PayID payment not received or 'on hold' in Australia? Why, and the fix for each cause

Cause 1: The bank is holding a first payment for security checks

AP+ says plainly that some payments to a PayID may be held for security purposes, and that you should contact your bank for more information. Each of the big four banks words it differently.

CommBank is the most specific: first-time payments to a new PayID may be delayed for up to 24 hours for security reasons. It says the hold lets it check for fraud and gives the customer time to flag a payment that looks suspicious. Later payments should arrive in under one minute.

Westpac says payments may take longer when there is a technical interruption, when it is a payment to a first time payee, or when the payment is caught for additional security screening. ANZ's PayID page says some payments may be delayed, for example for security screening. NAB's terms say it may delay or block a payment to prevent potential fraud or scams.

• If it is a first payment, wait out the hold. For CommBank that is up to 24 hours.
• The payer should check their own app. A hold usually sits with the sending bank, so the payer is the one who can see it and the one their bank may contact.
• If nothing has moved after a day, the payer should contact their bank and ask whether the payment is still held.

Cause 2: The money went to a different PayID, or the name didn't match

When someone pays a PayID, their bank shows the name registered to it before they confirm. AP+ calls this an extra layer of security against scams, fraud and mistaken payments. A single wrong digit in a mobile number, or a typo in an email address, can be a real PayID belonging to someone else, and if the payer didn't read the name, the money is now in that person's account.

A name that looks slightly off isn't always a mistake. AP+ notes that some banks give you a few options for how your name is displayed, so a payer might see a shortened name or a business name. Tell regular payers what your PayID name looks like. If the name they saw belongs to a stranger, though, they should not have sent it, and Scamwatch lists an account holder who doesn't match the person or business you think you are paying as a warning sign.

• Have the payer read you the PayID and the name from their payment receipt.
• If it went to the wrong PayID, the payer must contact their own bank quickly. At Westpac, for example, they open the transaction in Online Banking or the Westpac App and choose 'Report this transaction' to request a trace or recall.
• Westpac says it typically has an outcome within two weeks, sometimes up to four, and that a recall depends on the receiving bank agreeing to return the funds.
• If a stranger sends money to your PayID by mistake, AP+ says never return it to someone you don't know. Contact your bank instead.

Cause 3: Your PayID isn't registered, is registered elsewhere, or is mid-move

A PayID can be linked to only one account at a time, although you can create several PayIDs for different accounts. If you tried to set one up and were told it is already registered, AP+ says to check with each bank you have an account with, and if you still can't find it, ask your main bank to help locate where it is linked.

Moving a PayID causes a lot of missing payments. AP+ says to log in where the PayID is registered and look for the option to move or transfer it, or contact that bank. During the move, payments don't go where you might expect.

• ANZ says payments to your PayID keep going to your previously linked account until the transfer steps are finished and ANZ has confirmed it. Check the old account first.
• Moving to Westpac, you ask your current bank to put the PayID into a 'transfer state', then have up to 14 days to set it up at Westpac before it reverts to the current bank.
• If you closed an account or deregistered the PayID, it no longer exists, and payments to it won't reach you. Register it again in your online banking.
• Can't remember which account it's linked to? AP+ says your main bank can help find it.

Cause 4: Your PayID has been locked

AP+ answers the question 'People are having trouble sending money to my PayID' in one line: your PayID may be locked and subject to a security investigation, so contact your bank.

Banks can do this without asking. NAB's terms say it can lock a PayID at any time without notice if it reasonably suspects the PayID is being used to get payments fraudulently, and payments can't be received to a locked PayID. You can lock one yourself, too: NAB business customers can pick 'Lock' from the PayID's status, and Westpac says to contact its help desk to temporarily stop payments to your PayID.

• Check the PayID's status in your online banking.
• If you locked it, unlock it there or through your bank.
• If the bank locked it, call the number on its official website or app and ask what it needs from you. Only your bank can lift a lock it placed.

Cause 5: The payer's account can't send a fast payment

Osko only runs when both banks and both accounts support it. NAB says both payer and payee accounts need to be enabled for Osko payments. If NAB can't send a payment as a fast payment, it usually tells the customer when they make it, and the payment is processed overnight or on the following business day instead.

Daily limits are the other quiet blocker. AP+ says banks may set daily limits on account payments, and these include payments to a PayID. The payer's bank can tell them their limit. Osko is also domestic only, so an overseas payer can't use it at all.

Cause 6: It's a scam, and there was never a payment

This one mostly hits people selling things online. A 'buyer' says they have paid, but the money is 'pending' or 'on hold' until you upgrade to a PayID business account or pay a fee. Then an email arrives that looks like it came from PayID, logo and all, sometimes claiming the buyer overpaid and asking you to send back the difference.

AP+ is unambiguous. PayIDs are managed by your bank and AP+ will never contact you directly. Any message from 'PayID' asking you to send money, receive money, or 'upgrade' to a business account is a scam. PayID will never ask you to send money to receive money. Osko says the same: it will never contact you, so any message claiming to come from Osko is a scam. Scamwatch adds that being asked to set up a new bank account or PayID in order to be paid is a clear sign to be suspicious.

• Don't pay any fee, don't click links in the email, and don't send any item until the money is in your account.
• Check your balance in your own banking app. A real PayID payment shows up there, not in an email.
• Block the buyer and report them on the marketplace you were using.
• If you have already paid, contact your bank immediately and ask it to stop the transaction. Then report the scam to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au and to the police.

Prevent it next time

Most missed PayID payments are avoidable with a little set-up before anyone pays you.

• Know exactly which account each of your PayIDs is linked to, and tell payers what your PayID name looks like.
• For a first payment from someone new, allow a day for a possible hold before you hand over goods.
• Never move a PayID between banks in the middle of a sale, and check the old account while a move is in progress.
• Treat any email or text from 'PayID' or 'Osko' as a scam. Only your bank can tell you about your payments.

Taking payments without chasing transfers

If you sell regularly and are tired of chasing transfers, a free OneSol page can list your products, and on Pro (US$9 a month) customers can pay by card through your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account, with the money going straight to you. OneSol doesn't take PayID or bank transfers at checkout, so it is an alternative to them, not a fix for a held payment.