Customer Advises Originator is Not Known to Receiver and/or Originator is Not Authorized by Receiver to Debit Receiver's Account.
The customer claims they never authorized your business to debit their account.
What Causes ACH Return Code R10?
The R10 ACH return code means "Customer Advises Not Authorized" and indicates that a customer has formally told their bank they either don't recognize your business or never authorized any ACH transactions from your company. This is different from other authorization issues - R10 specifically means the customer claims no legitimate business relationship or authorization ever existed.
This return requires the customer to provide a written statement under penalty of perjury, making it a serious legal declaration. R10 can result from fraud, identity theft, business name recognition issues, or cases where the customer genuinely never provided authorization but someone initiated transactions using their account information.
Can You Retry R10 Payments?
You cannot retry R10 payments without first establishing legitimate customer authorization and resolving the underlying dispute. Since the customer has formally denied any relationship or authorization, any future transaction attempts without proper resolution could be considered fraudulent activity and result in severe penalties including loss of ACH processing privileges.
How to respond
An R10 return represents a serious authorization dispute requiring immediate cessation of all transactions and thorough investigation of the customer relationship and authorization documentation.
When receiving payments
- Immediately Stop All Transactions
Halt any scheduled or recurring payments to prevent additional violations and potential fraud accusations. - Review Authorization Documentation
Examine your records to verify you have proper written or electronic authorization for ACH transactions. - Contact Customer for Investigation
Reach out to understand if this is a recognition issue, fraud, or legitimate authorization dispute. - Consult Legal/Compliance Team
Given the serious nature of R10, consider consulting compliance experts before taking further action.
When sending payments
An R10 return on vendor payments indicates the vendor is claiming they never authorized your business to debit their account. This represents a serious business relationship issue requiring immediate investigation and resolution.
- Review all authorization documentation and contracts with the vendor
- Contact the vendor immediately to understand the nature of their dispute
- Consult with legal/compliance teams given the serious implications
- Cease all payment attempts until proper authorization is reestablished
Email template
- From
- [Your Company Name] <[your-email]>
- To
- [Customer Name] <[customer-email]>
- Subject
- Important: Transaction Authorization Inquiry
Hi [Customer Name],
We received notice that you've reported an unauthorized transaction from our company. We take this very seriously and want to resolve this matter immediately.
We have suspended all transaction activity on your account while we investigate. Could you please contact us at [phone number] so we can:
- Review our authorization records with you
- Understand if there's been a misunderstanding
- Resolve any issues promptly
If you don't recognize our business name or believe this is fraud, please let us know immediately so we can assist with the investigation.
Thanks,
[Your Company Name]