Payer Action Best Practices

Once a trade has been affirmed by the Receiver in Atlantis, it moves to Payer Review for further actions. Payers have three actions that they can take in Atlantis: Approve, Hold, and Reject. To help Payers understand which actions should be taken on trades, the below information breaks down the various available actions, when each should be used, and what actions need to be taken next in order to move the trade towards settlement.

When Should Firms Approve Trades?

Once a trade moves to Payer Review, a reconciliation needs to take place between Atlantis data and the Payer's internal books. If the internal books match the Atlantis data Affirmed by the Receiver, Payers should Approve the trade. Once a trade has been Affirmed and Approved, it moves to "Complete" status in Atlantis and moves towards settlement in the next eligible cycle. 

When Should Firms Hold or Reject Trades?

When Payers perform reconciliations of Atlantis data to internal books, often times there appear to be discrepancies which require further investigation with clients, client service reps, and sales teams. The following actions should be taken in these instances:

1. Payers should put the trade on Hold using the applicable Payer Hold Reason when they begin an internal investigation regarding the discrepancy in accrual

• This action will remove the trade from "Neutral" status and will advise the Receiver what investigation is currently being done on the trade
• When possible Payers should leave detailed comments along with the Payer Hold reason in order to provide as much information about the latest status of the internal investigation to the Receiver as possible

2. Post the completion of the investigation, the Payer needs to either Approve or Reject the trades

• If the client has agreed with the billed rate and the original accrual was deemed incorrect, the Payer needs to Approve the trade to move it towards settlement
• If the client has disagreed with the billed rate and has advised the correct rate, the Payer needs to Reject the trade using the applicable Reject Reason and leave a detailed Comment for the Receiver to further investigate

Please Note: Payers should not reject trades if they need to perform an internal investigation on the accrual discrepancy. The trades should be put on hold using the applicable Payer Hold reason. Payers should only Reject trades when they are fully certain that the client disagrees with the billed rates.

Understanding Payer Hold Reasons

There are several Payer Hold Reasons that can be used by Payers to label the issues under investigation. The following breakdown of each Payer Hold reason explains when firms should utilize each of these in Atlantis. 

Agreement ID Under Review

• The Agreement ID used to calculate the fee on the trade by the Receiver does not match the Agreement ID used to calculate the fee on the trade by the Payer
• If the Receiver has amended the Agreement ID on the trade using the Adjusted Agreement functionality, the Payer should use this Payer Hold reason while investigating if the Adjusted Agreement ID matches the client's records
• Next Actions: If the Payer disagrees with the Adjusted Agreement ID used by the Receiver, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Agreement ID" reason and put the correct agreement ID in the Reject Comment. If the Payer agrees with the Adjusted Agreement ID used by the Receiver, they should Approve the trade

Bill Client Directly Under Review

• Payer believes that the Trader/Customer party is the Payer on the trade but needs to investigate this internally
• Next Actions: If the Payer has proper evidence that the Trader/Customer party should be the Bill to Party on the trade, they need to Reject the trade using the "Bill Client Directly" reason. If the Payer realizes they are the correct Payer on the trades as per the agreement and client confirmation, they should Approve the trade
• Required Docs Updates: If the Payer believes the calculated Agreement ID shows the wrong Bill to Party, they need to ask their Docs team to update the calculated Agreement ID to show the correct Bill to Party to avoid the issue moving forward 

Brokerage Currency Code Under Review

• The brokerage currency Affirmed by the Receiver does not match the brokerage currency collected by the Payer
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the billed currency is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Brokerage Currency Code" reason and note the correct Brokerage Currency in the Reject comment. If the Payer realizes that the billed currency is correct as per the GUA and/or client confirmation, they should approve the trade and amend their accrual to match the correct currency
• Required Docs Updates: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Brokerage Currency Code, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Brokerage Currency Code on the rate schedule

Clearing Account Under Review

• The clearing account affirmed by the Receiver does not match the Payer's books, such as through the use of Receiver updating the Give Up Reference on the trade
• The Payer needs to perform an investigation in order to find the correct end account related to the trade (often an issue with average price and omni accounts)
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Clearing Account is being used to calculate the rate on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Clearing Account" reason and note the correct Clearing Account in the Reject Comment. If the Payer agrees with the Clearing Account as per Atlantis, they should approve the trades
• Required Docs Updates: Please reference the Clearing Account Best Practices article for further information regarding how to use Docs to manage Clearing Account issues in Atlantis

