Introduction
Your customers can pay Adfin invoices and payment requests using Direct Debit, Pay By Bank, Adfin Bank Transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Card. Since these payment methods all use different payment schemes, they have different payout settlement times. This help guide helps you understand Adfin's payment methods and their differing payout timelines.
You can view all upcoming payout events in the Transactions tab in Adfin
Direct Debit
Direct debit payments are debited from your customer's bank account on the invoice due date (or the next available payment date - see below) and are usually settled to your bank account 2 working days later. Bank holidays are different, read below.
Direct Debit standard timeline
Direct Debit bank holiday timeline
Invoice payment status
Scheduled - the payment is scheduled but the process has not yet been initiated. The invoice can still be voided.
Submitted - the payment process has been initiated. Invoices transition from Scheduled to Submitted at 15:00 UK time, 2 working days before funds are debited from the customer's bank account, and can no longer be cancelled or amended.
Paid - the payment has landed
Settled - the payment has been paid out.
When direct debits may be delayed
We aim to debit on the invoice due date wherever possible. Payments may be delayed if:
The mandate has not yet been signed. New mandates take 3 working days for the payer's bank to confirm before any payments can be initiated.
We need more time to pre-notify the customer of the payment.
External factors apply, such as bank holidays or rare processing delays.
Adfin will provide updates on any changes and offer assistance to mitigate the impact of delays where needed.
Payouts
Your daily payout for Adfin is a combined payout of all payments ready for settlement. Funds are typically available in your bank at around 11am UK time - the exact time depends on your bank.
Tracking and reconciliation
If you raise invoices in Xero or QuickBooks:
Adfin marks each invoice as paid when the payment is submitted. If the payment later fails, we automatically remove and undo this.
When Adfin makes a payout, we initiate a ledger transfer in Xero / QuickBooks between the Adfin bank account and your external bank, for the total of all invoices collected that day. Reconcile the payout received on your bank statement against this ledger transfer.
You'll see the full breakdown of each day's payout in the Transactions dashboard.
Failures, retries and chargebacks
Due to the nature of direct debit payments, sometimes payments can fail and be reversed after they have already been settled to you. In these occasions, you will receive a email notifying you of the failure and the payment will be retried according to your workflow set up.
Your customers can raise a chargeback on a direct debit payment - if this happens we will automatically cancel the customer’s mandate to prevent any further chargebacks and our support team will contact you.
There is no time limit for a customer to raise a chargeback and direct debit chargebacks cannot be defended - we will debit the funds for the chargeback from your next available payout.
If you wish to refund your customer, you should do this directly from your bank and void the invoice.
Tracking and reconciliation
If you raise the invoice using Xero or QuickBooks:
Adfin will mark each invoice as paid when the payment is submitted
If the payment fails, we will automatically remove and undo this payment
When Adfin makes a payout, we will initiate a ledger transfer on Xero / QuickBooks between Adfin bank and your external bank.
This transfer amount will be for all invoices collected in a given day.
You should reconcile the payout received from Adfin on your bank statement to the transfer between Adfin bank and your external bank ledger on Xero.
You will see details of the payout for a given day for cards and direct debit in the Transactions dashboard.
Cards (including Apple Pay and Google Pay)
Settlement
Card payments made on a given day (00:00 - 23.59) are settled in bulk to Adfin 2 business days later, Adfin then immediately initiates a payout to the bank account you provided us with during onboarding. If the payout takes place on a bank holiday, then it will reach your bank on the next working day.
Your payout for direct debit payments and cards on any single day will be combined into a single payout from Adfin.
The payout includes all payments made to you in a given day. For example, if 5 invoices were paid using cards on Monday with a total value of £500, you would receive a single payout from Adfin on Wednesday morning for £500.
Funds are typically made available in your bank at around 11am UK time - the exact time will depend on your bank account provider.
Invoice payment status explanation:
Paid: the card payment has been authorised and captured, guaranteeing that funds will be settled to you (2 working days later). This updates in real-time after your customer completes the payment.
Tracking and reconciliation
If you raise the invoice using Xero or Quickbooks:
Adfin will mark each invoice as paid when the card payment has been authorised and captured (in real-time).
