Instant Payouts for Connect

Non-Connect users

If you want to enable Instant Payouts and youre a Stripe Dashboard user, see Instant Payouts for Stripe Dashboard users.

With Instant Payouts, Connect platforms and marketplaces can allow their connected accounts to access their balances immediately following a successful charge. Instant Payouts are available at any day or time, including weekends and holidays, and funds typically settle in the associated bank account within 30 minutes.

You can use Instant Payouts to:

• Attract and retain new connected accounts
• Realize additional revenue by assessing a fee

Funds acquired from card payments are available for Instant Payouts as soon as the charge is complete. ACH or bank debits are only available for Instant Payouts after the payment has settled.

Eligible connected accounts

Instant Payouts can also be made to connected accounts that are in different regions from the platform.

Instant Payouts are available for connected accounts when:

• The connected account is onboarded using full terms of service.
• The connected account is using the local currency for payout.
• Both the platform and connected account are in supported countries. Instant Payouts are available to platforms and their connected accounts in the following countries.

Availability

External Account Eligibility

To receive Instant Payouts, a connected account must have an eligible external account. An external account in the context of Stripe Connect refers to a bank account or debit card associated with a connected account, and eligibility varies by country.

If youre responsible for connected accounts that might not be able to refund negative balances, enable Stripe-hosted onboarding and dashboard interfaces to collect debit card details. To enable this, go to your External Account settings, and under Allow debit cards?, select Yes.

Verify that the connected account can receive Instant Payouts and has an eligible external account.

Confirm that the connected account has an external account that can receive Instant Payouts by calling the External Accounts API with the connected accounts Account ID.

External accounts that include instant in the available_payout_methods array can receive Instant Payouts. The response returns the accounts 10 most recently active external accounts, and you can paginate through the results if you need to review more than the default display of 10.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/accounts/
{{CONNECTED_ACCOUNT_ID}}
/external_accounts \
  -u "sk_test_wU7nrJCZspk1NPDxiQgAF05q:" \
  -H "Stripe-Account: 
{{CONNECTED_ACCOUNT_ID}}
"

{
  "object": "list",
  "data": [
    {
      "object": "bank_account",
      "available_payout_methods": [
        "standard",
        "instant"
      ],
      ...
    }
  ]
}

Invite connected accounts to add eligible accounts

If a connected account doesnt have an external account thats eligible for Instant Payouts, you can prompt them to provide one and add it using the External Accounts API.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/accounts/
{{CONNECTED_ACCOUNT_ID}} \
  -u "sk_test_wU7nrJCZspk1NPDxiQgAF05q:" \
  -H "Stripe-Account: 
{{CONNECTED_ACCOUNT_ID}}
" \
  -d "external_account=
{{BANK_ACCOUNT_TOKEN_ID}}"

Monetization and fees

Applicable connected accounts

Some marketplaces and platforms choose to monetize Instant Payouts, offering the convenience for a fee. If you monetize Instant Payouts, Stripe supports two methods of fee collection: Application Fees and account debits.

Application fees

With Application Fees, Stripe collects the fee you determine and initiates the Instant Payout synchronously. Stripe recommends applying an application fee because its a single, seamless transaction:

• Users cant pay out more than their available balance
• Fees can be refunded through the API or the Dashboard
• Monetization options include fixed or variable fees with minimums and maximums
• Fees are paired to your Instant Payouts revenue with the Payout Object, helping with reporting and reconciliation. You can view your collected fees in the Payments tab in the Dashboard

You can control application fee pricing for Instant Payouts using the Platform Pricing Tool in your Dashboard.

Account debits

You can directly debit your connected accounts Stripe balance and credit your platform accounts Stripe balance to collect fees. After the Instant Payout, call the Charge API, specifying the connected account ID as the source parameter. Consider the following limitations when using account debits to collect Instant Payout fees:

• Both your platform and the connected account must be in the same region.
• You must get legally binding consent from your connected accounts.
• Account debits carry an additional cost.
• Debiting an account cant make the connected account balance become negative unless you have reserves enabled (on by default for all new platforms created after January 31, 2017) and have a bank account in the same currency as the debit.
• If the connected account has already paid out their available balance in full, you might be delayed in collecting the fee.
• Reconciliation requires maintaining an internal database of debits and related payouts.

Enable your connected accounts to initiate instant payouts

You can initiate Instant Payouts either manually on your users behalf or use the Stripe APIs or Connect embedded components to create user interfaces that allow your users to initiate an Instant Payout themselves. When you initiate Instant Payouts on your users behalf, make sure to follow the instructions and authorizations provided by your users.

Eligibility and daily volume limits

Each platform account has a maximum amount that it can pay out instantly per day across all connected accounts. Your connected accounts cant initiate Instant Payouts after you reach your daily limit. Daily limits reset at midnight US Central Time (CT).

Manage risk and eligibility

When platforms and marketplaces are liable for losses, youre liable for uncovered negative balances due to refunds or disputes.

Stripe recommends setting risk parameters to protect your platform from unintended losses. We provide a number of best practices for managing fraud and risk, such as setting trust thresholds like the following:

• Minimum processing volume
• Days active
• Chargeback rate

Use the Stripe Dashboard to manage your risk Private preview

You can use the Stripe Dashboard eligibility tools to determine which of your accounts are eligible for Instant Payouts based on your target values for these fields. When youre liable for negative balances, users that meet your criteria will get access to Instant Payouts in their Express Dashboard, Standard Dashboard, or embedded components.

Sign in to request access to Dashboard eligibility tools for Instant Payouts in private preview.

If you dont have a Stripe account, you can register here.

Marketing Instant Payouts

Your marketing of Instant Payouts to Connected Accounts must clearly and conspicuously disclose any fees you intend to apply for Instant Payouts.

Make sure your marketing is consistent with Stripes marketing of the product, which states that: You can request Instant Payouts 24/7, including weekends and holidays, and funds typically appear in the associated bank account within 30 minutes. Instant Payouts typically settle within 30 minutes, but might be delayed, depending on your bank.

Pricing

Irrespective of your monetization decisions, Stripe charges marketplaces and platforms a 1% fee for all Instant Payouts. Each Instant Payout transaction has a minimum and maximum amount dependent on the currency. These fees are assessed as part of your overall Connect fees.