Payment Lifecycle — What Your Users Should See
Every payment moves through a defined lifecycle, and each stage should map to a clear user-facing status in your product:
| Method Status | User-Facing Copy | Description |
|---|
| Pending | ”Payment scheduled” or “Payment queued” | The payment has been created and is waiting for the next processing window. |
| Processing | ”Payment in progress” | The payment is actively being processed through the banking system. |
| Sent | ”Payment sent to your creditor” | Funds have been initiated and sent to the creditor. |
| Posted | ”Payment complete” | The creditor has confirmed the payment has been applied to the account. |
| Failed | ”Payment couldn’t be processed” | An error occurred — see failure details. |
| Reversed | ”Payment returned” | A previously sent payment was returned. |
Handling Reversals and Failures
Payments can fail or be reversed, and your product should be able to handle these scenarios gracefully:
Failed Payments
Failed payments can occur at various stages due to insufficient funds in the funding account, invalid or closed account details, or creditor rejection. When a payment fails, Method emits a webhook event with the failure details. Your product should notify the user clearly, explain what happened in plain language, and provide a path to retry if applicable.
Reversed Payments
Reversals occur when a payment that was already sent is returned, for example, if the funding account has insufficient funds after the payment was initiated, or if the creditor returns the payment for any reason. Reversals are tracked as separate objects with their own lifecycle and webhook events. Your product should notify the user, explain the reversal, and update any progress displays that reflected the original payment.
In both cases, avoid technical jargon. Users don’t need to know about ACH return codes or processing windows, they need to know what happened, why, and what to do next.
Settlement Timing
Settlement and posting timing varies by creditor and payment rail. Do not make hard assumptions about when a payment will post.
