Rolling Reserve Explained

Each time your sales are settled, the acquirer keeps an agreed percentage and pays you the rest. Each held amount is released once its hold period ends. After the first full hold period, new holds and releases run side by side, so the reserve balance levels off while your volume is stable and keeps growing while you grow.

Take a merchant settling €100,000 a month with a 10% reserve held for 180 days. Each month €10,000 is held back. After six months the reserve balance is €60,000, and from then on roughly €10,000 is released each month as €10,000 is added. If monthly volume doubles to €200,000, the balance climbs towards €120,000.

When a customer disputes a payment, the card issuer credits the cardholder and charges the payment back to the acquirer, which recovers it from you. Disputes can usually be raised up to 120 days after the transaction, and for goods or services delivered later, up to 120 days after the expected delivery date, within a maximum of 540 days. If you cannot cover them, the acquirer carries the loss, and the reserve is its protection during that window.

• New businesses without processing history.
• High-risk industries such as gambling, adult content, trading and crypto.
• Businesses paid long before delivery, such as travel, events and pre-orders.
• Subscriptions with free trials or introductory offers.
• Merchants whose chargeback or refund rate is rising.

• Upfront reserve: a fixed deposit held for an agreed period, sometimes the life of the account, instead of a percentage of each payout.
• Capped reserve: withholding stops once an agreed balance is reached.
• Delayed settlement: nothing is held, but payouts arrive later.
• Combinations: for example a lower rolling reserve together with a small upfront deposit.

• Your industry, and the time between payment and delivery.
• Your chargeback and refund history, or the lack of any history.
• Average ticket size and how much your volume swings.
• The financial strength of your business, and any parent company guarantee.

Reserves are usually reviewable. Keep disputes and refunds low and stable for several months, stay within the volumes and products you were approved for, then ask for a review with your statements attached. A lower percentage, a cap or a shorter hold period is easier to get than full removal. Agree in writing what happens to the balance if the account is closed, as it is often held until the dispute window has passed.

Reserve terms vary a lot between providers for the same business. Through one online application, Ecompayer matches you with a payment provider that fits your profile and your cash flow.

• Add your business, volumes and dispute history once.
• We match you with a provider that accepts your profile.
• Your account is prepared with the provider so you can start processing.

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