Every business day, the previous day's transactions are sent to Lightspeed Payments to begin the settlement process. Generally, you can expect to see settlements deposited into your bank account within 2 business days after the original transaction, but a number of circumstances may affect this timeline. Here's a quick overview of the process so you can better understand when to expect your funds.

How transactions are sent to Lightspeed Payments

On a regular business day, the card payments you accept before that day's cutoff time are sent to Lightspeed Payments and the process of transferring funds from your customer's bank account to yours begins.

Batch cutoff time with Lightspeed Payments

The cutoff time for transactions is 6 AM local time. The deposit for Monday's transactions will include all transactions processed between 6 AM Monday and 5:59 AM Tuesday.

If you are using the pre-authorization or batch settlement method, your settlements may be delayed by one business day if they are captured after 6 AM local time. 

Understanding your payout schedule

Transferring funds takes about 1 business day, so if a transaction happens on Monday, you can expect to see that money in your account on Tuesday. Transferring funds does not occur on weekends, so funds from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will all be deposited on Monday. Statutory holidays may delay processing.

You can view the current status of any given settlement on the Lightspeed Payments reports. Each settlement will show one of the following statuses:

• Deposited: The settlement has been processed and the funds have been sent from Lightspeed Payments to your bank.
• Pending: The settlement is still being processed.

It is worth noting that the final part of this process (placing the deposit into your account) is handled by your bank. When a settlement shows the Deposited status, your bank has received the funds but may have not yet processed the deposit into your account. Most banks will process this deposit within the 1-business day schedule described above, but there may be exceptions - particularly with smaller banks during periods of high activity. Speak with your bank for more information about their processing timelines or if you see a Deposited status in your report with no corresponding deposit in your account.

• How will my deposit schedule appear if my bank adds an additional day for processing my deposit?

  For some merchants, the deposit processing method used by your bank may delay deposits by an additional business day. In that circumstance, your payout schedule will be as follows:

  	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues
  Day transactions take place	‎£100	‎£200	‎£300	‎£400	‎£500	‎£600	‎£700	‎
  Day transactions settle to your account			‎£100	‎£200	‎£300			‎£400	‎£500 ‎£600 ‎£700

• How will my deposit schedule appear if I have pre-authorization enabled on my account?

  Merchants in Australia, the US, or the UK may choose to enable pre-authorization when configuring your payment options with Lightspeed Payments. With preauthorization enabled, payments may not be not captured until after batch cutoff, adding a day to the payout schedule.

  	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues
  Day transactions take place	‎£100	‎£200	‎£300	‎£400	‎£500	‎£600	‎£700	‎
  Day transactions settle to your account			‎£100	‎£200	‎£300			‎£400	‎£500 ‎£600 ‎£700

Understanding bank holidays

Regional bank holidays may delay your payout schedule. In these cases, funds are ready to deposit but will be delayed until the next available business day.

What is deposited?

The funds deposited into your account will not be identical to the original transaction amounts - processing fees are deducted before your deposit is made. Payment processors, card providers, and banks all charge fees for transferring funds. Lightspeed Payments deducts these fees for you. By the time the deposit is processed into your account, these fees have already been paid, so the deposited funds are all yours.

Can I get my payout faster?

Some merchants may be eligible for an Instant Payout or to register for same-day payouts, depending on their region and processing history. For more information, see our article on Receiving Instant Payouts with Lightspeed Payments.

What's next?