# Approving Payment Methods
#### Abstract
This article covers the essential steps to review and approve newly added payment methods after a payee has completed the onboarding invitation. Approving payment methods ensures vendor or customer details are accurate and properly validated before any payments are processed. For example, when a supplier updates their address or contact information, approvers must confirm these changes to avoid payment errors and maintain accurate records.
In this guide, you will learn how to locate payment methods awaiting approval, verify the vendor or payee information, approve or reject the proposed details, and confirm the successful creation of an approved payment method.
#### Locating Payment Methods Pending Approval
Before approving a payment method, you need to know where to find any payee submissions waiting for your review. This ensures you can quickly access pending items and decide whether to proceed with approval or rejection.
Follow these steps to finalize the approval process for **Payment Methods**:
1. Begin by hovering over the **Charted** menu, then **AP Automation**, and clicking the **Home** tab:\
2. **Next**, click the **Payees** option on the left to open the **Payees** list:\
\
\
Here, you will see all the payees you have imported:\
3. To start finalizing the **Payment Method**, choose a **Payee** from the list (eg., **ABC Office Supply**), and it will open a new screen for its details:\
\
\
Note: If an **Invite** is already sent to them and completed, the **STATUS** will be **CLOSED**:\
4. Under the **Payment Methods** section, you will see all **Payment Methods** associated to the payee. If the payment method Status is **Pending Approval**, that means you have to approve the payment method.\
5. To begin reviewing the **Payment Methods** submitted for approvals, click the **Payment Methods** tab from the left sidebar menu:****\
6. Once you're in the **Payment Methods to Approve** page, you can see all **Payment Methods** that have the status of **Pending Approval**:\
7. To ensure accuracy, carefully review the details submitted by the vendor or customer. The business is responsible for confirming the legitimacy and correctness of these fields. If further verification is needed, use the phone number on file to contact the payee and confirm the submitted details.
### Reviewing and Approving Submitted Information
After opening a pending record, administrators must review the payment method type and accompanying information. Approvals can be partial, allowing businesses to approve correct data while rejecting any errors.
1. To process a specific request, open a pending **Payment Method** by clicking on the row:\
\
\
It will open a screen for the **Payment Method** page:\
2. To review a submission, check the **Requested** **Payment Method Type** (e.g., **Check**) and other important information:\
\
\
Note: If the payee's preferred payment method checkbox is enabled, it will designate this method as the default payment method for the payee. Since each payee must have a preferred method to trigger **Payment Automation**, it's generally recommended to leave this checked unless a different method will be prioritized.\
3. Upon reviewing personal or company information, note that field changes will be flagged with an 'Accept Requested' checkbox. \
\
Note: If any field contains errors or needs to be rejected, uncheck the box next to that field. This allows you to accept only the accurate parts of the submission without fully rejecting the payment method:\
4. Once all necessary fields have been reviewed and selected, click the **Approve** button to confirm the payment method and related details:\
### Verifying the Approval Outcome
After approval, it's important to confirm that the payment method was successfully applied and designated as preferred.
1. Now, to verify the status update, return to the vendor's record and confirm that the payee's status has moved from **Pending** to **Complete**:\
2. To confirm the payment method on file, click on the payee and look for the **Payment Method** section to ensure that your payment method status is Approved.
1. To set the Payment Method as Preferred, click on the **". . ."** icon and **Set preferred**. Only approved Payment Methods can be set as preferred.\
3. You may click on the **Payment Method** entry to view the full **Payment Method Details** to double check details.\
