Cannot be applied: a FAST transfer the receiver rejects
Trigger: Nordbank cannot credit the beneficiary account (closed or invalid), so it rejects the FAST transfer.
What operations sees first: An almost-instant transfer fails within seconds; the payer is refunded and the item does not net-settle.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Returned to Riya after the rejection — she is not out of pocket.
DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?
The item did not join the net settlement to MEPS+; nothing settled for it.
WHO ACTS NEXT?
Nordbank (receiving bank) Riya confirms Arjun's account details and retries.
PLAY THE EXCEPTION
Trigger: Nordbank cannot apply the payment — for example Arjun's account is closed or the account number is invalid — so it rejects the transfer and it fails.
Riya asks Bank Alfa to pay Arjun
Riya (payer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank)
On a Saturday Riya opens her banking app and instructs Bank Alfa to send SGD 500.00 to Arjun at Nordbank using FAST. FAST runs 24/7, so the weekend does not matter. Nothing has moved yet — this is only a request.
Step 1 of 6: Riya asks Bank Alfa to pay Arjun
- 02PostingBank Alfa debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
- 03Clearing obligationSACH clears the transfer instantly and routes it to NordbankBank Alfa (sending bank) → FAST / SACH (Singapore Automated Clearing House)
- 06 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingBank Alfa refunds RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Returned to Riya — Bank Alfa reversed the debit, so she is made whole almost immediately.
- Settlement
- No settlement occurred for this item; nothing about it is included in the net settlement files sent to MEPS+.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (receiving bank) — Riya checks Arjun's account details against the reason code and can try again once they are correct.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
- 02PostingBank Alfa debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
Bank Alfa validates the details, checks Riya has the funds, and reduces her balance by SGD 500.00 on its own books. The money has left Riya, but Arjun does not have it yet and the banks have not settled — those are later steps.
- DR Riya's current account at Bank Alfa — SGD 500.00
- 03Clearing obligationSACH clears the transfer instantly and routes it to NordbankBank Alfa (sending bank) → FAST / SACH (Singapore Automated Clearing House)
Bank Alfa sends the transfer to the Singapore Automated Clearing House, which clears it in real time and routes it straight on to Nordbank. This clearing leg confirms the obligation between the banks — it does not move central bank money.
SACH clears FAST payments the moment they arrive, one by one. It records what each bank owes but does not settle the cash here — that happens later in MEPS+.
- 06 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingBank Alfa refunds RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
Bank Alfa reverses the earlier debit and returns SGD 500.00 to Riya's account, then tells her the payment failed and why. Because the item never settled, no net position for it ever reaches MEPS+.
- CR Riya's current account at Bank Alfa — SGD 500.00
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Returned to Riya — Bank Alfa reversed the debit, so she is made whole almost immediately.
- Settlement
- No settlement occurred for this item; nothing about it is included in the net settlement files sent to MEPS+.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (receiving bank) — Riya checks Arjun's account details against the reason code and can try again once they are correct.
THE TIMELINE
- 01RiyaSends an SGD 500.00 FAST transfer to Arjun; Bank Alfa debits her and hands it to SACH.
- 02FAST / SACHClears the transfer instantly and routes it to Nordbank for crediting.
- 03Nordbank (receiving bank)Cannot apply the credit — the account is closed or invalid — so it rejects the transfer.
FAST clears in real time; a rejection stops the item before it becomes a settled obligation.
- 04Bank AlfaRefunds Riya once the rejection returns; the item never joins the net settlement to MEPS+.
Resolution: FAST clears in real time, so a rejected transfer is reversed before it settles. The payer is made whole and nothing net-settles for that item.
Sources for this scenario2
- Official requirement
FAST and PayNow ↗ — Association of Banks in Singapore · FAST rejects
FAST clears in real time but settles net via MEPS+; PayNow is an addressing overlay on FAST, not a separate settlement system.
- Simplified educational illustration
Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal
What this simplifies: Single-cycle teaching model; participant-specific handling and exact timings vary.
Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.