Configure a statement reference

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This feature is UK only

Currently, this feature is supported by most UK banks.

The statement_reference field inside the beneficiary object controls what your customer sees on their bank statement, in the ‘reference’ field, after a closed-loop payment. This string has a limit of 18 characters.

If you leave this field empty, a random string generated by TrueLayer displays on your user’s bank statement instead. The content of this string may not be easily understandable to an end user, so we recommend using a statement_reference for a better user experience.

Setting a custom reference enables you to contextualise a payment on your user's bank statements, and more easily identify a specific payment in case of issues. A reference that your users recognise throughout their payment journey is also likely to help limit dropoffs.

This is an example of a beneficiary object including a statement_reference:

"beneficiary": {
      "type": "merchant_account",
      "verification": {
        "type": "automated"
      },
      "statement_reference": "payment-ref",
      "merchant_account_id": "AB8FA060-3F1B-4AE8-9692-4AA3131020D0",
      "account_holder_name": "Ben Eficiary"
    }
  }

Not all banks support this feature

A few smaller banking providers may not support this feature. For these banks, the other reference fields will be used on your customers’ bank statements instead.

Other reference types

The other reference field, which is also found inside the beneficiary object, works for internal references. You can also use metadata within a payment request.

All reference types can be seen in Console, including in reports.