Paper Checks

Clients in the United States can enable corporate customers to make payouts by issuing paper checks.

Nium provides an end-to-end solution, handling everything from check issuance to delivery at U.S. addresses. Checks can be issued 24/7 and are delivered within 10 business days.

Requirements

Paper checks are only available to corporate customers. To issue paper checks, customers must:

Have a Nium USD wallet
Have virtual account with bankName COLUMN_US

For more information on virtual accounts, see Virtual Account Number.

Initiating a check payout

A check payout transaction can be initiated by setting the payout method to CHECK. To initiate a check payout:

Use the Add Beneficiary V2 request to create a beneficiary with:

{
    "beneficiaryName": "Lorem Ipsum",
    "beneficiaryAccountType": "Individual",
    "beneficiaryCountryCode": "US",
    "destinationCountry": "US",
    "destinationCurrency": "USD",
    "payoutMethod": "CHECK",
    "beneficiaryAddress": "Dummy Address",
    "beneficiaryCountryCode": "US",
    "beneficiaryState": "CA",
    "beneficiaryCity": "san diago",
    "beneficiaryPostcode": "27127"
}

Use the Transfer Money request to create a transaction with the beneficiary ID generated when creating the beneficiary.

For more information about the Transfer Money request, see Transfer Money.

Tracking the check

To track the check payout see:

[
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": "chkt_2mESkHmMgtoy7KVVMKxv5INDTlT",
        "status": "RETURN",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction was returned. Reason - check.incoming_debit.user_initiated_returned | The payer has initiated a return",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-26 12:05:04",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": null,
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": "chkt_2mESkHmMgtoy7KVVMKxv5INDTlT",
        "status": "PAID",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction is deemed paid to the beneficiary bank.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-24 12:00:27",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": null,
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": "chkt_2mESkHmMgtoy7KVVMKxv5INDTlT",
        "status": "SENT_TO_BANK",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction has been sent to bank.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 06:19:52",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": {
            "reasonCode": "delivered",
            "statusDescription": "The check has been delivered to the recipient’s address."
        },
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": "chkt_2mESkHmMgtoy7KVVMKxv5INDTlT",
        "status": "SENT_TO_BANK",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction has been sent to bank.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 06:19:52",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": {
            "reasonCode": "mailed",
            "statusDescription": "The check has been handed off to and accepted by USPS and is en route."
        },
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": "chkt_2mESkHmMgtoy7KVVMKxv5INDTlT",
        "status": "SENT_TO_BANK",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction has been sent to bank.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 06:19:52",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": {
            "reasonCode": "created",
            "statusDescription": "The physical check has been successfully created."
        },
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": null,
        "status": "COMPLIANCE_COMPLETED",
        "statusDetails": "Compliance review has been completed and transaction will be sent to beneficiary bank.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 06:19:40",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": null,
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": null,
        "status": "IN_PROGRESS",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction is undergoing Compliance review.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 04:19:42",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": null,
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    },
    {
        "systemReferenceNumber": "RT9174251203",
        "partnerReferenceNumber": null,
        "paymentReferenceNumber": null,
        "status": "INITIATED",
        "statusDetails": "Transaction has been accepted for processing.",
        "lastUpdatedAt": "2024-09-18 04:19:35",
        "gpi": null,
        "check": null,
        "errorCode": null,
        "errorReasonCode": null,
        "errorDescription": null
    }
]

Tracking the delivery of the check

The delivery status of the check can be found in the check object in the:

Fetch Remittance Lifecycle request
Remit Transaction Sent To Bank webhook event

See the Fetch Remittance Lifecycle response above for an example.

Check parameters

Field	Description
`reasonCode`	Reason code for delivery status
`statusDescription`	Description of the check reason code

Check reason codes and statuses

ReasonCode	Code Description
`created`	The physical check has been successfully created.
`mailed`	The check has been handed off to and accepted by USPS and is en route.
`in_transit`	The check is being processed at the entry/origin facility.
`in_local_area`	The check is being processed at the destination facility.
`processed`	The check has been greenlit for delivery at the recipient's nearest postal facility.
`delivered`	The check has been delivered to the recipient’s address.
`re_routed`	The check is re-routed due to recipient change of address, address errors, or USPS relabeling of barcode/ID tag area.
`returned_to_sender`	The check is being returned to sender due to barcode, ID tag area, or address errors.
`failed`	The physical check could not be delivered.

Canceling a check

Use the Cancel Remittance request to cancel a check. You'll receive a 200 status code response with the message check cancellation request has been initiated that confirms the check has been canceled.

The Remit Transactions Cancelled event will also be returned to confirm the cancelled check.

When a check is canceled, the transaction status is set to RETURNED. Funds can take up to 10 days to return to the wallet after a cancellation request.

Canceled check statuses

Cancellation Status	Description
`pending`	Cancel Check request has been initiated.
`completed`	Check has been cancelled successfully.
`failed`	Check cancellation has failed.

Cancel Remittance response:

{
    "message": "Check cancellation request has been initiated.",
    "systemReferenceNumber": "RT3841586672"
}

Remit Transactions Cancelled event:

"customerHashId":"0de1e512-e0d7-4eca-ad41-dd39325facc2",
"walletHashId":"e83cca77-8b63-4a25-b580-1d872380ef29",
"transactionCurrency":"USD",
"transactionAmount":"5418.1700",
"systemReferenceNumber":"RT1343085439",
"exchangeRate":"54.454000000",
"beneficiaryName":"Diana Prince",
"billingCurrency":"SGD",
"billingAmount":"100.0000",
"payoutMethod":"CHECK",
"status": "pending",
"template":"REMIT_TRANSACTION_CANCELLED_WEBHOOK",
"tags": [ { "key": "Transaction Reference Number", "value": "TR1234" }] }'


"customerHashId":"0de1e512-e0d7-4eca-ad41-dd39325facc2",
"walletHashId":"e83cca77-8b63-4a25-b580-1d872380ef29",
"transactionCurrency":"USD",
"transactionAmount":"5418.1700",
"systemReferenceNumber":"RT1343085439",
"exchangeRate":"54.454000000",
"beneficiaryName":"Diana Prince",
"billingCurrency":"SGD",
"billingAmount":"100.0000",
"payoutMethod":"CHECK",
"status": "completed",
"template":"REMIT_TRANSACTION_CANCELLED_WEBHOOK",
"tags": [ { "key": "Transaction Reference Number", "value": "TR1234" }] }'

"customerHashId":"0de1e512-e0d7-4eca-ad41-dd39325facc2",
"walletHashId":"e83cca77-8b63-4a25-b580-1d872380ef29",
"transactionCurrency":"USD",
"transactionAmount":"5418.1700",
"systemReferenceNumber":"RT1343085439",
"exchangeRate":"54.454000000",
"beneficiaryName":"Diana Prince",
"billingCurrency":"SGD",
"billingAmount":"100.0000",
"payoutMethod":"CHECK",
"status": "failed",
"template":"REMIT_TRANSACTION_CANCELLED_WEBHOOK",
"tags": [ { "key": "Transaction Reference Number", "value": "TR1234" }] }'