By default, any charge you make on behalf of a connected account accumulates in the connected account’s Stripe balance and is paid out on a daily rolling basis. However, Stripe offers platforms fine-grained tools to change the payout schedule for Express and Custom accounts.

You can:

• Schedule how frequently funds are automatically paid out
• Perform manual payouts
• Settle funds instantly

For Custom accounts, the platform can also set the destination bank accounts and debit cards. For Express accounts, the account holder handles that.

Supported settlement currencies

See what currencies you can settle in by selecting the applicable country. Supported presentment currencies can be found in our currencies documentation.

Bank account formats by country

When attaching banks to Custom accounts, platforms need to provide an account_number and, in some countries, a routing_number. Every country has a slightly different format for these numbers, and entering them incorrectly causes subsequent payouts to fail.

We recommend creating validations in your bank account entry forms that enforce the required formats based on the country of the Custom account’s bank. In some countries, separate pieces of information—for example, the bank code and branch codes—must be combined to create a routing number.

Managing bank accounts and debit cards

Express and Custom accounts have an external_accounts property: a list of all bank accounts and debit cards associated with the Stripe account. Any external account is a possible destination for funds.

Platforms can see the external accounts for its connected Express accounts. Platforms can update the external accounts for its Custom accounts.

{
  ...
  "external_accounts": {
    "object": "list",
    "has_more": false,
    "url": "/v1/accounts/acct_14qyt6Alijdnw0EA/external_accounts",
    "data": [
      {
        "id": "ba_18u1IUJ6m0aiknMBHFQaTWOj",
        "object": "bank_account",
        "account": "acct_18rsqhJ6m0aiknMB",
        "account_holder_name": "Jane Austen",
        "account_holder_type": "individual",
        "bank_name": "STRIPE TEST BANK",
        "country": "US",
        "currency": "usd",
        "default_for_currency": false,
        "fingerprint": "sSZ2yLp0EZTH17cF",
        "last4": "6789",
        "metadata": {
        },
        "routing_number": "110000000",
        "status": "new"
      },
      {...},
      {...},
    ],
  ...
}

Destination accounts are added via the external_accounts parameter when creating or updating Custom accounts. The value should be a bank account or debit card token returned from Stripe.js. Alternatively, you can provide a hash of the bank account details, but using Stripe.js is preferred as it prevents sensitive data from hitting your server.

When using debit cards as a payout destination, the following restrictions apply:

• Must be a non-prepaid U.S. Visa or Mastercard
• Limited to $9,999 (USD) per payout on Instant Payouts
• Generally limited to $3,000 (USD) per payout otherwise

Also, Stripe cannot perform a negative payout against a debit card to correct a negative Stripe account balance.

Managing multiple bank and debit accounts

By default, providing a new value for external_accounts while updating a Custom account replaces the existing account with the new one. To add additional bank accounts or debit cards to a connected account, use the Bank Account and Card creation API endpoints.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/accounts/CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID/external_accounts \
   -u {PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY}: \
   -d external_account=btok_9CUINZPUJnubtQ

Stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
account = Stripe::Account.retrieve(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID)
account.external_accounts.create(:external_account => "btok_9CUUxVXui4TQyJ")

stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
account = stripe.Account.retrieve(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID)
account.external_accounts.create(external_account="btok_9CUY3ZiKZEHSlb")

\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
$account = \Stripe\Account::retrieve(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID);
$account->external_accounts->create(array(
    "external_account" => "btok_9CUINZPUJnubtQ",
));

Stripe.apiKey = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY;
Account account = Account.retrieve(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID, null);
Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<String, Object>();
params.put("external_account", "btok_9CUaZTAdbT4G5z");
account.getExternalAccounts().create(params);

var stripe = require('stripe')(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
stripe.accounts.createExternalAccount(
  CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID,
  {external_account: "btok_9CUYdoUSROb2yg"}
);

When working with multiple currencies, Stripe automatically sends payouts to an associated bank account or debit card for its currency, thereby avoiding exchange fees. When there are multiple accounts available for a given currency, Stripe uses the one set as default_for_currency.

