How to Track a Banking Transaction Number

Moving money from one place to another has never been easier. Because of services like PayPal, Venmo and your own bank's money transfer options, there's no need to go to an ATM or write a check when you can send money electronically. If you have a transaction number, you can track down the status of a bank transfer, whether it's through the service that you used to send the money or a third-party trace initiated by your financial institution.

When you read through your bank statement, you'll see a list of transactions, along with details of payees and amounts. In some cases, banks display a transaction number with each of those activities that can be used for reference purposes. In others, though, those numbers are maintained behind the scenes, and you'll have to refer to the transaction by the payee, payor and/or date.

If you've initiated an electronic funds transfer, though, transaction numbers are an important part of the process. At some point you may need to check the bank transaction status for the transfer. In addition to displaying in your account, that number may be attached to any receipt or confirmation email you received when you set up the transaction.

Whether you initiate a funds transfer through your own bank or a third-party provider, the service should provide a number. This may be a confirmation number or a tracking number, but either way, you should be able to use it to track your transaction if there isn't an easy way to do that through the service. Look at the receipt or confirmation email for a number that can serve as an ID.

But usually the first stop when you're looking for information on a transaction is with the service you used for the transfer. If you sent the request through your bank, log onto your banking site and browse the list of recent transactions. It may be listed in a separate section dedicated to transfers. Here you should find information on the status of the transfer, as well as the transaction ID tracking number if you need that.

If you don't have transaction ID tracking, or tracking it that way doesn't work, you can work with your bank to track your transfer. When the person on the other end says they haven't yet received the money and it's been more than a few days, this may be the only recourse.

You should also check any receipt or confirmation you have to ensure all information was entered correctly since even one typo can cause the money to be misrouted. In addition to your own bank, you also have the option of getting in touch with the recipient's bank to see if they can determine the bank transaction status from their end.

One of the top reasons for transaction ID tracking is the need to cancel the transaction. Many services actually allow this, as long as you catch it early enough in the transfer. In fact, the law protects you if you cancel the transfer within 30 minutes of initiating it. Even if you think too much time has passed, though, it's worth it to check to see if you can still cancel it.

To cancel a funds transfer, go to the account where you would view your bank transaction status and find the transaction in question. In some cases, you'll see an option to cancel the transaction there. If not, you may have to track down the customer service number or, if you sent it through your bank, visit a local branch to stop the process.