Executing Account Under Review

• The executing account affirmed by the Receiver does not match the Payer's books, such as through the use of Receiver updating the Executing Account on the trade
• The Payer needs to perform an investigation in order to find the correct executing account related to the trade
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Executing Account is being used to calculate the rate on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Executing Account" reason and note the correct Executing Account in the Reject Comment. If the Payer agrees with the Executing Account as per Atlantis, they should approve the trades
• Required Docs Updates: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Executing Account, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Executing Account on the agreement

Don't Know Trade Under Review

• The trade details affirmed by the Receiver do not match the Payer's books, such as discrepancies in Exchange Code, Exchange Product Code, Quantity, and Price
• The Payer needs to perform an investigation in order to find the applicable trades internally
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from client that the trades do not belong to them, they should contact their internal Trade Management team to find out which client cleared the trades showing in Atlantis. If the Payer believes the trades are reflecting an incorrect Payer in Atlantis, they should work to identify the correct Payer. Atlantis Support can help firms with Third Party Payer situations if needed. 

Execution Method Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with an Execution Method that does not match Payer accrual
• If the client did not specifically notify the Payer of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation, the trade should be put on Hold by the Payer while they investigate the correct Execution Method with the client
• Next Actions: If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Execution Method is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Execution Method" reason and note the correct Execution Method in the Reject comment. If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Execution Method is correct, they should Approve the trade

Spread Type Code Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with a Spread Type that does not match Payer accrual
• If the client did not specifically notify the Payer of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation, the trade should be put on Hold by the Payer while they investigate the correct Spread Type with the client
• Next Actions: If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Spread Type is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Spread Type" reason and note the correct Spread Type in the Reject comment. If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Spread Type is correct, they should Approve the trade

Transaction Type Code Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with a Transaction Type that does not match Payer accrual
• If the client did not specifically notify the Payer of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation, the trade should be put on Hold by the Payer while they investigate the correct Transaction Type with the client
• Next Actions: If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Transaction Type is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Transaction Type" reason and note the correct Transaction Type in the Reject comment. If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Transaction Type is correct, they should Approve the trade

Tax Rate Country Code Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with a Tax Rate Country Code that does not match Payer accrual
• If the client did not specifically notify the Payer of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation, the trade should be put on Hold by the Payer while they investigate the correct Tax Rate Country Code with the client
• Next Actions: If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Tax Rate Country Code is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Tax Rate Country Code" reason and note the correct Tax Rate Country Code in the Reject comment. If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Tax Rate Country Code is correct, they should Approve the trade

Rate Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with a Rate that does not match Payer accrual
• Firms should use rates as per the calculated Agreement ID as the correct rate to use on the trade unless they have explicit client confirmation not to use the calculated Agreement Rate
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Rate is being used to calculate the fee on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Rate" reason and note the correct Rate in the Reject Comment. If the Payer agrees with the Rate as per Atlantis, they should approve the trades 
• Required Docs Actions: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Rate, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Rate on the agreement
• Please Note: This Payer Hold reason should only be used when the execution commission rate is being investigated. If the Payer is investigating any other trade details (ie. execution method, transaction type, spread type, etc) that impact the Rate calculation, they should use a different Payer Hold reason

Fee Amount Under Review

• The trade was affirmed by Receiver with a Fee Amount that does not match Payer accrual
• Firms should use rates as per the calculated Agreement ID as the correct rate to use on the trade unless they have explicit client confirmation not to use the calculated Agreement Rate
• Next Actions: If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Fee Amount is calculated on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Fee Amount" reason and note the correct Fee Amount in the Reject Comment. If the Payer agrees with the Fee Amount as per Atlantis, they should approve the trades 
• Required Docs Actions: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Rate, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Rate on the agreement
• Please Note: This Payer Hold reason should only be used when the calculated Fee Amount is being investigated. If the Payer is investigating any other trade details (ie. execution method, transaction type, spread type, etc) that impact the Fee Amount calculation, they should use a different Payer Hold reason

Understanding Payer Reject Reasons

Once a Payer completes an internal investigation and deems the billed fees incorrect, they need to Reject the trade in order to send it back to Receiver Review. There are several Payer Reject Reasons that can be used by Payers to label the incorrectly billed areas. The following breakdown of each Payer Reject reason explains when firms should utilize each of these in Atlantis. 

