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How Do eCheck Payments Work?

Learn how eCheck payments are processed, what happens when a payment fails, how installment retries work, when merchants receive funds, and how to track eCheck transactions in your reports.

eCheck allows registrants to pay directly from their bank account during registration. Payments take 3–5 business days to process and settle. Banking information is not stored; registrants must re-enter it for each new registration.

How the Payment Process Works

  1. During checkout, the registrant enters their banking information and selects an account.

  2. After submitting the order, the registrant receives an email confirming the payment is pending.

  3. The registration status is set to Active immediately — it does not go into Pending Payment and will not change if the payment fails.

  4. The payment is processed and takes 3–5 business days to debit the registrant's bank account.

  5. Once the payment clears, the registrant receives an eCheck passed email and sees the charge on their bank statement.

When Merchants Receive Funds

Merchants receive eCheck funds 3–5 business days after the payment is processed. Funds appear in your deposit just like any other payment type.

Failures During Checkout

The most common error during checkout is Insufficient Funds. The registrant can try again once they have enough funds in their account to cover the charge.

Failures After Checkout

If a payment fails after the order has been submitted, the two most common errors are:

  • Insufficient Funds: The registrant can try again when funds are available

  • Unauthorized Debit: The registrant must contact their bank before attempting to use that account with OTTO Sport again

What happens when a payment fails after checkout:

  • Both the registrant and the admin receive an eCheck failure email

  • The failure is recorded in the transaction history

  • These errors are treated as a chargeback, which may result in a fee of up to $15 charged to the organization

  • If the funds were already paid out to the merchant, they will be debited back from the organization's account via a chargeback record

Failed Installments and Retries

If an eCheck installment payment fails, the system automatically retries, but only when the failure is due to Insufficient Funds and no payment was returned.

Retry schedule:

  1. 3 business days after the initial failure

  2. The following Friday

  3. The next 1st or 15th of the month

If all retry attempts fail, the payment remains in a failed status for the admin to manage.

Tracking eCheck Payments in Reports

All eCheck payments appear in your financial reports just like any other payment type. Use your existing reports to track eCheck transactions, deposits, and failed payments.

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