Payout schedule

When using automatic payouts, the payout_schedule property on an account indicates how often the Stripe account’s balance is automatically paid out:

{
  ...
  "payout_schedule": {
    "delay_days": 7,
    "interval": "daily"
  },
  ...
}

The delay_days property reflects how long it takes for destination charges (or direct charges performed on the connected account) to become available for payout. This field is useful for dictating automatic payouts. For example, if you want your Express or Custom accounts to receive their funds 2 weeks after the charge is made, set interval to daily and delay_days to 14. The default is the lowest permitted value for the account, determined by the connected account’s country. When setting or updating this field, you may pass the string minimum to choose the lowest permitted value.

There are four possible settings for the interval property:

• manual prevents automatic payouts. You will have to manually pay out the account’s balance using the Payouts API (acting as the connected account). You also set an account to manual to use Instant Payouts.
• daily automatically pays out charges delay_days days after they’re created. The delay_days value cannot be less than your own payout schedule or less than the default payout schedule for the account.
• weekly automatically pays out the balance once a week, with the day specified by the weekly_anchor parameter (a lower-case weekday such as monday).
• monthly automatically pays out the balance once a month, specified by the monthly_anchor parameter (a number from 1 to 31). Payouts scheduled between 29-31st of the month are sent on the last day of shorter months.

Using manual payouts

If you set payout_schedule[interval] to manual using the Accounts API, Stripe will hold funds in the account holder’s balance until told to pay them out (or until a maximum of 90 days have passed). To trigger a payout of these funds, use the Payouts API.

The Payouts API is only for moving funds from a connected Stripe account’s balance into their external account. To move funds between the platform and a connected account, see creating separate charges and transfers or creating destination charges through the platform.

Regular payouts

As a basic payout example, to have $10 sent from a connected account’s Stripe balance to their external account:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payouts \
   -u {PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY}: \
   -H "Stripe-Account: {CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}" \
   -d amount=1000 \
   -d currency=usd

# Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
# See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
Stripe.api_key = "sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2"

Stripe::Payout.create({
  :amount => 1000,
  :currency => "usd",
}, {:stripe_account => CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID})

# Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
# See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
stripe.api_key = "sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2"

stripe.Payout.create(
  amount=1000,
  currency="usd",
  stripe_account=CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID,
)

// Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
// See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey("sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2");

\Stripe\Payout::create(array(
    "amount" => 1000,
    "currency" => "usd",
), array("stripe_account" => CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID));

// Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
// See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
Stripe.apiKey = "sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2";

RequestOptions requestOptions = RequestOptions.builder().setStripeAccount(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID).build();

Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<String, Object>();
params.put("amount", 1000);
params.put("currency", "usd");
Payout.create(params, requestOptions);

// Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
// See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
var stripe = require("stripe")("sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2");

stripe.payouts.create({
  amount: 1000,
  currency: "usd",
}, {
  stripe_account: "{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}",
}).then(function(payout) {
  // asynchronously called
});

// Set your secret key: remember to change this to your live secret key in production
// See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/account/apikeys
stripe.Key = "sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2"

params := &stripe.PayoutParams{
  Amount: stripe.Int64(1000),
  Currency: stripe.String(string(stripe.CurrencyUSD)),
}
params.SetStripeAccount("{CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}")

pay, err := payout.New(params)

With a standard payout, you can move an amount up to the user’s available balance. To find that amount, perform a retrieve balance call on their behalf.

Stripe tracks balance contributions from different payment sources in separate balances. The retrieve balance response breaks down the components of each balance by source type. For example, to create a payout specifically for a non-credit-card balance, specify the source_type in your request.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payouts \
   -u {PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY}: \
   -d amount=24784 \
   -d currency=usd \
   -d source_type=bank_account

Stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
Stripe::Payout.create(
  :amount => 24784,
  :currency => 'usd',
  :source_type => 'bank_account',
)

stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
stripe.Payout.create(
  amount=24784,
  currency="usd",
  source_type="bank_account",
)

