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Payments

Settlement and payout

Funds moving from the card networks to your bank account, usually in batches and net of fees.

Settlement is the actual movement of money after capture. Funds arrive in batches, days later, net of processing fees and any deductions for refunds and chargebacks.

Because a payout is a net batch and not a per-transaction transfer, matching payouts back to invoices requires reconciliation. One deposit may cover eight hundred charges, twelve refunds and a fee line.

Settlement timing is a cash flow input, not just an accounting one, and it varies by country, method and risk profile. Bank debit rails settle slower than cards but cost far less.

Related terms

  • Authorization and capture Authorization reserves funds; capture takes them. The gap between the two is where a lot of billing logic lives.
  • Reconciliation Matching what you invoiced to what you were paid to what landed in the bank, and explaining every difference.
  • Chargeback A cardholder disputing a charge with their bank, reversing the payment and adding a fee regardless of the outcome.