The Hidden Cost of Failed Payments: Why 19% Fail Before Sending

Prometeo's analysis of millions of bank account verifications across the Americas has established an operational benchmark, underscoring a critical point of friction: 19% of corporate transactions are initiated with structural errors.

This operational risk is divided into two fundamental problems. First, Data Accuracy Risk, where an average of 12% of payment attempts begin with incorrect information, such as misspelled names, wrong identification numbers, or invalid formats. Second, Account Validity Risk, responsible for 7% of payments being directed to non-existent, closed, or inactive accounts, representing a direct threat to a company's capital.

Operational inefficiency is not identical across all markets. While certain geographies show a massive amount of data entry errors, others face high volatility in account status.

Here is the risk breakdown by country based on consolidated performance during 2025:

• Brazil: 28% Data Accuracy Risk, 22% Account Validity Risk, 50% Total Risk.
• Colombia: 16% Data Accuracy Risk, 32% Account Validity Risk, 48% Total Risk.
• Chile: 24% Data Accuracy Risk, 18% Account Validity Risk, 42% Total Risk.
• United States: 20% Data Accuracy Risk, 10% Account Validity Risk, 30% Total Risk.
• Ecuador: 19% Data Accuracy Risk, 3% Account Validity Risk, 22% Total Risk.
• Mexico: 14% Data Accuracy Risk, 7% Account Validity Risk, 21% Total Risk.
• Uruguay: 11% Data Accuracy Risk, 8% Account Validity Risk, 19% Total Risk.
• Argentina: 3% Data Accuracy Risk, 8% Account Validity Risk, 11% Total Risk.
• Peru: 4% Data Accuracy Risk, 4% Account Validity Risk, 9% Total Risk.

In Brazil and Chile, the main obstacle stems from the human factor, as the greatest risks derive from incorrectly entered data. Conversely, Colombia leads the risk of invalid accounts, with nearly a third of payments directed to non-existent destinations. The severity in Brazil and Colombia is so high that practically 1 in every 2 payments requires pre-payment validation to ensure successful delivery.

Not all solutions verify the same things. Validating only the length or characters of an account number does not prevent funds from being sent to canceled or blocked accounts. True bank account verification must confirm existence, activity status, and ownership match before a bank transfer payment is initiated.

At Prometeo, we absorb the complexity of multiple local systems, turning it into a unified infrastructure layer. Our borderless API translates fragmented banking formats into a standard language and enriches incomplete input data. This enables companies to identify accuracy or validity risks before executing a transfer across more than 50 countries.

Solving the payment problem from the infrastructure layer generates direct financial and operational impacts:

• Fewer failed payments: Reduces the loss of funds in corporate transactions by ensuring the destination is valid and accurate right from the start of the operation.
• Less manual reconciliation work: Treasury teams drastically decrease the hours spent auditing returns and investigating bounced transactions.

Broader global coverage without new integrations: A single API facilitates the expansion of payment operations globally without the business needing to build connections bank by bank or country by country.

Processing cross-border payments under the assumption that databases are always correct means accepting that nearly one in five operations will end in a lengthy recovery process. The data confirms that validating accounts is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity for the financial survival of any corporate operation. Prometeo's infrastructure eliminates the possibility of sending money into a void.

Stop leaving your cross-border operations to chance. Schedule a call with our team to discuss your current payment flows and discover how our single API can reduce your operational risks and accelerate your expansion across the Americas.

What is Data Accuracy Risk in bank transfers?

Operational risk related to payment attempts can occur when initial information is incorrect, such as invalid formats, typos, or wrong IDs. This specific risk is observed in an average of 12% of all payments verified by Prometeo throughout the Americas.

What does Account Validity Risk indicate in B2B payments?

It indicates the risk of a payment attempt being directed to an account that is non-existent, closed, or inactive, which inevitably causes the funds to bounce. Across the Americas, the average occurrence of this particular risk is 7% across all payments verified by Prometeo.

How does Prometeo’s infrastructure actively reduce payment risks and errors?

Prometeo functions as a unified infrastructure layer that standardizes fragmented banking formats across 50+ countries. This mechanism enables on-the-fly verification of payment details, actively mitigating Data Accuracy Risk (incorrect formats, typos). At the same time, the API queries local systems in real-time to confirm account existence and active status, proactively eliminating Account Validity Risk before the transfer is initiated.