Taking Action on FedNow Cases

Situations requiring manual review by your staff will result in a case being created. Cases are always linked to a payment. There can be multiple payments related to a single case when a return request results in a new transaction being created for the return.

In this article:

Review Cases

To review cases:

  1. From Narmi Command, select Transactions > FedNow manager.

  2. Select the Cases tab to view a list of cases with the following information:

    • Case ID – A unique ID associated with the case

    • Status – Status of the case (Open or Closed)

    • Type – The following case types are available:

      • Accepted without posting – Payment was flagged during validation and has an open ACWP case requiring manual review by your staff

      • Information request – Request by the Sender FI for more information about the payment(s)

      • Return request – Request by the Sender FI for funds to be returned

        Go to Case Types for more information.

    • Last Updated – Date and time the case was last updated or when information was received for an information request

    • Due – The due date/time which is based on service-level agreements (SLAs) from the Federal Reserve


  3. Select the case row to open a side panel with the following case details:

    • Banner – Information about the specifics of the case (varies by case type)

    • Case Details – Case ID and last updated date/time; if the case is an open return request, the due date/time show

    • Case History – All events are shown, as well as any notes added to the case

    • Add Note – Add optional case notes

    • Related Payments – ID of related payment(s); select to open details

  4. Select the “X” to close the side panel.

Search and Filter Cases

To search for a specific case, in the Cases tab, enter the case ID or account number in the Search box, and select Search.

You can filter the case list by case status, case type, or last updated date to quickly find what you need.

To filter the Cases list:

  1. In the Cases tab, select the filter icon in the Search box.

  2. A side panel appears with the following filter options:

    • Case status – Filter by a specific case status, either Open or Closed.

    • Type – Filter by case type, either Accepted without posting, Information request, or Return request. For more information on case types, go to Case Types.

    • Last updated – Filter by the case’s last updated date


  3. Select Apply.

Case Types

Cases can be one of the following types—Accept Without Post, Information Request, or Return Request.

Accept Without Post (ACWP)

Based on initial checks when a payment is received, an Accept Without Post (ACWP) case may be created. ACWP occurs when there is reasonable cause to believe that the recipient is not entitled or permitted to receive payment. For example, suppose the Receiver FI has reasonable cause to believe that making funds available to the recipient may violate applicable U.S. banking regulations. In that case, the Receiver FI may notify its Federal Reserve Bank that it requires additional time to determine whether to accept the payment order, including any applicable internal investigation.

The Receiver FI will be required to complete its investigation and provide a “Final” status (reject, accept, or block the ACWP case) as soon as possible—no later than midnight Eastern Standard Time of the next business day that is not a weekend day or holiday unless at that time the Receiver FI continues to have concerns that accepting the payment and making funds available would be impermissible under applicable law.

A payment in ACWP will be settled by the Federal Reserve, but the funds are not posted to the recipient account while the investigation is conducted.

To take action on an ACWP case:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the “ACWP” case.

  2. A side panel opens with the following case details. A red banner displays at the top with information about the specifics of the case.


  3. Select the three dots on the upper right and select an action from the menu.

The following actions are available:

  • Accept ACWP – Select this action to accept the payment and post it to the customer’s account. In the dialog that appears, select Accept.

  • Reject ACWP – Select this action to not make the funds available and refund. Narmi automatically refunds through the FedNow Service when an ACWP payment is rejected. In the dialog that appears, select a Reject reason, enter Additional information (optional), and select Reject.

Possible reject reasons are:

  • Invalid creator account – Wrong account number in Credit Transfer

  • Blocked account – Account specified is blocked, prohibiting the posting of transactions against it

  • Closed creditor account – Creditor account number closed

  • Wrong amount – Amount received is not the amount agreed upon or expected

  • Inconsistent end user

  • Missing incorrect creditor address – Specification of creditor's address, which is required for payment, is missing/not correct (formerly IncorrectCreditorAddress)

  • Invalid creditor identification – Creditor or Ultimate Creditor identification code missing or invalid

  • Duplicate – Payment is a duplicate of another payment

  • Narrative – Reason is provided as narrative information in the additional reason information

  • Regulatory reason

  • Closed account – Account number specified has been closed on the bank of account's books

  • Awaiting debt authorization – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be processed because the customer has not yet provided the debit authority on its account

  • Agent decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because an agent refuses to cancel

  • Insufficient funds – Amount of funds available to cover the specified message amount is insufficient

  • Already returned – Cancellation not accepted as the transaction has already been returned

  • Awaiting reply – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be processed because no reply has been  received yet from the receiver of the request message

  • Customer decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because of a customer decision (Creditor)

  • Legal decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because of regulatory rules

  • No answer from customer – No response from beneficiary (to the cancellation request)

  • No original transaction received – Original transaction (subject to cancellation) never received

  • Passed to next agent – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be accepted because the payment instruction has been passed to the next agent.

  • Requesting debit authorization – Reported when authority is required by the Creditor to return the payment

  • Block ACWP – Select this action to not make funds available and not refund (if legally prohibited from returning the payment). In the dialog that appears, select Block.

  • Request Information – Your institution can request more information while in ACWP. Go to Request Information below for instructions.

Request Information on a Case

For AWCP cases, your institution can request more information from the Sender FI if you do not have all the information related to a payment. (To request information for a posted payment, go to Reviewing Payments - Request Information.)