\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
$tr = \Stripe\Payout::create(array(
  "amount" => 24784,
  "currency" => "usd",
  "source_type" => "bank_account"
));

Stripe.apiKey = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY;

Map<String, Object> payoutParams = new HashMap<String, Object>();
payoutParams.put("amount", 24784);
payoutParams.put("currency", "usd");
payoutParams.put("source_type", "bank_account");

Payout.create(payoutParams);

var stripe = require('stripe')(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
stripe.payouts.create(
  {
    amount: 24784,
    currency: 'usd',
    source_type: 'bank_account',
  }
);

Note that it is possible for any source’s balance component to go negative (through refunds or chargebacks), and payouts can’t be created for greater than the aggregate available balance.

Using Instant Payouts (U.S. only)

With Instant Payouts, you can immediately send funds to a connected account’s debit card. Funds typically appear in the associated bank account within 30 minutes, making it possible to go from charge to payout in mere moments.

To use Instant Payouts, specify instant for the method property when creating the payout:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payouts \
   -u {PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY}: \
   -H "Stripe-Account: {CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}" \
   -d amount=1000 \
   -d currency=usd \
   -d method=instant

Stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
Stripe::Payout.create(
  {
    :amount => 1000,
    :currency => "usd",
    :method => "instant"
  },
  {:stripe_account => CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}
)

stripe.api_key = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY
stripe.Payout.create(
  amount=1000,
  currency="usd",
  method="instant",
  stripe_account=CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID
)

\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
\Stripe\Payout::create(
  array(
    "amount" => 1000,
    "currency" => "usd",
    "method" => "instant"
  ),
  array("stripe_account" => CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID)
);

Stripe.apiKey = PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY;
RequestOptions requestOptions = RequestOptions.builder().setStripeAccount(CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID).build();

Map<String, Object> payoutParams = new HashMap<String, Object>();
payoutParams.put("amount", 1000);
payoutParams.put("currency", "usd");
payoutParams.put("method", "instant");

Payout.create(transferParams, requestOptions);

var stripe = require('stripe')(PLATFORM_SECRET_KEY);
stripe.payouts.create(
  {
    amount: 1000,
    currency: "usd",
    method: "instant"
  },
  {stripe_account: CONNECTED_STRIPE_ACCOUNT_ID}
);

Instant Payouts differ from manual payouts in a couple of ways:

• You can pay out an account’s available balance plus its pending balance
• Instant Payouts can be requested on weekends and holidays

Initially, platforms can pay out up to $5,000 (USD) per day—in total, across all connected accounts—through Instant Payouts. Contact us if you need this threshold increased.

Instant Payouts is available for all of the largest U.S. banks, but a small percentage of banks do not yet support it. For those banks, you will have to fall back to standard payouts.

When you add a card to an account, Stripe returns a property available_payout_methods in the response, which will be a set containing the payout methods Stripe supports for that card. This property will be either ["standard"] or ["standard", "instant"]. Only values in this set should be passed as the method when creating a payout.

{
  "id": "card_9CUH5DBY1jTgQ0",
  "object": "card",
  ...
  "account": "acct_1032D82eZvKYlo2C",
  "available_payout_methods": ["standard", "instant"],
}

If a connected account's card does not support Instant Payouts, you must clearly communicate to the owner of that account that they will not receive their payouts instantly.

Using webhooks with payouts

All payout activity on connected accounts can be tracked using webhooks. (When using Connect, you should always be using webhooks.) Specific to payouts, you’ll see these events:

• payout.created
• payout.updated
• payout.paid
• payout.failed

For most payouts, these event notifications occur over a series of days. For Instant Payouts, payout.paid will be sent on the next business day, although the funds should be received well beforehand.

If a payout cannot be completed, a payout.failed event occurs. The event’s failure_code property indicates why. Additionally, the external account involved in the payout is disabled, triggering an account.external_account.updated notification. No automatic or manual payouts can go through until the platform updates the connected account’s external accounts.

Further reading

Check out the rest of the guide for help with your integration.

• Custom Accounts
• Updating Accounts
• Understanding Connect Account Balances
• Statement Descriptors with Connect