On this page
The number merchants quote is often the sum of money they wish they could spend. Stripe splits that wish into states. Pending has been captured and is not yet available for payout. Available can be paid out, unless a pause, a reserve, a dispute or a negative entry says otherwise. In transit has left Stripe and is waiting on the bank.
A balance on the screen is not a balance in the bank.
What is actually moving
A payout pause bites the available pot. It does not automatically reverse pending charges, and it does not claw back a payout already in transit. A reserve can sit on top of available funds and make only part of them payable. A dispute can turn available into a debt.
- Pending: captured, not payable yet.
- Available: payable unless a control says no.
- Reserved: held back from available.
- In transit: already instructed to the bank.
What people confuse it with
People add the three numbers and call the total “our money”. Lenders, staff and partners then plan against a figure that cannot be withdrawn. The honest figure is the amount a payout could send today, after holds.
Not a reinstatement method
What to do with it
Read the pots separately on the day something changes.
- Record pending, available and in transit as three lines.
- Note any amount marked reserved. Do not fold it into available.
- If a payout is in transit, do not describe it as paused.
- If you brief a partnership assessment, send the three lines, not a single rounded-up total.
What this briefing is not
Questions on this note
Does available mean I can withdraw it today?
Only if payouts are enabled and no reserve, dispute or negative balance takes it first. Available is a Stripe state, not a promise of a same-day bank credit.
Should I add pending and available for a forecast?
You can add them as exposure. You should not add them as cash. Pending can still be refunded, disputed, or delayed.
Continue in the briefing
Reserves
Why Stripe Freezes Payouts and Places Reserves
Why Stripe pauses payouts and holds reserves: fulfilment lag, disputes, thin history and changes in the business. What the hold is for, and who should bear it.
11 min
Reserves
Stripe Rolling Reserves, Fixed Reserves and Delayed Payouts
Rolling reserves, fixed reserves and delayed Stripe payouts do different jobs. How each one changes cash, and what has to be named in a partnership.
10 min
Accounts
The Path of a Card Payment, from Checkout to the Bank
Authorisation, capture, availability and payout are different moments. A freeze can interrupt any one of them.
11 min
Freezes
What Happens to Your Stripe Balance When the Account Is Closed
When Stripe closes an account, the balance is not automatically sent to the bank. How reserves, disputes, refunds and timing actually sit.
15 min