Incorrect Agreement ID

• Should only be used when an incorrect Agreement ID was Adjusted on the trade by the Receiver
• If the Payer disagrees with the Adjusted Agreement ID used by the Receiver, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Agreement ID" reason and put the correct agreement ID in the Reject Comment

Bill Client Directly

• Payer believes that the Trader/Customer party is the Payer on the trade
• If the Payer has proper evidence that the Trader/Customer party should be the Bill to Party on the trade, they need to Reject the trade using the "Bill Client Directly" reason
• Required Docs Updates: If the Payer believes the calculated Agreement ID shows the wrong Bill to Party, they need to ask their Docs team to update the calculated Agreement ID to show the correct Bill to Party to avoid the issue moving forward 

Incorrect Brokerage Currency Code

• The brokerage currency Affirmed by the Receiver is not correct as per calculated GUA and/or client confirmation
• If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the billed currency is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Brokerage Currency Code" reason and note the correct Brokerage Currency in the Reject comment
• Required Docs Updates: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Brokerage Currency Code, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Brokerage Currency Code on the rate schedule

Incorrect Clearing Account

• The Payer disagrees with the amended Give Up Reference on the trade Affirmed by Receiver
• If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Clearing Account/Give Up Reference is being used to calculate the rate on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Clearing Account" reason and note the correct Clearing Account in the Reject Comment
• Required Docs Updates: Please reference the Clearing Account Best Practices article for further information regarding how to use Docs to manage Clearing Account issues in Atlantis

Incorrect Executing Account

• The Payer disagrees with the amended Executing Account on the trade Affirmed by Receiver
• If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Executing Account is being used to calculate the rate on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Executing Account" reason and note the correct Executing Account in the Reject Comment
• Required Docs Updates: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Executing Account, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Executing Account on the agreement

Don't Know Trade

• The Payer is unable to find matching trades on their books based on the trade details Affirmed by the Receiver including Exchange Code, Exchange Product Code, Quantity, and Price
• If the Payer has performed a full reconciliation with client and the firm's Trade Management team and the trades have not been found, the Payer should Reject the trade using the "Don't Know Trade" reason and note which trade details were not found in the Reject Comment
• If the Payer believes the trades are reflecting an incorrect Payer in Atlantis, they should work to identify the correct Payer. Atlantis Support can help firms with Third Party Payer situations if needed. 
• Please Note: Payers should not use this reject reason on exchanges where Atlantis receives direct exchange feeds

Incorrect Execution Method Code

• If a client passes details of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation to the Payer, the Payer should Reject the trade if there is a discrepancy between the billed Execution Method and the Voice/Electronic amendment that was posted on the Payer's accrual as per the client confirmation
• If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Execution Method is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Execution Method" reason and note the correct Execution Method in the Reject comment

Incorrect Spread Type Code

• If a client passes details of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation to the Payer, the Payer should Reject the trade if there is a discrepancy between the billed Spread Type and the Spread type amendment that was posted on the Payer's accrual as per the client confirmation
• If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Spread Type is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Spread Type" reason and note the correct Spread Type in the Reject comment

Incorrect Transaction Type Code

• If a client passes details of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation to the Payer, the Payer should Reject the trade if there is a discrepancy between the billed Transaction Type and the Transaction type amendment that was posted on the Payer's accrual as per the client confirmation
• If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Transaction Type is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Transaction Type" reason and note the correct Transaction Type in the Reject comment

Incorrect Tax Rate Country Code

• If a client passes details of how the trade was executed at the point of trade and/or allocation to the Payer, the Payer should Reject the trade if there is a discrepancy between the billed Tax Rate Country Code and the Tax Rate Country Code amendment that was posted on the Payer's accrual as per the client confirmation
• If the Payer receives client confirmation that the billed Tax Rate Country Code is incorrect, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Tax Rate Country Code" reason and note the correct Tax Rate Country Code in the Reject comment

Incorrect Rate

• Firms should use rates as per the calculated Agreement ID as the correct rate to use on the trade unless they have explicit client confirmation not to use the calculated Agreement Rate
• If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Rate is being used to calculate the fee on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Rate" reason and note the correct Rate in the Reject Comment
• Required Docs Actions: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Rate, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Rate on the agreement
• Please Note: This Payer Reject reason should only be used when the execution commission rate is deemed incorrect. If the Payer is rejecting any other trade details (ie. execution method, transaction type, spread type, etc) that impact the Rate calculation, they should use a different Payer Reject reason

Incorrect Fee Amount

• Firms should use rates as per the calculated Agreement ID as the correct rate to use on the trade unless they have explicit client confirmation not to use the calculated Agreement Rate
• If the Payer has confirmation from the calculated GUA and/or client that the wrong Fee Amount is calculated on the trade, they should Reject the trade using the "Incorrect Fee Amount" reason and note the correct Fee Amount in the Reject Comment
• Required Docs Actions: If the calculated agreement in Atlantis shows an incorrect Rate, the Payers should ask the Receiver's Docs team to update the agreement to reflect the correct Rate on the agreement
• Please Note: This Payer Reject reason should only be used when the calculated Fee Amount is being investigated. If the Payer is rejecting any other trade details (ie. execution method, transaction type, spread type, etc) that impact the Fee Amount calculation, they should use a different Payer Reject reason