To request information:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the case row for an “Accepted without post” case.

  2. In the side panel that opens, select the three dots on the upper right, then select Request information.

  3. In the dialog that appears, select a Justification:

    • Missing information – Information is missing; for this justification, you have the option to flag it as an “Anti-money-laundering request”

    • Incorrect information – Information is incorrect; for this justification, you have the option to flag it as an “Anti-money-laundering request”

    • Possible duplicate instruction – Instruction ID is not unique

  4. Enter a Narrative to support the request (up to 140 characters). Select Submit.

View and Respond to an Information Request

If the Sender FI requests information on a posted payment, it opens an Information Request case, and your institution can view, respond to, and close the request.

To view an Information Request:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the case row for an “Information Request” in “Open” status.

  2. In the side panel that opens, select View Information Request.

  3. The dialog that appears shows the justification and narrative information.

To respond to an Information Request:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the case row for an “Information Request” in “Open” status.

  2. In the side panel that opens, select the three dots on the upper right, then select Respond to Information Request.

  3. In the dialog that appears, select a Resolution from the menu, either Additional information sent, No further information, or Pending. Enter any supporting text in the Additional information field. This field is required if you selected Additional information sent as the resolution.

  4. Select Submit.

To close an Information Request:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the case row for an “Information Request” in “Open” status.

  2. In the side panel that opens, select the three dots on the upper right, then select Close Information Request.

  3. A confirmation dialog appears. Once closed, subsequent responses will not reopen the case. Select Submit.

Take Action on a Return Request

The Sender FI can request to return a payment previously sent through the FedNow Service. There are several reasons for return requests (listed below), which can include transaction errors, fraudulent activity, or recipient unavailability. For return request cases in “Open” status, your institution can accept or reject the request.

To take action on a return request for an incoming payment:

  1. From the Cases tab in FedNow Manager, select the case row for a “Return Request” in “Open” status.

  2. In the side panel that opens, select the three dots on the upper right, then select an action from the menu.

The following actions are available: Accept return request and Reject return request.

  • Accept return request – Select to accept the return request and have the funds returned (FedNow status is IPAY). In the dialog that appears, the total return amount is auto-populated, but you can edit the amount for partial returns. Select a Resolution reason (listed below), enter Additional information (optional), and select Submit.

    Resolution Reasons

    Possible resolution reasons are:

    • Account details changed – Account details have changed

    • Account in liquidation – Account is in liquidation

    • Account sequestered – Account is in sequestration

    • Already returned – Cancellation not accepted as the transaction has already been returned

    • Bank error – Returned as a result of a bank error

    • Closed account – Account number specified has been closed on the bank of account's books

    • Duplicate – Payment is a duplicate of another payment

    • Fraud – Returned as a result of fraud

    • Inconsistent with end customer – Identification of end customer is not consistent with the associated account number, organization ID, or private ID

    • Incorrect account – Format of the account number specified is not correct

    • Invalid purpose – Purpose is missing or invalid

    • Maximum debit amount exceeded – Due to Maximum allowed Direct Debit Transaction amount service offered by the Debtor Agent

    • Missing mandatory information in mandate – Mandate-related information data required by the scheme is missing

    • Narrative – Reason is provided as narrative information in the additional reason information

    • Previously stopped – Previously stopped by means of a stop payment advise.

    • Regulatory – Regulatory reason

    • Requested by customer – Cancellation requested by the Debtor

    • Wrong amount – Amount received is not the amount agreed upon or expected

  • Reject return request – Select to reject the return request and not return the funds (FedNow status is RJCR). In the dialog that appears, select a Reject reason (listed below), enter Additional information (optional), and select Submit.

    Reject Reasons

    Possible reject reasons are:

    • Closed account – Account number specified has been closed on the bank of account's books

    • Awaiting debt authorization – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be processed because customer has not yet provided the debit authority on its account

    • Agent decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because an agent refuses to cancel

    • Insufficient funds – Amount of funds available to cover the specified message amount is insufficient

    • Already returned – Cancellation not accepted as the transaction has already been returned

    • Awaiting reply – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be processed because no reply has been  received yet from the receiver of the request message

    • Customer decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because of a customer decision (Creditor)

    • Legal decision – Reported when the cancellation cannot be accepted because of regulatory rules

    • Narrative – Reason is provided as narrative information in the additional reason information

    • No answer from customer – No response from beneficiary (to the cancellation request)

    • No original transaction received – Original transaction (subject to cancellation) never received

    • Passed to next agent – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be accepted because the payment instruction has been passed to the next agent.

    • Requesting debit authority – Reported when authority is required by the Creditor to return the payment

    • Wrong sequence – Reported when the cancellation request cannot be processed because the sequence referred to in the request is not valid

    • Indemnity required – To express the wish to establish a bilateral indemnity agreement.

    • Already cancelled rtp – Request-to-pay has already been cancelled

    • Already expired rtp – Request-to-pay Expiry Date and Time has already passed

    • Already refused rtp – Request-to-pay has already been refused by the Debtor

    • Already rejected rtp – Request-to-pay has already been rejected

    • Payment already transmitted – Request-to-pay has already been cancelled

    • Regulatory – Regulatory reason