The payment approvals feature requires that a payment be reviewed and approved by a designated user before it is processed. This provides an additional layer of oversight for cross-border payment operations and is sometimes referred to as a maker/checker workflow.
The payment approvals feature must be enabled for your account before you can use it. Contact your Ripple Payments account manager to enable this feature.
The payment approvals workflow uses two roles:
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Maker | Creates a payment and submits it for approval. The maker cannot approve their own payment. |
| Checker | Reviews a pending payment approval request and approves, rejects, or cancels it. |
The Approval log tab on the Payments page displays all submitted payment approval requests. Select any row to open the approval review panel with full payment and approval details.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The date and time the payment was submitted for approval. |
| Beneficiary | The beneficiary of the payment. |
| Sending amount | The sending amount and currency of the payment. |
| Receiving amount | The receiving amount and currency of the payment. |
| Initiator | The email address of the maker who submitted the payment for approval. |
| Approval status | The current approval status of the payment. See Approval statuses for a description of each status. |
| Action | The Review button. Appears only for payments in Pending status. Select it to open the approval review panel. |
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | The payment is awaiting a decision. Displays a live countdown showing the time remaining before the associated quote expires. |
| Approved | A checker approved the payment and it has been sent for processing. |
| Rejected | A checker rejected the payment. The rejection reason is visible in the approval review panel. |
| Cancelled | The maker cancelled the approval request before a decision was made. |
| Expired | No decision was made before the payment quote expired. Once expired, the approval request cannot be approved, rejected, or cancelled. |
Selecting a row in the Approval log opens the approval review panel. The panel displays the following information:
- Payment amount, sending currency, and receiving currency
- Beneficiary details
- Originator details
- Quote details, including a live countdown timer showing when the quote expires
- Approval activity history, including who submitted, approved, rejected, or cancelled the request and when
For payments in Approved status, the panel also includes a link to the corresponding payment record.
When a quote expires, no further action can be taken on the approval request. The approval status changes to Expired and all action buttons are removed from the panel.
Only a checker can approve a payment. A maker cannot approve their own payment.
To approve a payment:
- Select the Payments tab.
- Select the Approval log tab.
- Select Review next to the payment you want to approve.
- Review the payment details in the approval review panel and confirm the quote has not expired.
- Select Approve and send.
The payment is sent for processing and the approval status changes to Approved.
Only a checker can reject a payment.
To reject a payment:
- Select the Payments tab.
- Select the Approval log tab.
- Select Review next to the payment you want to reject.
- Select Reject.
- In the Reject payment dialog, select one or more reasons for the rejection:
- Incorrect information
- Cost (FX + fees)
- Purpose of transaction not defined
- Duplicate payment
- Other reason — if selected, enter a brief description in the text field (50 characters maximum)
- Select Reject payment to confirm.
The approval status changes to Rejected. The maker can view the rejection reason by selecting the payment in the Approval log.
Only the maker who submitted the payment can cancel an approval request, and only while the payment is in Pending status.
To cancel an approval request:
- Select the Payments tab.
- Select the Approval log tab.
- Select the payment you want to cancel.
- Select Cancel.
The approval status changes to Cancelled.