Payouts
Understand how payouts reach your bank account and what to do when one is late.
A payout is the transfer of money from your Citizen Pay balance into your own bank account. This page explains how that money moves, when to expect it, and what to check when a payout has not arrived.
How payouts work
Money reaches your bank in three stages:
- A customer pays. The payment is authorised at the terminal and appears immediately in Transactions.
- The payment settles into your balance. Once the card scheme has settled the payment, its value is added to your Citizen Pay balance, minus any fees. Refunds are subtracted from the same balance.
- The balance is paid out. On your payout schedule, the accumulated balance is transferred to the bank account linked to your account. That transfer is the payout.
This is why a single line on your bank statement rarely matches a single sale: one payout normally covers many transactions taken over the same period.
One payout, many transactions
When you reconcile, work payout by payout. Open a payout in the dashboard to see exactly which transactions it contains, then match that list against the one line on your statement.
Your payout schedule
Your schedule decides how often the balance is swept to your bank — for example daily on working days, or weekly on a fixed day. It is agreed when your account is set up, and it is shown in the dashboard alongside your balance.
Things that affect when money lands:
- The cut-off time. Payments taken after the daily cut-off are counted towards the next payout.
- Working days. Bank transfers do not process at weekends or on bank holidays, so a payout due on a Saturday typically arrives on the next working day.
- Your bank. Once a payout has left Citizen Pay, the time it takes to show in your account is down to your own bank.
Checking payout status
Open Payouts in the dashboard to see your payout history, newest first. Each payout shows its date, its amount, the destination account and its status. Statuses generally mean:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | The payout has been created but not yet sent to your bank |
| In transit | The transfer has been sent and is being processed by the banks |
| Paid | The money has been sent and should be visible in your account |
| Failed | The transfer could not be completed — see below |
Select a payout to see its detail: the transactions it covers, the gross total, any fees deducted, any refunds subtracted and the net amount transferred. Exporting from this view gives you a file that reconciles line by line against your statement.
When a payout has not arrived
Work through these in order.
1. Check the timing
Confirm the payout was actually due. Compare today's date against your schedule, and remember weekends, bank holidays and the daily cut-off. Money taken this morning is often not due until tomorrow.
2. Check the status in the dashboard
Open the payout and read its status.
- Pending or in transit — it is on its way. Give it another working day before doing anything else.
- Paid — Citizen Pay has sent it. Check your bank account again, including any second account you might have linked, and search your statement by amount rather than by name.
- Failed — the transfer was rejected. Move to the next step.
3. Check your bank details
A failed payout is almost always caused by incorrect or out-of-date bank details, or by an account that cannot receive the transfer. Review the linked account in Banking and confirm every digit, along with the account holder name.
Changing bank details
Updating the bank account on your Citizen Pay account may require verification before payouts resume, so do it as soon as you know the details are wrong rather than waiting for the next payout to fail.
4. Check whether your balance is zero
If no payments settled in the period — a quiet week, or a terminal that was offline — there may simply be nothing to pay out. Check Transactions for the period to confirm payments were taken at all, and see Troubleshooting if a terminal has not been reporting.
Refunds also reduce a payout. A week with large refunds can produce a much smaller payout than you expected, or none at all.
5. Contact support
If the payout says paid, more than a couple of working days have passed and nothing has reached your account, contact Citizen Pay support. Have ready:
- The payout date and amount
- The payout reference from the dashboard
- The last digits of the bank account it should have gone to
Fees and deductions
Payouts are normally net figures: processing fees, and any refunds or chargebacks, are deducted before the transfer leaves. The payout detail view breaks this down, which is the number your accountant will want rather than the gross sales total.