Failed/Late Employee or Contractor Direct Deposit

Background 

If an employee or contractor did not receive their direct deposit on payday, a common reason is an incorrect bank account number in the software.

If you’re asking, “Why didn’t my employee get their direct deposit?” here’s the key thing to know: it can take up to 3 business days for Patriot to be notified by the bank that a direct deposit failed, and why.

What to Do if a Direct Deposit is Late or Fails

Delayed direct deposit

In some cases, the bank can locate the correct account and re-route the deposit. When that happens, the deposit may still be delayed by up to 3 business days. The bank will update the account number and send the correction back to Patriot.

If this occurs, the bank may charge a nominal fee, which is passed through to you on your next monthly statement. See the Direct Deposit Fee Schedule for details.

Failed direct deposit

If the bank cannot locate the account number (or the account is closed), the deposit will fail. Depending on the bank, it may take up to 3 business days for Patriot to receive the failure notice and the reason. You can then choose how to resolve the failed deposit in the software.

What you can do next in the meantime:

• Request a trace ID from our Support team. You can give it to the employee or contractor so they can follow up with their bank.
• Verify the account on file using our Bank Account Verification tool. See the help article “Verifying an Employee Bank Account Number” for steps.

💡Tip to prevent this in the future: Have employees and contractors add or update their direct deposit info in their portal. It reduces typos and keeps sensitive banking details out of your hands (always a win). See “How to Add or Update Direct Deposit Accounts” for employees, and “Add or Change Direct Deposit Info in the Contractor Portal,” for more information.

How to Resolve a Failed Deposit Notification

1. Log in to your software account and go to the Payroll Overview page.
2. If the bank notifies us that a direct deposit failed, you’ll see a notification in the software for each failed deposit. You’ll need to resolve each instance individually.
3. Click the “Fix Direct Deposit Issue” link.
4. The reason for the failed direct deposit will be shown
5. Click the appropriate radio button to resolve the issue:
   • Refund the payment/direct deposit back to your company bank account. You will pay the contractor/employee a different way via check, paper check etc.
   • Either you or the employee or contract will need to update the bank account information to use direct deposit for future pay.
   • Resend the payment to a new bank account for the employee/contractor.
     • Choosing to resend to a new account will display fields to update the employee/contractor bank account.
       💡 If you already updated the incorrect bank account for the employee/contractor before the software notified you with the correction model, you will need to delete the employee banking information, and re-enter it to satisfy the notification.
   • Redirect payment to one of the employee’s other bank accounts — (for employees and only if there is more than one active bank account on the employee file.)
6. Click “Resolve Direct Deposit.”

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