What may occur if a payment lacks sufficient information during reconciliation?

When a payment lacks sufficient information during reconciliation, it may be returned to the sender. This process occurs because the receiving party typically needs adequate details to identify the payment and link it to the correct account or purpose. If the necessary information is missing—such as invoice numbers, references, or sufficient payer identification—the reconciliation process cannot proceed accurately. As a result, to ensure that funds are accounted for correctly and to prevent errors, the payment is often returned. This measure protects both the sender and receiver, ensuring that no misappropriations or miscommunications occur regarding the transaction.

The other options, such as automatic application or ignoring the payment entirely, are less practical in a reconciliation context, as they do not address the need for transparency and accuracy in financial transactions. Depositing the payment in a suspense account might occur in some cases where information is partially available, but returning it to the sender is a more common action taken to rectify incomplete information.