A payout refers to the stage in the payment process where the transaction amount is transferred to the provider's bank account. One of the key functionalities of Sharetribe is facilitating payments from customers for their orders and ensuring the transfer of these funds to the bank accounts of listing providers.
What is the difference between a payment and a payout?
A payment happens when the transaction's checkout is initiated. This is the moment when the customer adds their credit card information, and their card is charged.
After a payment, the money is held in Stripe's system until the payout happens. A payout is the action of sending the money from the payment gateway (Stripe)'s system to the provider's bank account.
What happens after a payment?
After a payment occurs in a transaction using Stripe as the payment processor, Stripe holds the money from the payment before a payout to the provider is triggered.
How the payout triggers depends on the transaction settings in the associated transaction:
Calendar booking: The payout is triggered 2 days after the end of the booking period (i.e., if the booking ends on Monday, the payout is triggered on Wednesday)
Purchase: The payout can be triggered in one of two ways when:
The buyer marks the order as received
The transaction automatically marks itself as completed 14 days after the provider marks the order as delivered (or shipped).
What happens after a payout is triggered?
After a payout is triggered, Stripe will begin the process of transferring the funds to the provider's bank account, which is connected to their payout settings on the marketplace.
It can take Stripe anywhere between 5 to 10 business days to transfer the money to the provider's bank account. Moreover, there may be additional days of standard bank processing time before the balance appears in the provider's bank account statement.
Can the funds from a payment be held longer?
With Stripe, funds from payment can be held for up to 90 days (and 2 years for US-based accounts). The default number of days that it takes for the payout to trigger can be changed with code customization by modifying the transaction process.
Should my payout setting in Stripe be manual or automatic?
The Sharetribe Stripe integration requires a "manual payout" setting within Stripe because the Stripe engine does not control the payouts. Instead, payouts are defined by the transaction process within Sharetribe. Sharetribe's system triggers the payouts. From Stripe's point of view, payouts are manual (i.e., defined by an outside system), but from the marketplace's point of view, payouts are automatic (i.e., you do not need to go to the Stripe dashboard to make payouts),
This means that you need to set the payout to "MANUAL" from your stripe dashboard. If they are set to "automatic," your Stripe integration with Sharetribe will not work as intended.
Can I view an estimated payout time?
If Stripe already initiated the payout, you can view the estimated date of when the payout should arrive in your provider's bank account in your Stripe dashboard:
Payments tab
Open the payment page
Click on "Transfer destination" under the Payment details section
Look at the money movement > Payouts tab
There, there should be an EST. ARRIVAL date.
What are the different payout states and what to do if one has failed?
A payout may fail due to various reasons. We've shared more details on this topic here.
When do my platform commission earnings get paid out?
Your platform commission is paid out differently. Unlike your providers' earnings, your marketplace commission earnings are available for payout to your platform bank account immediately after the customer's payment is processed. The earnings are transferred to your platform account balance. It will then be paid out according to any payout rules or actions you take in Stripe as the platform owner.
Note that your platform balance is used to cover refunds, which includes commission earnings by default.