Payment verification is the process of confirming that bank account and payment details are valid and accurate before a transaction is initiated. It checks that accounts are open, routing numbers are correct, and that account ownership can be confirmed, helping businesses reduce failed payments, prevent fraud, and meet compliance requirements before funds are ever moved.

By screening accounts in near real time before submission, verification catches invalid routing numbers, closed accounts, stop payments, and NSF history before a transaction is attempted. This pre-transaction screening reduces the rate of returned items, lowers processing costs associated with failed payments, and helps satisfy Nacha's fraud detection requirements for WEB debit originators.

The verification solution uses a combination of database checks to confirm that account and routing numbers are active and valid, and account ownership verification to confirm the account holder's identity. Validate+ also reviews NSF history and other risk indicators associated with the account, providing a layered view of account health before processing.

Verification is performed in near real time, returning results before the transaction is submitted to the ACH network. This allows merchants to make an immediate decision on whether to proceed with the payment, decline it, or prompt the customer to provide updated account information, without introducing meaningful delay into the checkout or billing workflow.

The available documentation does not specify the exact format in which verification results are returned. What is confirmed is that results are returned in near real time and include account status details such as whether the account is open, allows debits, has stop payments, or has NSF history.