Why reconciliation matters
A successful API response tells you a partner received an instruction, not that the recipient was paid. Statuses can change later, payments can be returned and fees can differ from what was expected. Regular reconciliation finds these differences before they become customer complaints or funding gaps.
What to compare
For each transfer, compare your reference, amount, currency, status and dates with the partner’s report or statement. Then compare totals: the funds you placed with the partner, the payouts they made and the balance they report. Both views are needed; matching totals can hide offsetting errors.
Common mismatches
Typical differences include a transfer that is pending in your system but completed at the partner, a payout the partner returned, a duplicate instruction, an unexpected partner fee and timing differences around the end of the day. Each needs a named owner and a recorded outcome.
Prefunding and partner balances
Some partners require money to be placed with them before they pay out. Track those deposits and the partner balance as carefully as your own branch floats, and set an alert before the balance runs low. Partner funding is a different record from branch prefunding, even when the same team manages both.
Build reconciliation into the routine
Agree how often each partner is reconciled, who does it and how differences are escalated. Keep evidence of every completed reconciliation. During implementation, confirm which steps your software automates and which remain manual for each partner, because this depends on the partner’s reporting and API.