A reserve is a temporary hold on a certain portion of a merchant’s transactions. The calculation of the reserve is carried out on a daily basis, before any Airwallex fees are deducted, and is implemented only after settlement.
Why is there a reserve on my account?
A reserve amount is a well-established practice in the industry of underwriting to safeguard the integrity and functionality of Payment Acceptance. The reserve amount serves to facilitate the smooth operation and mitigate any potential issues arising from the risks associated with online payments, including credit risk, refunds, and chargebacks.
What are the types of reserve?
Airwallex has three types of reserves that merchants can see:
- Rolling reserves: Take a percentage of a transaction amount for a specified period in calendar days. (e.g. For a 10% 30 day rolling reserve: On a $100 transaction, $10 will be held for 30 calendar days after the transaction date). Note that the exact percentage and period will depend on a variety of risk based factors.
- Delayed settlement: Net transaction amount is held for a number of calendar days before being settled with the merchant.
- Fixed Reserve: A fixed amount is held to mitigate risk level
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Mixed Reserves: This is a combination of delayed settlement and rolling reserves. (e.g. T+5, 10% 30 day rolling reserve: On a $100 transaction, $90 will be released after 5 calendar days, and $10 will be held for 35 calendar days (5+30) after the transaction date.)
Your reserve plan can be one of type above, or a mixed plan of any. The detailed sample can be found here.
Where can I see my reserve plan?
For the New Airwallex WebApp Experience (Beta phase):
If you see "Business Accounts" in the left navigation column, you're on the new Airwallex experience. If you don't see this then please refer to steps outlined under "For the existing Airwallex Webapp Experience"
The reserve plan is under Payments>account configuration
Step 1: To get started, go to the 'Payments’ section in the left navigation bar
Step 2: Navigate to “Payment Accounts”' and Select the relevant Account.
Step 3: Then, select “Account Configurations”, and scroll down to Reserve plan
For the existing Airwallex Webapp Experience:
If you don't see "Business Accounts" in the left navigation column, you're on the old Airwallex experience. You will be migrated to the new WebApp experience soon as we gradually roll it out.
You can view the details of your current reserve plan at any time through the "Settings" tab in the Payments section of your Airwallex account.
Can I remove the reserve?
Airwallex makes a reserve decision based on your business’s perceived risk level and consistently monitors the merchant risk level to assess the possibility of reducing or eliminating the reserve. During the review, Airwallex may request for certain information or documents such as:
1. Financial report for the past two years (preferably audited) for both the onboarding entity and its parent company. This report should include the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
2. Sample invoice or contract that outlines your shipping and refund policy.
3. Past processing statements from your previous or current payment acquirer.
How can I find out how much reserve is being held?
Airwallex offers users full transparency and visibility regarding fees, as well as the reserves that are held or returned. To access this information, please go to your wallet and select a specific currency. Here, you will be able to view both the account balance and the reserved balance.
Why the settlement of funds may take longer than your reserve schedule
Different payment methods have different settlement times independent from the reserve plan. Depending on the payment method your customer used to make payment, the funds will only reach your Airwallex wallet after (1) the number of days given for the reserve plan or (2) the settlement period of the chosen payment method, whichever comes first.
For example, your reserve terms are set at T+3, while you have 2 different payment methods in your country of registration.
- Payment method A: 2 calendar days
- Payment method B: 8 calendar days
For transactions processed through payment method A, you would receive your funds at T+3; For transactions processed through payment method B, you would receive your funds at T+8. Your funds will be deposited into your account after the later of two periods: (1) your reserve terms or (2) the payment method's settlement schedule.
For some customers, we may also apply a one‑off settlement delay on top of your reserve plan for your first non-test settlements.
To find the detailed settlement period for each payment method, refer to the payment methods overview. This page provides a starting point, and you should then navigate to each individual payment method's page for its specific settlement schedule.
E.g. For Skrill:
Payment methods overview -> Your chosen payment method (Skrill) -> Settlement schedule
E.g. For Skrill:
Payment methods overview -> Your chosen payment method (Skrill) -> Settlement schedule