Many people are now familiar with financial transaction references, as they are common features on most money transfer platforms. However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding references because people often get confused between general references, unique reference numbers, and transaction IDs.
Bank transfer references are a string of numbers, letters, or a combination of both. They are auto-generated. But banks also have a section for general references as a means of custom input.
References are crucial for formal transactions and facilitate interactions between the payer and payee. However, in casual transactions, their significance is often minimal.
Understanding when to prioritize which type of transaction can save you a lot of hassle in the long run. In this article, we will discuss all types of bank transfer references in detail.
Contents
- What Is A Bank Transfer Reference?
- Why Are Bank Transfer Reference Numbers Important?
- General Use Cases of Bank Transfer Reference
- Drawbacks of the Reference systems
- How Do Businesses Use the Reference Field?
- Make Money Transfer Easier
What Is A Bank Transfer Reference?
There are two types of references in monetary transactions. The first is the TRN or transaction reference number— which is usually a unique alphanumeric code attached to the transaction, and the other is the general reference reserved for missives or short descriptions about the transaction.
The creation of TRN or the transaction reference number is an automated process. Most modern banking systems use this feature to create identifiers for each transaction. The TRN serves as a unique identifier for each transaction.
The general reference section, unlike the TRN, involves manual input. Secondly, it is not limited to a string of numbers or codes. The sender can put pretty much anything in there. The general reference can be a short message detailing the transaction or even something more unique, depending on the situation.
Why Are Bank Transfer Reference Numbers Important?
The TRN or transfer reference number is extremely important in modern banking systems because using references in bank transfers helps with record-keeping. Both the sender and the bank can refer to the TRN if they face any issues.
The record-keeping nature of the transfer reference number also helps businesses keep track of their transaction when their clients transfer money through the banking system. However, large business entities do not rely too much on machine-generated TRN for their bookkeeping.
Nevertheless, the transfer reference number helps streamline customer interaction with the bank. Instead of disclosing personal information, transaction date, and amount, the sender can simply inquire using the transaction reference number if they face any issues.
Naturally, the unique nature of the reference number also helps increase security. It becomes much harder for fraudulent financial activities to go unnoticed since you can trace all transactions with their unique identifier.
General Use Cases of Bank Transfer Reference
Now that you know about the transfer reference number, let’s discuss the “reference” field in bank transactions. The general reference does not mean a unique identifier, unlike the TRN. It is an open-ended reference box that you can fill manually.
The most common way to use the reference field is to mention the details of a transaction. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the reference. It can be anything.
But naturally, there’s a limit to how many characters you can use. You will need to keep your text within that limit. The exact character limit can vary based on region or bank. Regardless of what you write, it’ll have very little impact on the transaction.
Drawbacks of the Reference systems
The sole reason for using references is to create a trackable record. Such is true for both the general reference and the auto-generated TRN codes. Unless your bank runs a TRN generator from the dinosaur era, there should be no duplicate generation issue or anything of that sort.
The benefit of the TRN is that it is tied to individual transactions. It is its sole purpose and also its greatest drawback. Every transaction having a unique tracker is good, but it can make things messy for businesses if they try to use it to keep track of their clients.
It is usually better to record every transaction with a client in a single list. That’s why businesses often assign a unique reference ID to a client and ask them to use that as their transaction reference.
The general reference is susceptible to human error because of the manual input process. That can make things complicated as far as record-keeping goes. But that’s quite easy to sort out. The business simply needs to look through your account information to match the transaction with your payment reference.
How Do Businesses Use the Reference Field?
Things get a little more serious when it comes to business transactions. Each business uses the customer reference to keep track of its client list, but the process is not uniform across all companies.
In most cases, they assign each supplier or client a unique transaction ID. But some companies don't bother doing all that and simply ask the client to enter their name or contact info instead.
This system helps businesses keep track of their customers. Because, unlike the randomly generated unique transfer reference number, the transaction ID provided by a business is unique to individual clients. So, it helps them sort the transactions better.
And if they need to look back at a specific transaction with a specific client, they can always refer to the TRN.
Make Money Transfer Easier
Bank transfer reference numbers are a great way to organize your transaction history and prevent potential financial fraud. The difference between TRN and general reference is that the TRN is unique to each transaction, while the general reference can be anything.
Transferring money on a global scale comes with its own set of complications. If you want a hassle-free and secure platform for money transfers, feel free to check out our services. We have an extensive network of branch payment references and agent locations globally.
We, at Small World, are always looking to provide the best possible service. You can avail of our services through any platform, be it iOS, Android, or PC.
