Payout availability delays

A payout availability delay is when Stripe delays the payout date for a specific charge that is likely to be disputed for fraud. The payout availability delay is designed to cover anticipated losses from these charges, and inform you that a charge that was considered safe yesterday is now considered high risk based on new or updated information.

Payout availability delays are most likely to be used on new Stripe accounts or those experiencing a sudden increase in risky transactions.

We might re-evaluate the risk score of a charge if, after it is initially processed, we detect unusual activity associated with the card and/or customer that makes us believe it will turn into a dispute.

For more information on how Stripe Radar uses machine learning and the Stripe network to detect fraudulent payments, see our Radar Technical Guide.

You are not obligated to take any action on this charge, but because Stripe is detecting a high probability of dispute, you might consider taking action—such as canceling the order —to avoid losses.

Note that if a dispute is filed after you have refunded a charge, Stripe will cover any related dispute fees.

If you believe this payment is legitimate, no action is required. The payout for this charge will automatically be released 14 days from the notification date.

We will delay payouts on additional payments if we detect they have become riskier. In general, we are more likely to impose payout availability delays on new accounts or those experiencing a sudden increase in risky transactions or payment volume.

We hope these instances are few and far between, but since fraud often occurs in waves, we want to ensure you’re alerted on any fraudulent payments coming through your account.

As a payment processor, Stripe is responsible for disputes and refunds that may arise from fraudulent disputes. When a business receives a dispute on Stripe, we deduct the payment amount, along with any additional dispute fee levied by the card network, from their Stripe account balance.

However, sometimes there are insufficient funds in the account to cover any disputed amounts. We use payout availability delays to ensure that funds are available for these transactions, as well as to notify the business of this newly found risk so that they can decide how to proceed with the transaction.