Reserves

A reserve on a merchant account in credit card processing is a temporary hold on a portion of your transaction settlement before it is deposited in your bank account.

The funds in the reserve are in place to protect both the merchant and credit card processor in the event of unforeseen risk events such as chargebacks, refunds, potential fraud, or other financial obligations that may arise from credit card transactions. If the merchant's transaction balance does not have sufficient funds to cover these obligations, MoneyCollect may request the merchant to transfer money from their bank account to top-up the transaction balance. Alternatively, MoneyCollect may use the merchant's reserve balance, particularly if there are no new transactions being processed in the merchant's account.

Types of reserves

There are different types of reserves that can be implemented:

1. Rolling Reserves: This type of reserve involves withholding a certain percentage of the merchant’s daily credit card sales over a specified period. For example, a rolling reserve of 10% means that 10% of each day’s credit card sales will be held for a predetermined period, typically 90 to 180 days. After the reserve period elapses, the funds are released to the merchant.

2. Upfront Reserves: In this case, a specific amount of funds is required to be deposited upfront before the merchant can begin processing credit card transactions. The upfront reserve is usually a fixed amount determined based on the merchant’s risk profile, industry, or projected sales volume.

MoneyCollect applies a 10% Rolling Reserve for 120 days for every new starter merchant and it will be re-assessed in 6-12 months.

Please note that reserve requirements and policies can vary among MoneyCollect's merchants, and they may be influenced by factors such as the merchant’s industry, credit history, sales volume, and risk assessment. It’s advisable for merchants to review and understand the terms and conditions related to reserves before entering into an agreement with MoneyCollect.