Cancel Outbound SWIFT Payments

This guide covers cancelling payments you sent. On your side everything is referenced by the payment’s transaction ID - the same ID you got when creating the payment; matching on the SWIFT network is handled by the platform. For the opposite direction - another bank asking back a payment you received - see Respond to cancellation requests. How a cancellation plays out depends on where the payment is:

Not yet sent to SWIFT (Created, To sign, Signed) - cancelled locally, nothing goes to the network
Already sent - cancellation becomes a request (camt.056) that the correspondent may accept or reject

Once the payment is on the network, cancellation is a request, not a guarantee. The other side may accept or reject it depending on whether funds have been credited.

Flows

Before sending (local)
Cancellation request (camt.056)

While the payment has not yet gone out to the SWIFT network, it can be cancelled locally: the payment simply moves to Cancelled and nothing is sent to SWIFT. No camt.056, no correspondent involved, guaranteed outcome.This window exists when transaction signing is enabled for your tenant - the payment waits in To sign until someone approves it, and declining it cancels the payment. Without signing, the payment is dispatched to the network right after creation, so there is no local cancellation window.

Decline the payment

With transaction signing enabled, decline the payment instead of signing it - via the decline API or the PGW UI.

Payment is cancelled locally

The payment moves to Cancelled (final) and you receive the status webhook. Funds are never debited.

After the payment reaches Sent to clear, local cancellation is no longer possible - use the Cancellation request flow in the next tab.

You request cancellation by the payment’s transaction ID; the platform sends the request to the correspondent bank over the SWIFT network and matches the answer to your payment automatically.

You request cancellation

The platform first runs a capability check: cancellation support is configured per correspondent (deny by default). If the correspondent does not support cancellation, the request is refused immediately with a clear error and nothing is sent to the network. Otherwise the request is created - webhook CANCELLATION_IN_PROGRESS.

camt.056 sent to the correspondent

The cancellation request (camt.056) is signed and sent through SWIFT with your reason code, referencing the original payment.

Correspondent decides

There is no separate “accepted” message - the correspondent either sends the money back or refuses.

Accepted: funds come back

Acceptance is the returned money: a pacs.004 payment return arrives - webhook PAYMENT_RETURNED (final). A separate Payment return transaction is created, linked to the original and tracked to completion via the SWIFT Frontend Tracker like any other return.

Rejected: payment proceeds

A camt.029 resolution arrives with the rejection reason - webhook CANCELLATION_REFUSED; the original payment settles normally.

Webhooks

Two webhook types are involved: the payment itself emits Payment Status Change events, while the cancellation request emits Payment Cancellation Status Change events.

Status values are shown exactly as they arrive on the wire: the Payment Status Change webhook uses title case (Cancelled, Sent to clear), the Cancellation Status Change webhook uses upper snake case (CANCELLATION_IN_PROGRESS, PAYMENT_RETURNED).

Event	Webhook	`status`
Payment declined before sending	Payment Status Change	`Cancelled`
Cancellation request created	Cancellation Status Change	`CANCELLATION_IN_PROGRESS`
Funds returned - `pacs.004` received	Cancellation Status Change	`PAYMENT_RETURNED` (final)
Return transaction lifecycle	Payment Status Change (`type=Payment return`)	`Created` → `Sent to clear` → (`Accepted`) → `Completed`
Correspondent refused - `camt.029` received	Cancellation Status Change	`CANCELLATION_REFUSED`

Getting Started

Integration Guide

Account Management

SEPA Instant/SCT

SEPA Direct Debit

SWIFT Payments

Payment Information

Investigations (Preview)

Nostro Accounts

Bank Information

Webhooks

Flows

Webhooks

API Reference

Cancel Transaction

Next Steps

Payment statuses

Statements

​Flows

​Webhooks

​API Reference

Cancel Transaction

​Next Steps

Payment statuses

Statements

Flows

Webhooks

API Reference

Next Steps