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Out of the many, many ACH return codes, business owners may encounter ACH return code R74 while processing payments. These return codes occur when a customer or financial institution returns an ACH payment. These types of payments are facilitated through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network, which is an electronic network governed by NACHA. The financial institutions involved in a typical ACH payment are the RDFI and the ODFI. The Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) initiates the ACH transfer, whereas the Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) receives the transfer and issues applicable return codes, such as return code R74.
While initially frustrating, return codes are normal occurrences merchants can easily fix. Follow along to find out what ACH return code R74 means and how to resolve it.
What Does ACH Return Code R74 Mean?
ACH return code R74 means the ACH payment is being corrected by the RDFI because it contains incomplete or incorrect information. This requires you to collect data from the below fields in the original company batch header record, entry detail record, or addenda record:
- Transaction code in the entry detail record (positions 2-3).
- The DFI account number in the entry detail record (positions 13-29).
- Original entry trace in the return addenda record (positions 7-21).
- The dollar amount in the entry detail record (positions 30-39).
- Company identification in the company/batch header record (positions 41-50).
- Individual identification number in the entry detail record (positions 40-54) for CBR, CCD, CTX, DNE, ENR, PBR, POS, PPD, TEL, TRX, and WEB entries, or positions 55-76 for CIE and MTE entries.
Formal definition
The formal definition for ACH return code R74—Corrected Return is as follows:
The RDFI is correcting a previous return entry that was dishonored using Return Reason Code R69 (Field Errors) because it contained incomplete or incorrect information. Data must be obtained from the following fields in the original Company Batch Header Record, Entry Detail Record, or Addenda Record:
- DFI Account Number
- Trace Number
- Amount
- Individual Identification Number/Identification Number
- Transaction Code
- Company Identification
- Effective Entry Date
Solutions to Fix R74 Return Code
The best thing to do when encountering ACH return code R74 is to wait it out. However, if time passes and you’re still receiving this code, there is another option: Resolving an ACH return code R74 is comparable to resolving return code R69, with the exception that instead of reaching out to the ODFI, you must contact the RDFI. Ask to speak to an ACH operator at the RDFI and be prepared to give all the pertinent details about the transaction. They may ask you to either wait a while longer or initiate a new transfer. Either way, though, following these steps will have you back to accepting ACH payments!
