempt is successfully submitted. This is similar to receiving a receipt when paying by a paper check at a branch location. It can take several business days for your bank to validate account information and release the funds.

Why Did I Get a Penalty? 

Both state law and county ordinance requires our office to add a $25 fee to your bill if your e-check or paper check is not accepted for any reason. If your bank does not release the funds, and the e-check or paper check is returned after the delinquent date, additional penalties may also be due.