Payment descriptors

Control the statement text that appears on Pay Out funding debits and vendor credits
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Applies to:DevelopersPartnersPaypoints

A payment descriptor is the text that appears on a bank statement for a transaction. For Pay Out, descriptors help both the paypoint and the vendor recognize what a payment was for when they review their bank activity. Instead of a generic label, a descriptor can name the vendor, list the bills a payment covers, or show the transaction amount.

Payabli builds descriptors from a template. You combine static text with dynamic placeholders, and Payabli replaces each placeholder with the real transaction data when the payment processes. For example, the template Debit for {{VendorName1}} for bill(s): {{BillNumberList}} might render as Debit for Acme Supplies for bill(s): 1043, 1044.

Payabli sets up descriptors for you, per paypoint. Every paypoint starts with a set of default descriptors, and you can request custom templates by working with your Payabli representative.

Custom payment descriptors are available for on-demand payables.

Descriptor contexts

A payout has two sides: Payabli debits the paypoint to fund the payment, then credits the vendor. Each side has its own descriptor.

ContextWhere it appearsDefault descriptor
Funding (debit)The debit that pulls funds from the paypoint to cover a payout. Applies to ACH, check, and virtual card payouts.Debit for {{VendorName1}} for bill(s): {{BillNumberList}}
Vendor (credit)The ACH credit that pays a vendor. Applies to vendors paid by ACH.Credit from {{PaypointDbaName}} for bill(s): {{BillNumberList}}

Payabli applies these defaults when a paypoint is created. You can request custom templates for a paypoint.

Available placeholders

Use these placeholders in a descriptor template. Payabli replaces each one with the corresponding value when the payment processes.

PlaceholderReplaced with
{{BillNumberList}}List of bill or invoice numbers
{{TransactionTotalAmount}}Total transaction amount
{{BillDateList}}List of bill dates
{{LotNumber}}Batch or lot number
{{PayabliTransactionId}}Payabli transaction identifier
{{PaypointDbaName}}The paypoint’s “doing business as” name
{{VendorName1}}Primary vendor name
{{VendorName2}}Secondary vendor name

A descriptor template must include at least one placeholder. You can mix static text with more than one placeholder in a single template.

Configuring descriptors

When you request custom descriptors from the Payabli team, you can:

  • Apply one funding descriptor across all payout methods, or use a separate descriptor for each method (for example, a different template for ACH and virtual card payouts).
  • Set the vendor credit descriptor for ACH payments to vendors.

Each descriptor is specific to its context: funding descriptors control the debit to the paypoint, and vendor descriptors control the credit to the vendor. You can’t use a funding descriptor as a vendor descriptor, or the reverse.

See these related resources to help you get the most out of Payabli.