Understand transaction statuses
What pending, processing, completed, and failed mean — and what to do about each.
Updated 21 August 2026
Every sale in Swipee carries a status. Knowing what each one means saves you from charging a customer twice.
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The sale has been created but payment has not started | Complete the payment or cancel the sale |
| Processing | Payment is under way | Wait. Do not start a second sale for the same basket |
| Completed | Payment succeeded and the sale is final | Hand over goods and issue the receipt |
| Failed | Payment did not succeed | Nothing was charged. Try again or use another method |
A sale is stuck on processing
Give it up to a minute — a weak connection can slow the confirmation, not the payment.
If it is still processing after that:
- 1Pull down to refresh the transaction list.
- 2Check whether a completed sale for the same amount has appeared.
- 3Only if none has, take the payment again.
Swipee protects against accidental double charges: a repeated request for the same sale within 24 hours returns the original result instead of charging twice.
A sale failed
Failed means no money moved. The transaction detail shows the reason where one was given — declined, insufficient funds, expired card, network. Try the payment again, or take it with a different method.
Every sale has a reference
The reference is the unique identifier for the sale. Use it when you contact support, when you match a mobile-money confirmation to a Swipee record, or when a customer queries a charge. You will find it on the receipt and at the top of the transaction detail.
Next steps
Was this article helpful?