Processing an ACH dispute

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Processing an ACH Dispute

    The Processing tab of the card disputes playbook provides a comprehensive dashboard for managing ACH dispute cases, displaying important transaction details such as the dispute amount, transaction date, merchant, and current activity status. The Investigate stage outlines essential tasks for handling disputed transactions effectively.

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    Key Features

    • Evaluate Merchant Analysis: Assess the merchant's credibility to validate the disputed transaction.
    • Provisional Credit: Temporarily credit the customer's account during the dispute investigation.
    • Nacha Guidelines Evaluation: Ensure compliance with Nacha operating rules and verify documentation like the Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit (WSUD).
    • ACH Dispute Return Recommendation: Review dispute information to determine the final action—either denial, filing a return, or requesting more information from the ODFI.
    • Dispute Communication: Communicate the outcome of the dispute to the customer or ODFI as appropriate.
    • Document Verification: Verify supporting documents from both customers and ODFI as needed.
    • File ACH Return: Process refunds for valid disputes.
    • Settle Payment: Ensure financial adjustments are made for the customer post-resolution.
    • Reverse Provisional Credit: Reverse any temporary credits if the dispute is denied.

    Key Outcomes

    By following these steps, ServiceNow customers can efficiently manage ACH disputes, ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines and maintaining customer satisfaction through timely communication and resolution. This structured process helps determine the legitimacy of disputes and facilitates proper financial adjustments.

    On the Processing tab of the card disputes playbook, all disputed transactions in an ACH dispute case are displayed on a dashboard. The tab also provides transaction information such as dispute amount, transaction date and time, merchant, transaction state, current activity, and activity SLA.

    The Investigate stage displays the dispute tasks related to investigating the disputed ACH transaction.

    The Investigate stage of the disputed transaction includes the following tasks:

    Task Description
    Evaluate merchant analysis

    Evaluate the merchant credibility to help validate the disputed ACH transaction.
    Provide provisional credit to customer Provide a temporary provisional credit to the account holder while the dispute is investigated.
    Evaluate Nacha guidelines

    Evaluate the Nacha (National Automated Clearing House Association) operating guidelines to verify that a disputed ACH transaction meets the Nacha operating rules for return eligibility by verifying required documentation such as a valid Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit (WSUD).
    Review ACH dispute return recommendation Review the ACH dispute information and determine the final action.
    • Deny: The ACH dispute is determined to be invalid and is denied. The provisional credit is reversed.
    • File return: The ACH dispute is determined to be valid and meets eligibility for return. A refund is initiated.
    • Follow up ODFI: More information is required from the ODFI before a refund can be either denied or issued.
    Dispute communication initiation Provide a response and feedback to the customer for a decision made on a dispute.

    This communication is sent to customers if the final action taken is either File return or Deny customer. If Follow up ODFI is the final action, the communication is sent to ODFI (Originating Depository Financial Institution).
    Verify customer supporting documents After communicating dispute denial to a customer, if a customer denies the decision to decline a dispute, they’ll be asked to provide support documentation along with their response. Verify the supporting documents that you received from the customers.
    Verify ODFI supporting documents After following up with ODFI (Originating Depository Financial Institution) to request further documentation about the dispute, verify the supporting documents that you received.
    File ACH return File a refund for an ACH dispute when the dispute has been determined to be eligible.
    Settle payment with customer Complete the financial adjustment so that the customer receives the appropriate funds after the dispute is resolved.
    Reverse provisional credit Reverse the temporary credit issued by the bank to the account holder in case of denial.