Balance will accrue in the Adfin bank ledger on Xero / Quickbooks until funds are paid out by Adfin (2 business days later).
When Adfin makes a payout, we will initiate a ledger transfer on Xero / Quickbooks between Adfin bank and your external bank.
This transfer amount will be for all invoices paid in a given day.
You should reconcile the payout received from Adfin on your bank statement to the transfer between Adfin bank and your external bank ledger on Xero / Quickbooks.
You will see details of the payout for a given day for cards and direct debit in the Transactions dashboard.
Chargebacks and refunds
Your customers can raise a chargeback on a card payment - if this happens, our support team will contact you and support you to defend or resolve the chargeback. Your customers have up to 120 days after the payment to raise a chargeback.
If you lose the chargeback we will debit the funds from your next available payout.
If you wish to refund your customer, you should do this directly from your bank and void the invoice.
Pay by Bank
Settlement
Pay by bank payments are settled directly from your customer’s bank account to the bank account you provided us with during onboarding.
Funds will typically appear in your account instantly after the customer has initiated the payment, but can take up to 2 hours.
There may be occasions where, for higher value payments, your bank performs risk and AML checks on the incoming payment. This can add up to 48 hours to settlement or result in funds being returned to the customer.
Payment status explanation:
Paid: funds have been sent from your customer’s bank account. This updates in real-time after your customer completes the payment.
Tracking and reconciliation
If you raise the invoice using Xero or Quickbooks:
Adfin will automatically mark each invoice as paid when the funds are sent from your customer’s bank account.
Adfin will immediately initiate a ledger transfer between Adfin bank and your external bank on Xero for each individual invoice payment.
You should reconcile each individual invoice payment that is received in your bank account with the transfer from Adfin bank to your external bank on Xero.
Each Pay by Bank payment will appear as an individual payout on the Transactions dashboard.
Chargebacks and refunds
There are no chargebacks for pay by bank payments.
If you wish to refund your customer, you should do this directly from your bank and void the invoice.
Adfin bank transfer
Settlement
Payments received on a given day (00:00 - 23.59) are settled two business days later. If the payout takes place on a bank holiday, then it will reach your bank on the next working day.
Invoice payment status explanation:
Paid: funds have been received, guaranteeing that funds will be settled to you (2 working days later). This updates in real-time after your customer completes the payment.
Tracking and reconciliation
If you raise the invoice using Xero or Quickbooks:
Adfin will mark each invoice as paid when the funds have been received (typically around 20 minutes after you customer sends the funds).
Balance will accrue in the Adfin bank ledger on Xero / Quickbooks until funds are paid out by Adfin (2 business days later).
When Adfin makes a payout, we will initiate a ledger transfer on Xero / Quickbooks between Adfin bank and your external bank.
This transfer amount will be for all invoices paid in a given day.
You should reconcile the payout received from Adfin on your bank statement to the transfer between Adfin bank and your external bank ledger on Xero / Quickbooks.
Chargebacks and refunds
There are no chargebacks for Adfin bank transfers.
If you wish to refund your customer, you should do this directly from your bank and void the invoice.
Summary Table
Payment method | Payout settlement time | Payout type | Reconciliation with Xero and Quickbooks | Chargebacks |
Pay by bank | Instant | Each payment is paid separately into your bank account | Reconcile per customer payment | No chargebacks |
Cards (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) | 2 business days after the payment is made by your customer. | Payments on a given day are batched together and you receive a single payout from Adfin for all payment into your bank account | Reconcile per batch payout | Chargebacks that can be defended |
Direct debit | 2 business days after the funds leave your customer's account.
There is an additional 1 day delay if the payment is processed over a bank holiday. | Payments on a given day are batched together and you receive a single payout from Adfin for all payment into your bank account | Reconcile per batch payout | Chargebacks that cannot be defended |
Adfin bank transfer | 2 business days after the funds are received, typically this will be the same day as the payment has been made by your customer. | Payments on a given day are batched together and you receive a single payout from Adfin for all payment into your bank account | Reconcile per batch payout | No chargebacks. |