References and Statuses: Payouts (Disbursements)
When making payouts, understanding your payout references and transaction states keep your operations accurate and your automation reliable.
The References IDs
Every payout on Monnify carries two unique identifiers; one from you and one from Monnify.
- Reference: This is the internal tracking number your system creates before initiating a payout. It must be strictly unique for every payout attempt.
- transactionReference: This is generated by Monnify. Once your payout enters the Monnify system, we assign this identifier and return it in the API response. Use this when querying payout status or escalating an issue with the Monnify team.
The reference is how you track the payout. The transactionReference is how Monnify tracks it.
Status: What It Means and Who It's For
Status tells you exactly where a payout is in its lifecycle, from the moment it is initiated to the moment it lands (or doesn't). It is visible on your Monnify Dashboard and is the key field your engineering and finance teams will rely on for payout reconciliation and automation.
A status of SUCCESS confirms that funds have left your account and reached the recipient. Any other state means the payout is still in progress, awaiting authorisation, or requires attention.
The full list of valid Statuses for payouts:
SUCCESS · FAILED · PENDING · IN_PROGRESS · REVERSED · PENDING_AUTHORIZATION · PENDING_BATCH_AUTHORIZATION