Payout
Also known as: Merchant payout, Merchant settlement
A payout is the transfer of a merchant's net card takings to the merchant's bank account, after fees and refunds, on the schedule in the acquiring agreement. It is the merchant-facing step, distinct from scheme-level settlement.
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Example
A café takes €2,000 on Monday and €1,500 on Tuesday. A payout of €3,420 arrives on Thursday. The €80 gap is fees and one refund, spread over two days.
Payout is the line on the bank statement. It is the one the merchant waits for.
It is the transfer of a merchant's net takings from the acquirer, or the provider working for it, to the merchant's bank account. Net means after fees and after refunds. The schedule, the delay and the minimum amount sit in the contract. Daily, weekly and on-demand payouts all exist.
It is not settlement. Settlement happens between the institutions in the card scheme. Payout happens between the acquirer and the merchant. They can happen on different days. They can be different amounts. One is a scheme process, the other is a contractual promise.
In card acquiring the money can move in two steps: the acquirer first receives the funds into an account it holds, then transfers them on to the merchant's own bank account. That second step is the payout. It happens on the contract's schedule.
Once funds reach the merchant's payment service provider, PSD2 requires them to be made available immediately (Article 87). How quickly an acquirer passes scheme funds on is set by its model and contract, which is why payout schedules differ.
Two habits cost cash.
They compare headline fees and ignore the calendar. A payout that arrives two days later costs a small business real cash flow.
They expect one payout per day to equal one day of sales. It rarely does. It bundles several days, minus fees, minus refunds, minus any chargeback.
The question to ask a provider is not only what it charges. It is: on which day, and for which sales, will I be paid?
That is also why reconciliation exists.
